Review: The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

The Sea of Tranquility

By: Katja Millay

Pub. Date: November 13, 2012

Publisher: Atria Books

Pages: 448

Source: Netgalley

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.

The Sea of Tranquility is one of those stories that makes you want to savor every single word, every single page. The writing was just so beautiful and lyrical. This is not one of those stories where something exciting is happening on every other page. It is a very slow, character driven novel, and Katja Millay completely makes it work.

In this story we have two completely broken characters, Nastya Kasnikov and Josh Bennett. Nastya is new to school and does not want to draw any attention to herself, she also doesn't speak. Nobody knows what her story is. Josh on the other hand has grown up in this town, everyone knows his story and everyone leaves him alone, everyone except his best friend, Drew. Every person in Josh's family has died, and he keeps to himself because of his fear of losing anyone else. But when the two of them meet, and start spending time together, neither of them talking, it is what's going to help both of them heal from their traumatic pasts.

I could not help but be swept into the lives of these characters. Nastya and Josh were so perfectly written, and so was the best friend, Drew. Drew came off as this popular, cocky guy, but he is the only one who wouldn't leave Josh alone and the two have been there for each other through everything. Drew ended up being a really good guy and brought some much needed comic relief to the story.

The Sea of Tranquility should not be missed. You will feel every single emotion while reading it, and the ending was perfectly written. I also the cover with the ice cream and the faces. You can get the book as an ebook for now, and in June the hardcover comes out, and I can not wait to get my hands on this beautiful book!