The Marky Project: book review

{Review} The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

Title: The Sea of Tranquility
Author: Katja Millay
Publication: June 4, 2013 by Atria Books
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Pages: 434
Format: Paperback

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. (Source: Goodreads)

My Thoughts:

I got this book during the last day of the Fully Booked Anniversary Sale last 2014. I had a staff of the Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street branch looking for this and you can just imagine my joy when she told me that they only had 1 copy left which was the one she was handing over to me. Lucky me! I absolutely adore the cover of this book even before I bought it (because it’s artsy and stuff) and only after reading it have I really come to an understanding of why it is like that. Needless, to say I loved it even more. ≧◡≦

A photo posted by Marky Francisco (@cmarkrin2no) on Sep 26, 2015 at 12:31am PDT

To start off, let me tell you that I had very high expectations of this book. It comes as a highly recommended read by one of my favorite authors, Colleen Hoover. You can read about what she has to say about this book by clicking Here. Suffice to say it was met, if not exceeded. This really brought me on a roller-coaster of feels from beginning to end…

“People like to say love is unconditional, but it’s not, and even if it was unconditional, it’s still never free. There’s always an expectation attached. They always want something in return. Like they want you to be happy or whatever and that makes you automatically responsible for their happiness because they won’t be happy unless you are … I just don’t want that responsibility.” ― Katja Millay, The Sea of Tranquility

We are presented in this story with two characters who have been broken by their circumstances. We follow them on their journey of discovering each other and how through that they are able to pave their way slowly toward their path to salvation. This may sound like just your any other happy ending story but really it’s not. The issues that each of our main characters had at such a young age pushed them to their own dark pit they couldn’t get out of. I felt that the issues in each of our main characters has forced them to grow and reach a sense of maturity that is well beyond their years while at the same time impairing the way they treat the people around them. We are presented not only with their struggles but also of the people around them, who just like them, have also been enveloped in darkness. I am not sure I captured the feel of this books but you really just have to read it to get a feel of how powerful and enlightening this novel is.

“I’m trying to see the magic in everyday miracles now: the fact that my heart still beats, that I can lift my feet off of the earth to walk and that there is something in me worthy of love.” ― Katja Millay, The Sea of Tranquility

I just love love love the writing style of Katja Millay. Everything and I mean every word feels thought of and simply perfect. There is not a single throw away line in this book and every word will just pull you deeper and deeper into the consciousness of our main characters. This book crept to me really really fast and very soon I just found myself totally enveloped in the story. I found myself totally empathizing with the characters and seriously wishing and hoping that all ends well for them. Really, there were time I found myself rolling out flat laughing, crying to the side or at times struggling not to, and sometimes just really really angry and frustrated because it is just that amazing…

“I wished my mother was here tonight, which is stupid, because it’s an impossible wish.” He shrugs and turns to me, drowning the smile that cracks me every time.“It’s not stupid to want to see her again.” “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.” ― Katja Millay, The Sea of Tranquility

Never in my life have I read a book so eloquent and introspective that it seared through every fabric of my being while reading it. This is one book that will not just let you read it. It will push you to “live” it and “feel” every turmoil the characters are going through… It will toy with the whole spectrum of your emotions and I tell you this at the end… you will be thankful for it… for it is really fulfilling… Now excuse me while I go and ponder more on this book I seem to have entered what my fellow bilbliophiles like to call the “Mourning Period”.

Rating:

An unforgettable story of 2nd chances, salvation and ultimately true love… A definite must-read ^_^

About the Author

Katja Millay graduated with a degree in film and television production from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and has worked as a television producer and film studies & screenwriting teacher. Her debut novel The Sea of Tranquility was a recipient of the American Library Association’s Alex Award and was named one of the Best Books of 2013 by the School Library Journal. She currently resides in Florida with her family. Author Image grabbed from Bookbash.net

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book recommendations

{Quick Review} American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang and Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

Title: American Born Chinese

Author: Gene Luen Yang

Publication: September 5th 2006 by First Second
Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Fantasy, Cultural, Graphic Novel
ISBN: 1596431520 (ISBN13: 9781596431522)
Pages: 240
Format: Paperback

All Jin Wang wants is to fit in. When his family moves to a new neighborhood, he suddenly finds that he's the only Chinese American student at his school. Jocks and bullies pick on him constantly, and he has hardly any friends. Then, to make matters worse, he falls in love with an all-American girl...

Born to rule over all the monkeys in the world, the story of the Monkey King is one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables. Adored by his subjects, master of the arts of kung-fu, he is the most powerful monkey on earth. But the Monkey King doesn't want to be a monkey. He wants to be hailed as a god...

Chin-Kee is the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype, and he's ruining his cousin Danny's life. Danny's a popular kid at school, but every year Chin-Kee comes to visit, and every year Danny has to transfer to a new school to escape the shame. This year, though, things quickly go from bad to worse...

My Thoughts

I love how well the author has interwoven the 3 stories in this book! I also think that the author did a very good job in delivering the themes and morals of the story. That art wasn’t necessarily outstanding but I do think that it works for this story. Overall, a very satisfying short read.

Rating

This was a solid 4-stars!!!

About the Author

Gene Yang began drawing comic books in the fifth grade. In 1997, he received the Xeric Grant, a prestigious comics industry grant, for Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks, his first comics work as an adult. He has since written and drawn a number of titles, including Duncan's Kingdom (with art by Derek Kirk Kim) and The Rosary Comic Book. American Born Chinese received National Book Award. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his lovely wife and children and teaches at a Roman Catholic high school.

Title: Anya's Ghost
Author: Vera Brosgol
Publication: March 25th 201 by Square Fish
Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Graphic Novel
ISBN: 1250040019 (ISBN13: 9781250040015)
Pages: 240
Format: Paperback

Anya could really use a friend. But her new BFF isn't kidding about the "Forever" part.

Of all the things Anya expected to find at the bottom of an old well, a new friend was not one of them. Especially not a new friend who’s been dead for a century.

Falling down a well is bad enough, but Anya's normal life might actually be worse. She's embarrassed by her family, self-conscious about her body, and she's pretty much given up on fitting in at school. A new friend—even a ghost—is just what she needs. Or so she thinks.

My Thoughts

Loved the color scheme on this one! The art was also well done. I didn’t feel there was much character development though. And, I really wish it was a lot more spookier. The story was also a tad bit predictable. It was an just an okay read.

Rating

This is around 3.5ish but since I really loved the art, I am rounding it up to 4!

About the Author

Vera Brosgol was born in Moscow, Russia in 1984 and moved to the United States when she was five. She received a diploma in Classical Animation from Sheridan College, and currently works at Laika Inc. in Portland, Oregon drawing storyboards for feature animation.
She has done illustration work for clients such as Nickelodeon, Sony Computer Entertainment, and Simon & Schuster. Her first graphic novel, Anya's Ghost, was published in 2011 by First Second Books. She loves knitting, baking, and trying not to kill her plants.
She hopes you are enjoying looking at her drawings!

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