Book Review – The Sea Of Tranquility by Katja Millay

The Sea of Tranquility
This one is easily going to be one of my favorites this year. And I mean TOP favorites. A subdued and somber story but with a great measure of warmth that took my breath away. I was absolutely and personally touched by the time I reached the end. Every part of me was wholeheartedly invested in these complex characters, and even the “normal” moments, and the facetious characters brought a certain depth to the story as a whole. It was… profound. The heartache tangible (and unimaginable) and yet… so real.

The writing is eloquent, thoughtful and wonderfully introspective. This may be a story revolving around two seventeen/eighteen year olds, but the level of maturity, the intense emotional issues and the personal struggles they both face are far beyond their years. And thanks to my book friends that adamantly recommended this, I was privileged to partake in their journey with them, while simultaneously experiencing it with so many of you!

Paula: Just finished Sea Of Tranquility and it was amazing!!

Tiffany: SEA OF TRANQUILITY by Katja Millay should be put at the top of Everyones TBR LIST!! It was recommended by Paula on Your Facebook page!! I Loved it!! One of my top 5 faves so far this Year!! Its Y/A but soooo Much More..Made me feel all sorts of Good and Bad..Made me Giggle out loud..Made me Teary eyed…Sad it ended..She could Prob write a sequel..Wish she would..:))))))

Amy: Just read the sea of tranquility, omg loved it!!

Abby: The Sea of Tranquility was extraordinary. The depth of the writing, the gut-wrenching emotion, and the incessant mystery made it by far one of my favorite reads of this year. I think it might even fall above On Dublin Street on my list of favorites!

Danielle: Just finished Sea of Tranquility and it was the best I have spent in a long time!

Claudia: Oh My God..just finished reading The Sea of Tranquility and I can’t stop crying. It’s been a while since a book has had this much of an impact on me. AMAZING

Maryse’s Book Blog: … right now I’m heading into “The Sea of Tranquility”. You guys have yet again blown up my “suggestion box” with this one and it already has 25 FIVE STAR reviews. Oh and did I mention, it ONLY has 5 star reviews? Yep. I AM SOOOOOO IN!!!!!

sidenote from Maryse <—- as of  this review, it’s up to 39 FIVE star reviews… ONLY five star reviews!

Brandi: I finished it today. One of the best books I’ve read lately. Loved it.

Nicolle: Yes!! It was a great book!! It is considered a YA, I think- but don’t let that hold you back!! 🙂 not usually my style either but I loved it!!

Jocelyn:  Amazing story. One of the best of the year.

Ana: This is hands down one of the best books I’ve ever read. It is truly a work of art, beautifully poetic and just down right awesome. How a story so depressing and sad can be told in a way that is so compelling and draws you in bit doesn’t “depress” you but has you holding out for the sunshine in the storm is fantastic. I need to pull out the thesaurus because my vocabulary does not contain the words to express how wonderful this book is.

After receiving that many enthusiastic recommendations, I jumped in almost immediately. At first the synopsis had me a bit… hrmmm… hesitant, but the actual reader enthusiasm for it was enough for me. This was obviously going to be so much more than what I perceived from that synopsis. And now that I look back on the synopsis, it is exactly right, but I understand it better and it makes sense, now that I have “lived” it.

This quote direct from the summary, though, I couldn’t have said any better (and I was actually going to mention that “slow buildup”):

The Sea of Tranquility is a slow-building, character-driven romance about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.

It was a slow start, but not so slow as to want to put it down. But slow enough that I wondered if I’d be as passionate about it in the end, as my fellow readers were. I knew I was liking it, I just wasn’t sure I was loving it. It didn’t take too long for me to start feeling it, though…

Maryse’s Book Blog: I’m 37% in right now. Very good. It’s a bit slower to start… but the writing is so eloquent and amazing, and I KNOW i’m in for something big.

Tiffany: Yep..She is a very talented Author!! Her characters make you Feel for them and want to Know them!! So glad your Excited Maryse!!

Takisha: Started this one yesterday night..just finished a few minutes ago….LOVED IT! I just stopped crying and took a deep breathe….smh

Maryse’s Book Blog: Ok I have been furious twice in this book. Right now is the second time, and I can’t even ….

