The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay
Published September 5th 2012 by Antisocialite Press LLC
About the book:'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.'
Full of rage and without a purpose, former pianist Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone discovering her past and to make the boy who took everything from her pay.
All 17 year-old Josh Bennett wants is to build furniture and be left alone, and everyone allows it because it’s easier to pretend he doesn’t exist. When your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.
Everyone except Nastya, a hot mess of a girl who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. The more he gets to know her, the more of a mystery she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he may ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding or if he even wants to.
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.
Please Note: This book contains mature content including profanity, drug/alcohol use, and sexual situations/language.
My Thoughts
What an emotional ride. I feel spent after finishing this book. It broke my heart and made me happy all at once. I was literally on edge as I read this book because I couldn't stand the thought of anything bad happening again to these two damaged souls. All I wanted was for them to get their happy ever after.
Nastya is a broken girl who's been through such a traumatic experience that she doesn't feel she's worth loving. Because she should be dead. She lives her life as a lie, pretending she's someone else because it's easier then telling the truth. She refuses to talk (literally hasn't spoken in a year) and thinks that shocking people into staying away from her is how she can get through life. She carries the secrets of what happened to her and believes that the worst thing that could happen to her now is to love or be loved. She doesn't want to feel any responsibility to anyone. Even when her family tries so hard to break through her walls or get her help - she pushes them away because she doesn't want to disappoint them.
Then she meets John Bennett. Josh Fucking Bennett. A guy who's dealt with his own share of horrible life-altering experiences, who lives in his own 'force field' that scares everyone in keeping their distance from him. He also believes in not getting close to people because in the end, they just leave. So he keeps to himself and does the one thing that he's passionate about - woodwork and building things.
What he's not expecting is that Nastya will push her way into his life and break down his walls until he has no choice but to let her in. And once that happens - there's no turning back. There is an undeniable pull between them and only they can save each other, regardless of their constant battle to deny it. Neither can admit to themselves or each other how they truly feel and it's maddening. Then something happens that finally puts all of the secrets out in the open and they have to decide if everything they have is worth believing in...is there really hope and a chance for happiness regardless of the shit life you've been dealt.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Drew and his family, who also play a big role in Nastya's & Josh's lives. The supporting cast in this book were just as important and made a huge impact.
This book will break your heart into a million pieces, make you cry, and then make you blissfully happy for the hope it gives you. It's an eye-opening and gut-wrenching book but it is worth every single page. The last sentence of this book - it was just PERFECT.
And just as a side note - it is a slower book to start. You have to just keep going and let the writing and the story suck you in. It's not going to grab you immediately - but once it does, you're done for. My stomach is still in knots after finishing it and it won't be anytime soon that I'll stop thinking about this book.
This story is so beautifully written that I have no words to even give it justice except to say - YOU MUST READ IT.
Nastya is a broken girl who's been through such a traumatic experience that she doesn't feel she's worth loving. Because she should be dead. She lives her life as a lie, pretending she's someone else because it's easier then telling the truth. She refuses to talk (literally hasn't spoken in a year) and thinks that shocking people into staying away from her is how she can get through life. She carries the secrets of what happened to her and believes that the worst thing that could happen to her now is to love or be loved. She doesn't want to feel any responsibility to anyone. Even when her family tries so hard to break through her walls or get her help - she pushes them away because she doesn't want to disappoint them.
Then she meets John Bennett. Josh Fucking Bennett. A guy who's dealt with his own share of horrible life-altering experiences, who lives in his own 'force field' that scares everyone in keeping their distance from him. He also believes in not getting close to people because in the end, they just leave. So he keeps to himself and does the one thing that he's passionate about - woodwork and building things.
What he's not expecting is that Nastya will push her way into his life and break down his walls until he has no choice but to let her in. And once that happens - there's no turning back. There is an undeniable pull between them and only they can save each other, regardless of their constant battle to deny it. Neither can admit to themselves or each other how they truly feel and it's maddening. Then something happens that finally puts all of the secrets out in the open and they have to decide if everything they have is worth believing in...is there really hope and a chance for happiness regardless of the shit life you've been dealt.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Drew and his family, who also play a big role in Nastya's & Josh's lives. The supporting cast in this book were just as important and made a huge impact.
This book will break your heart into a million pieces, make you cry, and then make you blissfully happy for the hope it gives you. It's an eye-opening and gut-wrenching book but it is worth every single page. The last sentence of this book - it was just PERFECT.
And just as a side note - it is a slower book to start. You have to just keep going and let the writing and the story suck you in. It's not going to grab you immediately - but once it does, you're done for. My stomach is still in knots after finishing it and it won't be anytime soon that I'll stop thinking about this book.
This story is so beautifully written that I have no words to even give it justice except to say - YOU MUST READ IT.
5 Suns
Yay Brandie! I loved this review on GRs too. Sounds like an emotional but rewarding story. :)
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