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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
Browsing netgalley the cover of The Sea of Tranquillity caught my eye, when I took a closer look I was drawn in by the synopsis and I knew I had to read this book. The Sea of Tranquillity is told by two narrators, Nastya and Josh. Josh is an outcast in school and keeps himself to himself, Nastya lives with her Aunt and is new to the school and doesn't exactly fit with the typical fashion sense or with her choice.
Throughout the Sea of Tranquillity we get hints as to what happened to Nastya before she moved in with her Aunt, but it's not until you get near the end of the book that the truth is revealed and we are told the reason for Nastya's choice.
I loved the characters in the book, how each one plays an important role in Nastya's life and while some of them started out as self absorbed jerks, they soon began to grow on me. Drew, Josh's friend, openly admits to liking Nastya and goes out of his way to get her attention with lots of pick up lines that eventually get her to agree to a date, but he doesn't really understand her or try to get to know her, it feels like their relationship is just a front to keep others happy.
While it takes a while Nastya finds comfort with Josh, and although they don't have a typical type of friendship they have a mutual understanding, enough to let her feel comfortable in his presence and let go of her choice (I know I am being vague by saying 'choice' but I want you to experience the same shock I felt when it is revealed, the way the character is written I didn't actually pick up on anything and I ad to read back a few pages to make sure I hadn't misread).
Nastya has gone through so much, more than you could possibly imagine and while she isn't completely over it, she has come out of the other end. I liked getting to see her gain confidence back in herself and in others, developing friendships that not only help her but also help others. The eclectic mix of characters suit this book perfectly and make it that much more enjoyable.
The Sea of Tranquillity is a powerful book that quickly draws you in but lets you share each emotion that the characters are going through. It's very rare that books leave me speechless with no idea of where to start my review and take me days to get it written down in some logical way. The storyline itself has a way of grabbing hold of you and not letting go, and while it took me a while to make my way through the book it was not by choice and rather by having to work, sleep, eat etc.
Throughout the Sea of Tranquillity we get hints as to what happened to Nastya before she moved in with her Aunt, but it's not until you get near the end of the book that the truth is revealed and we are told the reason for Nastya's choice.
I loved the characters in the book, how each one plays an important role in Nastya's life and while some of them started out as self absorbed jerks, they soon began to grow on me. Drew, Josh's friend, openly admits to liking Nastya and goes out of his way to get her attention with lots of pick up lines that eventually get her to agree to a date, but he doesn't really understand her or try to get to know her, it feels like their relationship is just a front to keep others happy.
While it takes a while Nastya finds comfort with Josh, and although they don't have a typical type of friendship they have a mutual understanding, enough to let her feel comfortable in his presence and let go of her choice (I know I am being vague by saying 'choice' but I want you to experience the same shock I felt when it is revealed, the way the character is written I didn't actually pick up on anything and I ad to read back a few pages to make sure I hadn't misread).
Nastya has gone through so much, more than you could possibly imagine and while she isn't completely over it, she has come out of the other end. I liked getting to see her gain confidence back in herself and in others, developing friendships that not only help her but also help others. The eclectic mix of characters suit this book perfectly and make it that much more enjoyable.
The Sea of Tranquillity is a powerful book that quickly draws you in but lets you share each emotion that the characters are going through. It's very rare that books leave me speechless with no idea of where to start my review and take me days to get it written down in some logical way. The storyline itself has a way of grabbing hold of you and not letting go, and while it took me a while to make my way through the book it was not by choice and rather by having to work, sleep, eat etc.
I wanted to like this book, and I did care about the characters and want to know what was going to happen to them. But it went on and on with very little happening throughout much of the book. Although both characters had gone through very difficult experiences and I think were intended to be more mature than some teenagers, I didn't think that they had authentic teen voices or perspectives some of the time. The amount of independence and the lack of school rule enforcement was also a bit unbelieveable. Next time I would choose a different book about a damaged girl and a boy who loves her, something that is edited better and reads more smoothly.
I can't remember when was the last time a book I finished frustrated me so much. Normally, I would have dropped a book 30% into it if it wasn't grabbing my attention. And Holy Shit was this book long. I kept soldiering through it because I read a review here that promised it would get better. I kept with this book because everyone on goodreads seemed to have a boner for it. Well, let me tell you, I got blue balls. Goodreads hyped this shit up and I was sorely disappointed.
