Every now and then I come across a book that is fat full of words! I know all books have words but these full of words books, as I call them delve right into the characters thoughts and we have an insight into them that doesn't always happen in other books. The Sea of Tranquility is one of these.
It is told through a dual narrative of Nastya and Josh, the two main characters of this story. At the beginning of the story, Nastya is just registering at new school; she is an elective mute and thoroughout the book the reason why she is like this slowly becomes apparent.
She delibrately choses to wear very short skirts, low revealing tops and high heels and black goth makeup. It's as though she is saying, you can look at me but I don't care.
Even though Nastya doesn't talk, it doesn't stop her from gaining the attention of Drew, one of the really popular guys at school. He doesn't ever take no for an answer and when they go to a party together and she gets very drunk, Drew drops her off at his friend Josh's house. Previous to this, Josh and Nastya had a moment in the school court yard, just looking at each other, but they don't know each other. After Josh looks after her, the pair end up with a very strange kind of relationship. Josh loves to build things and is often found in his garage, making something or other out of wood. Seemingly fascinated, Nastya turns up nearly every night, sitting on the side and watching him work, without a word. She arrives there the first time after almost getting lost late at night when she was out running, something she feels she has to do to rid herself of the horrors in her mind.
I absolutely loved both Drew and Josh. As the second narrator, we get to know Josh very well. Unlike Nastya, whose problems are kept under wraps, Josh's life is not such a mystery. Josh is emancipated due to his whole family being dead. He lives on his own and has problems with letting people get too close to him. However, Josh was an absolute sweetheart and he made my heart melt a little bit. Even though he is lovely, Josh still speaks out about certain things and isn't afraid to speak out to poeple, especially Nastya. It was also interesting to see both the relationship he and Nastya had with Drew and also how they were so different.
I would never have guessed that this was a debut novel. Katja Millay's writing, and her story, is absolutely stunning. I can't remember the last time I read such an amazingly beautiful book that I just couldn't put down. Not only are Millay's characters so interesting and deep, but the story is addictive. I wanted to know the story behind Nastya and her problems. I loved watching Nastya and Josh trust each other more and more with every passing day. I couldn't help but love the secondary characters, who are such a big part of this book.It's not until the last part that we find out where Nastya's Sea Of Tranquility is, I won't say here as I don't want to spoil it for you.
As this is a young adult story it is not the sort of book I would normally read but I wouldn't have missed reading this book, the depth of characterisation was amazing and I loved Josh!
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