Author: Katja Millay
Genre: YA Contemporary
Rating: 5/5 stars
"I hate my left hand. I hate to look at it. I hate it when it stutters and trembles and reminds me that my identity is gone. But I look at it anyway; because it reminds me that I'm also going to find the boy who took everything from me. I'm going to kill the boy who killed me, and when I kill him, I'm going to do it with my left hand."
You know those books that you automatically feel you're going to love just by reading the prologue? This was one of those books for me. I was pulled into the story straight away and I loved every minute of it. This is my kind of YA contemporary book that I love and it's because it's beautiful in every single possible way.
The characters were completely real and had so much depth to them. There was none of that cliche bullshit romance in this book (that I absolutely despise) and this made it all the more extraordinarily breathtaking.
"Nastya (pronounced NAH-stee-ya) Kashnikov", our female main character is a silent warrior (literally). Ever since she was 'murdered' two and a half years ago she's been struggling to pick up and put together what's left of her life and to finally seek revenge on the boy who destroyed the girl she once was before. Because of this incident she doesn't speak anymore, not that she can't but because she doesn't want to. Nastya's fragile and flawed but at the same time she's got this amazing strength and fierceness in her.
Josh Bennett, our male main character on the other hand is definitely not your typical male character who's soul purpose is to save the emotionally broken girl whilst also scoring himself a girlfriend. This is because he is broken too due to the reason being that almost every single person he ever loved and cared about is dead. Josh's way of dealing with his grief made everyone at school stay away from him which is exactly what he wanted. He unconsciously built an imaginary forcefield around himself which Nastya notices and this ultimately is what lures her into helplessly finding herself being intrigued with this mysterious boy who everyone seems to be so afraid of.
Last but not least, another important character named Drew Leighton is clearly one that is to blow all the readers minds. He is depicted as the extremely hot and popular guy at school who everyone loves and who all the girls desperately want to screw. He's a player who's cocky, a complete douchebag and basically all the things that a typical male jock in a YA book is. When you first meet Drew he's the kind of guy you want to punch in the dick but once you get to know, understand and peel back all the layers under his outer image you realise that it's a hug you want to give him, not a punch. So in saying this, I have to applaud Katja Millay on the amazing character development of Drew and also on the interesting friendship between him and Nastya.
Romance
The relationship between Nastya and Josh develops quite slowly but I think that is what makes their relationship so different and beautiful. It's not rushed so it doesn't feel forced or fake and it's free of any cringe-worthy moments. It is one that will surely send all the readers on an emotional roller coaster ride. Despite the numerous amount of flaws and short-comings both characters have their relationship felt so real even though it wasn't ever set in stone. Both characters felt that there was some kind of imaginary string pulling them towards each other however neither of them wanted to make the first move and ruin the bond they already had with one another. They constantly thought in their minds that they weren't going to let themselves fall in love but it was obvious that as soon as they thought that they were already falling in love. I siriusly don't know what else to write or how to describe their beautiful yet complex relationship so if you want to know for yourself then get to reading the book!
Overall thoughts
I'll admit it is a pretty slow read because there's a lot of building which then leads to the story slowly unravelling to the readers. If you're an impatient person then inject yourself with a dose of patience because in the end this book will be worth your time.
Katja Millay's writing is poetic, stunning and full of raw emotion. I'll finish off by saying that The Sea of Tranquility is a story filled with love, lust, passion, pain, loss, grief, abuse, power, friendship, humour and hope, and is a must-read for those looking for a meaningful and emotional read that will make them both smile and cry.
Quotes
Now here are a few of my favourite quotes/moments from the book (spoiler-ish):
"Personally, I'd rather shove a cactus up my ass, but apparently that option isn't on the table, so I might as well just rip the Band-Aid off now and get it over with." -Nastya
"I feel like grabbing my crotch and checking to see if my balls are still there because I think they may be in her pocket and I need to get them back." -Josh
"I slide down out of the chair and get as low as I can to the ground so I can twist my head around and see what he's talking about. And I do and it's unmistakable. There, on the underside of the seat, is an engraving of the sun." -Nastya
"It wasn't so much that I wanted to see her again," he says, looking at me with the depth of more than seventeen years in his eyes. "I wanted her to see you." -Josh
"I assume we're alone," he says, turning and locking the door. "You know this is like the fourth bathroom I've looked for you in. I was starting to fear for my safety." -Drew
"I'm not sure how long we sit in Josh's truck, holding hands, surrounded by darkness and unspoken regrets. But it's long enough to know that there are no stories or secrets in the world worth holding onto more than his hands." -Nastya
"I love you, Sunshine," I tell her before I lose my nerve. "And I don't give a shit whether you want me to or not." -Josh
Until my next review, ave atque vale.
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