The Sea of Tranquility covers the fucked up life of Nastya. A mute who chooses to keep quiet because she's sick of pretending to be okay to everyone. She was sick of lying to everyone that she felt better. After facing a traumatic experience where she was dead for 96-seconds and her mind blocks away the memory, she goes in-and-out of physical therapy, rehabilitation, and counseling for a year. When she remembers the traumatic experience, she becomes mute because she can no longer lie that she's okay or that everything is alright. She meets Josh, a handy-man who has lost everyone in his life, and weasels her way into his life and heart. Josh never pushes for any answers to questions he has of her past, he's just there. He's her pillar who's ready to listen. Nastya refuses to tell anyone of her past and so this book is just one big roller coaster.
I loved everything that this book promised, but my God the pace killed me. Millay moves this book at the speed of a snail. She teases so much with Nastya's past and drags everything out so far that she causes my interest to quickly drain. I get it, Nastya's fucked up. Don't drag me in circles with it. The only thing that really develops in this book is Nastya's relationship to Josh and Drew. There's no real character development until the very end. And I do mean the very end. Don't get me wrong, the relationship of Drew-Nastya-Josh was great, both individually and as a whole as they interacted with each other, but it was not enough. While this lovely trio grows together as friends, and not as a romantic triangle, the characters themselves don't really grow. What do we see from them individually? We see them each bitch and moan about how much shit sucks, but we NEVER see anyone attempt to repair the bullshit. Everyone sees the problems, as Nastya points out to Drew with his lady love, but no one solves it. Everyone's reason is, "It's too late for him/her to forgive me. I hate myself." My GOD, stop it!
This book highlights the characters disgust with themselves. No one loves themselves in this book. And it encourages bitching and moaning because no one does jack shit. Everything is solved and tied in a neat bow in the end with a god damn deus ex machina! I wanted to see Nastya work through her issues throughout the book, I thought that's what I was getting. I didn't want her to suddenly work on repairing everything at the last 20 pages. It just makes everything seem less real and lasting. I would most definitely not recommend this book. It's a waste of 500 pages and 6 hours. The only good thing about this was the dynamic of Drew-Nastya-Josh. There was no triangle, but there was a deep friendship. It's so good to see a relationship like theirs. To a lesser extent, Clay is included in there. Probably the only good thing about this book was the friendships and bonding. Character developments, story pace, plot, and everything else just disappointed me so badly I wanted to bang my head multiple times on my desk.
The Sea of Tranquility covers the fucked up life of Nastya. A mute who chooses to keep quiet because she's sick of pretending to be okay to everyone. She was sick of lying to everyone that she felt better. After facing a traumatic experience where she was dead for 96-seconds and her mind blocks away the memory, she goes in-and-out of physical therapy, rehabilitation, and counseling for a year. When she remembers the traumatic experience, she becomes mute because she can no longer lie that she's okay or that everything is alright. She meets Josh, a handy-man who has lost everyone in his life, and weasels her way into his life and heart. Josh never pushes for any answers to questions he has of her past, he's just there. He's her pillar who's ready to listen. Nastya refuses to tell anyone of her past and so this book is just one big roller coaster.
I loved everything that this book promised, but my God the pace killed me. Millay moves this book at the speed of a snail. She teases so much with Nastya's past and drags everything out so far that she causes my interest to quickly drain. I get it, Nastya's fucked up. Don't drag me in circles with it. The only thing that really develops in this book is Nastya's relationship to Josh and Drew. There's no real character development until the very end. And I do mean the very end.
Spoiler
We only get to see Nastya's character grow when she accepts how fucked up she is and starts to see a different therapist more geared towards what she mentally needs. Nastya then begins to start repairing her relationship with her family. Which I was waiting forever for!This book highlights the characters disgust with themselves. No one loves themselves in this book. And it encourages bitching and moaning because no one does jack shit. Everything is solved and tied in a neat bow in the end with a god damn deus ex machina! I wanted to see Nastya work through her issues throughout the book, I thought that's what I was getting. I didn't want her to suddenly work on repairing everything at the last 20 pages. It just makes everything seem less real and lasting. I would most definitely not recommend this book. It's a waste of 500 pages and 6 hours. The only good thing about this was the dynamic of Drew-Nastya-Josh. There was no triangle, but there was a deep friendship. It's so good to see a relationship like theirs. To a lesser extent, Clay is included in there. Probably the only good thing about this book was the friendships and bonding. Character developments, story pace, plot, and everything else just disappointed me so badly I wanted to bang my head multiple times on my desk.
