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alliconti 's review for:
Beyond That, the Sea
by Laura Spence-Ash
4.5 Stars, Rounded Up.
Beyond That, The Sea is a debut novel by Laura Spence-Ash. While this is historical fiction and WWII adjacent, it doesn’t feature any brutal details of war or throw facts at you like a Wikipedia page. Rather Beyond That, The Sea was character driven and I was swept up in a story of two families, forever connected.
The book tells of 11-year-old Beatrix Thompson who has been sent to America to escape the threat of war and bombs in London. Bea is taken in by the Gregory family and the first part of the novel tells the story of her five years in America spent at the family’s home in Boston and their picturesque summer home in Maine. Bea is sandwiched between Nancy and Ethan Gregory’s two children, William and Gerald. Parts two and three take place when Bea returns to the UK and follows the three children, and their families, as they grow into adulthood.
A few things I loved about this novel:
- Short Chapters: the chapters are often only a few pages, sometimes only a few paragraphs, and this kept me going, especially when the book felt slow at the start.
- The different perspectives: throughout the novel, you get the perspective of all three Thompsons and all adult members of the Gregory family.
- The time jumps: I loved how, especially in parts two and three, the novel seemed to move quicker - very much how time as an adult does - compared to the slower pace of the characters’ childhood.
- The found-family dynamic. I was enthralled with Bea’s relationship with the Gregory’s and my heart ached when they were parted.
- The beautiful descriptions of New England. I felt like I could smell Mrs. G’s Maine Wild Blueberry Muffins and fresh sea air as I read the story. I was swept up in the setting and it made me long for my own New England childhood.
A few things I didn’t love:
- Some problematic content is never explored or glossed over. Nancy and Rose both do some questionable things that are never explained, explored, and seem out of line with their character.
- While the relationships in parts one and two seem very well developed, I thought the ending of the book and the pivotal relationship in part three felt rushed. I wanted more and felt so invested in that story but then kind of let down by how quickly it wrapped up and jumped into the future with the epilogue.
- Most of the chapters have dialogue that is italicized and does not use quotation marks. While that’s not the end of the world, I found it difficult to follow who was saying what at certain points and found myself re-reading paragraphs repeatedly to figure out who said what when. I also listened to a few chapters on audio and would recommend the audio experience because this doesn’t come into play there!
Many thanks to NetGalley, Celadon Books, Celadon Audio and Laura Spence-Ash for an Advanced Reader Copy of Beyond That, The Sea.
Beyond That, The Sea is a debut novel by Laura Spence-Ash. While this is historical fiction and WWII adjacent, it doesn’t feature any brutal details of war or throw facts at you like a Wikipedia page. Rather Beyond That, The Sea was character driven and I was swept up in a story of two families, forever connected.
The book tells of 11-year-old Beatrix Thompson who has been sent to America to escape the threat of war and bombs in London. Bea is taken in by the Gregory family and the first part of the novel tells the story of her five years in America spent at the family’s home in Boston and their picturesque summer home in Maine. Bea is sandwiched between Nancy and Ethan Gregory’s two children, William and Gerald. Parts two and three take place when Bea returns to the UK and follows the three children, and their families, as they grow into adulthood.
A few things I loved about this novel:
- Short Chapters: the chapters are often only a few pages, sometimes only a few paragraphs, and this kept me going, especially when the book felt slow at the start.
- The different perspectives: throughout the novel, you get the perspective of all three Thompsons and all adult members of the Gregory family.
- The time jumps: I loved how, especially in parts two and three, the novel seemed to move quicker - very much how time as an adult does - compared to the slower pace of the characters’ childhood.
- The found-family dynamic. I was enthralled with Bea’s relationship with the Gregory’s and my heart ached when they were parted.
- The beautiful descriptions of New England. I felt like I could smell Mrs. G’s Maine Wild Blueberry Muffins and fresh sea air as I read the story. I was swept up in the setting and it made me long for my own New England childhood.
A few things I didn’t love:
- Some problematic content is never explored or glossed over. Nancy and Rose both do some questionable things that are never explained, explored, and seem out of line with their character.
- While the relationships in parts one and two seem very well developed, I thought the ending of the book and the pivotal relationship in part three felt rushed. I wanted more and felt so invested in that story but then kind of let down by how quickly it wrapped up and jumped into the future with the epilogue.
- Most of the chapters have dialogue that is italicized and does not use quotation marks. While that’s not the end of the world, I found it difficult to follow who was saying what at certain points and found myself re-reading paragraphs repeatedly to figure out who said what when. I also listened to a few chapters on audio and would recommend the audio experience because this doesn’t come into play there!
Many thanks to NetGalley, Celadon Books, Celadon Audio and Laura Spence-Ash for an Advanced Reader Copy of Beyond That, The Sea.