Review: The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

Publisher: Atria Books
Pages: 448

Received: Received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley

Release Date: June 4, 2013
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Goodreads Synopsis:

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.

My Review:

I was nervous to read this book and I kept putting it off, there has been so much love for this that I didn't want to be the odd one out. Now that I have finally read it, I can gladly say that I loved it as much as almost everyone else out there. I don't read a lot of NA books because they all seem very similar, but there was something about this book that was just beautiful and yet crushing. It's hard to talk about this book without giving too much away, but I will try my best.

The beginning of the story is intriguing and really draws readers in, this book moves slow and really gives readers a chance to get to know and understand both Nastya and Josh. Both of these characters have issues and would rather be left alone, but somehow they come to find solace in one another. What I really loved was that you could really see how the romance happened between these two characters, they get to know one another and it's not just a leap into a relationship. This book is all about these two characters and you can tell Katja Millay spent her time really letting you connect with both of them.

The friendships throughout the book really added to the story as well, seeing how people are able to help these characters through their issues in different ways. But most of all, Nastya and Josh really help one another through their problems. My favorite secondary character was definitely Drew, something about him was adorable and he was such an amazing friend.

I love that this story is all about the characters and watching them grow with one another. But what I really took from this story is the way that these characters learn to start over again and really take back their lives. It takes us a while to really learn what happened to Nastya, but once you do you really understand why she acts like she does.

This is such a beautiful New Adult book, and very different from the few that I have read. I definitely recommend this book to readers that love the NA type books. Second chances is a huge theme, and I loved how all the characters learned about how to appreciate second chances.