reread in march/april 2021; five stars! ❀ i will never not cry when finishing this book because the ending means so much to me. i love this book and these characters with my whole heart and i’m sad it’s such an unknown book because it honestly deserves more hype. i’m so glad i picked it up again and i know without a doubt i will be picking it up again next year, most likely. or even sooner, when i miss josh bennett (which, lets be honest, is like an everyday thing. i love his character so damn much)
reread in march 2020; five stars ∗ gosh i feel like crying rn!! this is such a hard hitting, emotional novel and i was worried that i wouldn’t have the same emotions or feelings towards this book a second time around, but boy i was wrong. i think i loved reading this even more this time than the first! i’m so glad i decided to pick this up again; i’ve been thinking about moments from this book randomly for about a year now and it was well past time for me to reread it!
5 | y’all i don’t even know what to say about this book. as soon as i finished my library copy, i went on amazon and purchased myself a physical copy. this book is simply amazing and devastating and i cannot believe i’ve never heard of it until a week or so ago. i think i’m speechless, as i really don’t know what to say. i genuinely loved every single thing about this book; the characters, the storyline, the angst, the relationships, the writing, everything. i’m pretty sure this has become a top 10 book for me, and i’m already eager to reread it and (hopefully) annotate it!
reread in march 2020; five stars ∗ gosh i feel like crying rn!! this is such a hard hitting, emotional novel and i was worried that i wouldn’t have the same emotions or feelings towards this book a second time around, but boy i was wrong. i think i loved reading this even more this time than the first! i’m so glad i decided to pick this up again; i’ve been thinking about moments from this book randomly for about a year now and it was well past time for me to reread it!
5 | y’all i don’t even know what to say about this book. as soon as i finished my library copy, i went on amazon and purchased myself a physical copy. this book is simply amazing and devastating and i cannot believe i’ve never heard of it until a week or so ago. i think i’m speechless, as i really don’t know what to say. i genuinely loved every single thing about this book; the characters, the storyline, the angst, the relationships, the writing, everything. i’m pretty sure this has become a top 10 book for me, and i’m already eager to reread it and (hopefully) annotate it!
i cannot put into words how much i adore this book. who knew two little words could make me sob no matter how many times i read them? josh bennett supremacy.
This was a surprising read for me. Although the main characters are teenagers, it is definitely not a YA novel. The protagonists are dealing with horrific loss snd trauma, and the journey of healing is completely different for each character.
Mistakenly got the wrong Sea of Tranquility, but it wasn't wasted. Young adult.
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm sure you've heard about The Sea of Tranquility, awhile back it was all that was talked about in the blogger world. Every blogger I loved was reading and absolutely adoring this book and I'm just now jumping on the band wagon but better late than never right? In honor of the release of the paperback on June 4th I want to add another loving review to the collection of many towards this book because it was wonderful and it's deserving.
Nastya is this mysterious girl, who we know barely anything about, which is always fun. Add to that the fact that she doesn't talk, well except in the shower to herself. I wasn't sure how I felt about her in the beginning but I know I felt something. Her background remained a mystery until the very last parts of the book but I liked that. I liked getting to know her before everyone found out about what happened, it's like I connected with her in a way that I usually couldn't because we didn't have much in common. I ended up loving her and feeling for her and what she was going through, although who wouldn't? She was incredibly screwed up but with reason and I just wanted her to find her way back to living life and being happy. When we're introduced to Josh I honestly thought he was some huge prick but really I was being judgmental and weird. Go figure. I fell in love with him after getting to know him more. Finding out what he'd been through and why he could get away with anything and everything in school made me so sad. On top of Nastya's past it was just one ball of depression thrown my way. Feeling alone is something I think we've all felt at one point in time but he shows us the meaning of being alone and oh how I wish he wasn't. Really both of their situations were complete shit and I wanted nothing more than to just help them be happy because they deserved it. The supporting characters in this book were really interesting and a great mix of personalities. I loved Drew the most, he sort of reminds me of Riley from the Stalk Me Series by Jillian Dodd. He's the best friend of Josh but over time he becomes like a protective big brother for Nastya and I loved it. He was hilarious and at first you think he's just the man ho best friend but we later find out that he's more than that and I liked how Katja gave him some depth and allowed him to lighten the mood of such a serious book.
