Review: The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

Name of book: The Sea of Tranquility
Author: Katja Millay
Publication:  November 13th 2012 by Atria Books
Genre: YA Contemporary
Source: Provided by the publisher...
Goodreads

I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.

Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.

Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he gets to know her, the more of an enigma she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to.

The Sea of Tranquility is a rich, intense, and brilliantly imagined story about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.

-- My Rating --

4.5 Oscars / 5

-- My Thoughts --

    When a book gets a lot of attention from the blogging world, I always end up disappointed. Maybe because I put a lot of expectations into it. And although, I tried not to do that, I think I put a lot into this book, too. But happily, it met my expectations.

     Nastya is a mysterious girl with a hidden past. She lives in a bad, bad world. But when she meets Josh Bennet, everything changes. Josh has always been on the outside. No one wants to be near someone who seems more like a magnet for death. But when Nastya comes around and refuses to go away, he lets down his walls. But the more he gets to know her, the more mysterious she becomes. Will they get their happily ever after or will Nastya's past tear them apart?

     Such a captivating plot. I love these dark, raw contemporary reads with so much reality that you wanna tear the pages out. This book was like that. Needless to say, it was a character-driven story. I definitely could NOT connect with Nasty, but I still felt for her. And I loved her for still being there, after all that had happened to her. She is persistent, which I have in common and talks a lot, which I have in common, too. (Yes, I am talkative, moving on...). Josh, oh my sweet, Josh. He gave me goose bumps all around. I just wanted to cuddle him and be there for him and save him from all that has happened to him over the years. Kodos for Katja Millay! One of the few authors that make a book feel like a real story, with characters jumping off the pages. Along with Nicholas Sparks...

     With all the glowing reviews and raving bloggers and best-selling charts, I don't have to say more. I would recommend this book to everyone who loves some dark, realistic tale! And Katja Millay! I will be on the look out for you!

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It's a little bit devastating being surrounded by people who can do what you can't anymore. People who create. People whose souls no longer live in their bodies because they've leached so much of themselves into their work. Josh. Clay. My mother. I want to steal from them to let myself live. - Nastya

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“Just so you know,” I inform him, “one day, I’m going to get tired of sharing your affection with that coffee table and I’m going to make you choose.” “Just so you know,” he mimics me, “I would chop that table up and use it for firewood before I would ever choose anything over you.”