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emilylind's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
Moderate: Car accident
gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is a great example of messy, complicated relationship and mental health struggles. I think that the allegory of the town falling into the sea works well with the three teens and their complex relationship together.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Car accident
Minor: Vomit
onemamareads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Read the full review here: https://onemamassummer.weebly.com/book-reviews/the-sea-is-salt-and-so-am-i
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Grief, Cancer, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Blood
bingo_banjo's review
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Car accident
Moderate: Gaslighting, Medical content, and Cancer
Minor: Drug use and Vomit
kalin_grace's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Medical trauma and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Animal death, Car accident, Drug use, and Gaslighting
thesaltiestlibrarian's review
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions expressed herein are mine alone and may not reflect the views of the author, publisher, or distributor.
Something tells me I should vet what I read a little more closely instead of doing my usual "dive in head first and then recover" move. Because I didn't like this...not even a little.
Likeable characters aren't a necessity for me when I read a book. But sometimes you get characters the author presents as wanting you to like them, and they're just awful people. Everyone's down for drama in a book, but like...when you have brothers like Ellis and Tommy, and then someone like Harlow, the active venom gets tiring. The lack of character growth and change is really what sinks the boat here.
Last year I read a book where only one character was remotely likeable, and all the other people around her just constantly insulted her, told her to "get over" the massacre of her people and destruction of her culture, and that really made her my favorite. Because she didn't deserve any of the vitriol and she just took it. I wanted to give her a hug.
In THE SEA IS SALT AND SO AM I, Tommy is that character. And Harlow and Ellis' constant haranguing rightfully drive him into a depressive state. It's no wonder he hates both of them.
Characters like this make it hard to absorb anything else in detail, and all I can think is how much I disliked Harlow and Ellis. Sorry, folks. This one's not a winner.
Something tells me I should vet what I read a little more closely instead of doing my usual "dive in head first and then recover" move. Because I didn't like this...not even a little.
Likeable characters aren't a necessity for me when I read a book. But sometimes you get characters the author presents as wanting you to like them, and they're just awful people. Everyone's down for drama in a book, but like...when you have brothers like Ellis and Tommy, and then someone like Harlow, the active venom gets tiring. The lack of character growth and change is really what sinks the boat here.
Last year I read a book where only one character was remotely likeable, and all the other people around her just constantly insulted her, told her to "get over" the massacre of her people and destruction of her culture, and that really made her my favorite. Because she didn't deserve any of the vitriol and she just took it. I wanted to give her a hug.
In THE SEA IS SALT AND SO AM I, Tommy is that character. And Harlow and Ellis' constant haranguing rightfully drive him into a depressive state. It's no wonder he hates both of them.
Characters like this make it hard to absorb anything else in detail, and all I can think is how much I disliked Harlow and Ellis. Sorry, folks. This one's not a winner.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Car accident and Cursing
melaniereadsbooks's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thank you to Netgalley and Fierce Reads for the arc of this book.
Sometimes you read a book and you just know it is going to haunt you. You'll be in the grocery store 15 years from now and remember exactly how it felt to read it. You'll wake up in a cold sweat at 2 am with lingering images from a scene in the book that somehow made it into your dreams even though you weren't thinking about it before you went to sleep. That's what this book was for me.
West Finch, Maine has been slowly sinking into the ocean. With rising tide levels and crumbling sea walls, any big storm could mean the end of another business. Harlowe is determined to stop it and save her town, and her best friend, Ellis will help her because saying no to each other would feel like cutting off their own limb. But when Ellis' twin brother, Tommy, swims into a stormy sea without the intention to return, things begin changing for the three teenagers in ways they never thought possible.
I am absolutely obliterated by the writing in this book. It destroyed me. I shouldn't be surprised that the title comes from a poem because everything about this book is pure poetry. It's gripping, haunting, painful and tense and real and I will absolutely never forget it. It left a mark on me.
There is something magnifying about the relationships between Harlowe and Ellis and Tommy in this book. They are in no ways healthy relationships, but they are certainly unforgettable. And gut-wrenching.
The ending of this book killed me. It's completely ambiguous and I will probably never stop thinking about it.
Pub Date: June 8, 2021
Sometimes you read a book and you just know it is going to haunt you. You'll be in the grocery store 15 years from now and remember exactly how it felt to read it. You'll wake up in a cold sweat at 2 am with lingering images from a scene in the book that somehow made it into your dreams even though you weren't thinking about it before you went to sleep. That's what this book was for me.
West Finch, Maine has been slowly sinking into the ocean. With rising tide levels and crumbling sea walls, any big storm could mean the end of another business. Harlowe is determined to stop it and save her town, and her best friend, Ellis will help her because saying no to each other would feel like cutting off their own limb. But when Ellis' twin brother, Tommy, swims into a stormy sea without the intention to return, things begin changing for the three teenagers in ways they never thought possible.
I am absolutely obliterated by the writing in this book. It destroyed me. I shouldn't be surprised that the title comes from a poem because everything about this book is pure poetry. It's gripping, haunting, painful and tense and real and I will absolutely never forget it. It left a mark on me.
There is something magnifying about the relationships between Harlowe and Ellis and Tommy in this book. They are in no ways healthy relationships, but they are certainly unforgettable. And gut-wrenching.
The ending of this book killed me. It's completely ambiguous and I will probably never stop thinking about it.
Pub Date: June 8, 2021
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Vomit, Self harm, Cancer, and Medical content
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