I love how their story wasn't just a love story. It was about family, redemption, and finding yourself and hopefully the path to happiness too. Katja managed to take an overused plot line for contemporary books and make it her own, giving it depth and such a realistic feeling that I couldn't help but love it. I think every contemporary lover should give this book a chance because it's sure to not disappoint.
Favorite Quotes
"With any other girl I could probably pull out the classic guy fail-safe of walking over and wrapping my arms around her and letting her put her head on my shoulder. It's cheap, but it works. Drew swears by it. But I'm afraid that in this particular instance it would result in one of two things: a string of innovative new expletive or her knee in my balls. My money's on the knee." ~ Josh
"Of course if I were to take the books at their word, I'd also have to believe that all teenage boys go around calling girls baby, because apparently that's the express train to romance. He was an asshole a minute ago, but then he drops the baby on you and it's all over. Uncontrollable swooning and relinquishment of all self-respect activated. Oooh, he called me baby. My panties are wet and I luuuuuv him. Do real boys actually calls girl baby? I don't have enough experience to know. I do know that if a guy ever called me baby, I'd probably laugh in his face. Or choke him." ~ Nastya
"They're like zombie people. Empty. Haunted and endlessly waiting for something. I know what it looks like. These people were normal once. I think about how easily this could be the Leightons if it had been Sarah. How every normal family is one tragedy away from complete implosion." ~ Nastya
Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for providing me with a copy to read and review.
Nastya is this mysterious girl, who we know barely anything about, which is always fun. Add to that the fact that she doesn't talk, well except in the shower to herself. I wasn't sure how I felt about her in the beginning but I know I felt something. Her background remained a mystery until the very last parts of the book but I liked that. I liked getting to know her before everyone found out about what happened, it's like I connected with her in a way that I usually couldn't because we didn't have much in common. I ended up loving her and feeling for her and what she was going through, although who wouldn't? She was incredibly screwed up but with reason and I just wanted her to find her way back to living life and being happy. When we're introduced to Josh I honestly thought he was some huge prick but really I was being judgmental and weird. Go figure. I fell in love with him after getting to know him more. Finding out what he'd been through and why he could get away with anything and everything in school made me so sad. On top of Nastya's past it was just one ball of depression thrown my way. Feeling alone is something I think we've all felt at one point in time but he shows us the meaning of being alone and oh how I wish he wasn't. Really both of their situations were complete shit and I wanted nothing more than to just help them be happy because they deserved it. The supporting characters in this book were really interesting and a great mix of personalities. I loved Drew the most, he sort of reminds me of Riley from the Stalk Me Series by Jillian Dodd. He's the best friend of Josh but over time he becomes like a protective big brother for Nastya and I loved it. He was hilarious and at first you think he's just the man ho best friend but we later find out that he's more than that and I liked how Katja gave him some depth and allowed him to lighten the mood of such a serious book.
I love how their story wasn't just a love story. It was about family, redemption, and finding yourself and hopefully the path to happiness too. Katja managed to take an overused plot line for contemporary books and make it her own, giving it depth and such a realistic feeling that I couldn't help but love it. I think every contemporary lover should give this book a chance because it's sure to not disappoint.
Favorite Quotes
"With any other girl I could probably pull out the classic guy fail-safe of walking over and wrapping my arms around her and letting her put her head on my shoulder. It's cheap, but it works. Drew swears by it. But I'm afraid that in this particular instance it would result in one of two things: a string of innovative new expletive or her knee in my balls. My money's on the knee." ~ Josh
"Of course if I were to take the books at their word, I'd also have to believe that all teenage boys go around calling girls baby, because apparently that's the express train to romance. He was an asshole a minute ago, but then he drops the baby on you and it's all over. Uncontrollable swooning and relinquishment of all self-respect activated. Oooh, he called me baby. My panties are wet and I luuuuuv him. Do real boys actually calls girl baby? I don't have enough experience to know. I do know that if a guy ever called me baby, I'd probably laugh in his face. Or choke him." ~ Nastya
"They're like zombie people. Empty. Haunted and endlessly waiting for something. I know what it looks like. These people were normal once. I think about how easily this could be the Leightons if it had been Sarah. How every normal family is one tragedy away from complete implosion." ~ Nastya
Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for providing me with a copy to read and review.