The Sea of Tranquility

by Katja Millay (Goodreads Author)

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

Source: eARC for Honest Review via NetGalley
Genre: YA

My Review...

First off! Wow!

I did not know what to expect from this story but what I did get was everything. I think I went through every emotion with this book. It was so well done and the writing was brilliant.

Let's start with Natasya (Sunshine) - A girl with so many issues you don't even know where to start but at the same time she is desperately crying out for help.

Josh- Another broken soul with his own but different baggage. So lonely, broken and needy for love and acceptance.

Drew- The bad ass player with the heart of gold.

Clay- The quirky artist who can see beauty where most others can't.

The Leighton's - Probably one of the most awesome families ever. I would love to have a mom and dad like them so understanding and loving.

The Leighton's Josh, Drew and Clay were able to see the true beauty of Natasya even before she was able to see it.

It is really hard to put into words the beauty and brilliance of the story. There were so many elements that blew me away. From the characters to the events and the journey of healing.

The fact that Natasya is mainly silent through the whole book was so well done and you got to be in her head so much more. You got to feel her brokenness and her longing to be whole again. What happened to her is so heartbreaking and your heart just goes to her. I was routing for her the whole way through to have a slice of happiness and joy that she totally deserved.

Josh and his force field was so visceral and real. No ONE should have to deal with that much loss and especially at such a young age. It's so true that when this happens no one knows what to say or how to interact so it is so much easier to stay away then befriend. Thank goodness there was Drew and his amazing family which gave a piece of love and acceptance to Josh.

This story was not just about Josh and Natasya but the growth and healing of everyone involved.

The fear of losing is a hard concept to swallow for most. Losing can be an identity, family, love, etc... but this fear is what brought Josh and Sunshine together. They were two broken halves which made a whole. They were both two teenagers who had to grow up WAY to fast.

This journey was so beautiful and poetic with so many emotional twists and turns in between.