Takisha: Man i cant wait to know what has you furious…….

Lise: Breathe… relax….

Maryse’s Book Blog: Oh GOD I LOVED IT!!!! I mean… I enjoyed it (as much as you can enjoy that kind of sad pain, you know…) it was a long read, but sooooo deep and eloquent and just WOW. The end absolutely moved me, and as I stand back and reflect on it as a whole, perfect. A different kind of read, but so BIG. LOVED.

Sandra: I finished reading it a couple of hours ago and my heart still feels like it’s being squeezed. Love it!!

Maryse’s Book Blog: Josh is my kind of hero perfection… his reactions so real and imperfect and human, damaged (with reason), brooding (with reason), emotionally detached (with reason) and still soooo “there” … so vulnerable. LOVED it. HIM.

So what’s it about? Well, no matter what I say, it’s not going to come close to the actual “feel” of the story. I won’t be able to do it justice by trying to tell you what it’s about. Luckily you have the book that will do that for you, but as I explained it to my husband and noticed his great interest in it (after all… he didn’t “air-choke” me into leaving him alone about this one), I suppose I can “short-form” it for you here.

Nastya moves in with her aunt a few cities away from her parent’s home. There’s…. something about her. Something from her past that she is escaping and she’s taking on a new life. Starting a new high school where nobody knows her. But she’s going in with a plan. To keep everyone away from her. And that’s not hard with her personal angry/hot-mess “makeover”. Oh. And that fact that she doesn’t talk. At all. To anyone. EVER.

I don’t dress this way because I like it so much or because I want people to stare at me in general. But people are going to stare at me for the wrong reasons anyway, and if they are going to stare at me for the wrong reasons, then at least I should get to pick them.

Plus, a little unwelcome staring is a small price to pay for scaring everyone off. I don’t think there’s a girl in the school who will want to talk to me, and any boy who’s interested probably won’t be much for conversation. And so what? If I’m going to get unwanted attention, better it be for my ass than for my psychosis and my effed-up hand.

Her plan *mostly* works (of course there are the occasional bad-boy propositions, lewd suggestions, and popular girl sneers). And while she struggles with her emotions and reactions at times, she hides it well.

Until she sees “Josh”, who seems to have a better handle on this “keep away” thing.

… there is no one sitting on the bench, except him. When I look more closely, there’s no one even hanging around in the immediate vicinity. It’s like there’s an invisible force field surrounding this space and he’s the only one inside it.

Gorgeous and brooding, he has this “nobody mess with me” thing down to a science. And he really doesn’t care what anyone thinks. There’s just something about him that lends to a certain amount of deference. He’s not so much the “freak” as he is… respected. Seemingly by everyone.

If you ask me, the weird part about it is how everybody reacted. They all shut up. They didn’t question him, didn’t laugh or ask why, they didn’t ignore him and continue with the ridicule, and they didn’t turn their derision on him. They just stopped. He said enough and that was that. Because I said so. End of story. Don’t make me have to tell you twice.

Nastya is… intrigued.

And I’ll leave you at that. These are two broken characters with real reasons for their anti-social behavior. This is not just angst for the sake of drama (yes, I know, I like that kind of stuff, 😉 but I also love getting into something deep and substantial). There is a solid background to who they were, who they are now, and who they are becoming, and this book will take you on their journey. Be patient. It’s good right from the start, but just know, that it ends up being so much more than “good”. It is AMAZING.

I know at that moment what he’s given me and it’s not a chair. It’s an invitation, a welcome, the knowledge that I am accepted here. He hasn’t given me a place to sit. He’s given me a place to belong.

It literally rendered me speechless, in awe. When I finally recovered and picked my jaw up off the floor, I couldn’t stop talking about it! I felt… enlightened. It was a powerful story in it’s own broken way. Told from both main character’s perspectives, along with an incredibly believable cast of secondary characters that will have you laughing with relief at times, and struggling not to cry, at others. A darker read, yes, but so…. fulfilling.

Running away is her thing. Hiding is mine.

5 stars!!

➔➔➔  Looking for more of my must-read recommendations? Browse my 5 star and 4.5 star and 4 star reviews. 😀