January “Recommended by…” Part Two

January 30, 2014 "Recommended by...", Book Review 0

“Recommended by…” is a monthly feature in which an awesome bookish person recommends a book that I just have to read. It’s posted in two parts. Part one is the intro to the recommender and the recommendation. Part two posts later in the month and recaps my thoughts on the book. 

Check out Part One here. 

My January recommendation was from the ever-amazing Liza. Seriously, she is one of the nicest and most genuine people you could ever hope to meet. You should check out her blog and follow her on twitter and goodreads. She recommended The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay.

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.

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 Thoughts: I had been hearing great things about this book and kept meaning to read it. I even bought the ebook. Yet somehow it kept getting pushed back behind other books (oh, the story of my bookish life!) So, when Liza chose The Sea of Tranquility as one of her recommendations I was thrilled. This is exactly why I started this feature! 

The Sea of Tranquility is not a light read! I read it in one day but not in one sitting. There were many times when I had to stop for a bit because I just needed to process what I was reading. Both Nastya and Josh are incredibly broken characters. They’re surviving the only way they know how but it can be painful to see.  It’s also what makes the book so beautiful. 

I think my favorite part of the reading experience was getting to know the characters and all the things that went in to making them who they are. There are some pretty major things we don’t learn until near the end. And honestly, much of what we do know turns out to be not entirely accurate. This works for me. It’s like when you meet someone and form first impressions that may or may not be correct. Since we get the story from more than one perspective it’s even better.

The Sea of Tranquility grabbed my attention and kept me invested until the end. It’s a beautiful story of how life goes on. Thanks so much to Liza for the recommendation! 

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