Elena Reviews A Re-read - The Sea of Tranquility By Katja Millay

Title: The Sea of Tranquility

Author: Katja Millay

Publication Date: November 2012

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

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.

I wanna start this review by admitting that, the second time reading The Sea of Tranquility was even better and more fulfilling than the first. I was so much more invested in the story for some reason and I enjoyed it immensely! 

The plot itself was more than heart wrenching and unpredictable, which is very rare for contemporaries, considering that most of them don't make your heart race from the intensity of desperately trying to figure out what the f*** is going on. Which is exactly how I felt reading this masterpiece! No, I am not exaggerating. And I'll explain why.

You really don't get the whole picture until you reach the final chapters of the book, which makes the process of reading it even more interesting than you initially thought. The author does a perfect job of leaving readers waiting eagerly and at the very edge of their seats, for something on the characters' pasts. Some revelation that will satisfy their curiosity, even temporarily. Small or big, it doesn't really matter. She gives you some bits and pieces that make you even more intrigued and determined to find out what is going on and that's how you find yourself sitting on your bed, back hunched and muscles stiff, turning the pages like a maniac, being tempted to peak into the following chapters and resisting with all the energy you have left in you, in order to finally finish the book and come across the answers you've been looking for since you started reading. And mind you people, I can count the number of books that have made me act like this on one hand. 

The characters and their development are more than fascinating and I was very impressed with how the author twisted and turn the facts in order to create a fast paced and wonderful read. It goes way deeper than you may realize when you first pick it up and that's where the mystery of the story and where it's going, lies. You can't really tell what is hiding under the surface until you get there. Which is more than exciting if you ask me!

Plus, the writing was beautiful, magical and took my breath away the majority of the time. It really made you feel every single thing and experience it with the characters. The story itself has two narrators which I also loved - because duh, Nastya and Josh? - and I couldn't get enough of reading about their moments together and their feelings for each other.

If you plan on reading the Sea of Tranquility, do not expect a light read though. It's deep, thoughtful and thought provoking and has the ability to break your heart with the truths of it. Everything the characters have gone through will definitely make you reevaluate life itself and realize that, nothing in your life is permanent. I cannot recommend it enough and I'm so glad I finally found the time to re-read it!