The Sea of Tranquility | Book Review

Even this cover is freaking gorgeous.

The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sigh. It's so hard to review a book you love.

I stumbled upon this book accidentally. And I will be forever grateful. I definitely had no idea what this book was about even after reading the description (my own misunderstanding.) But I got sucked in immediately, read it in one sitting, in one day. I might have cried a little. I might have laughed a lot. I might have wished and wished and wished that I had written something this good. I definitely give this my highest recommendation.


Writing Technique: ★★★★★ I love Millay's writing style. She is poetic, artful, profound, and hilarious. I highlighted so many passages, it's almost every page. As a writer, I enjoyed finding great examples of foreshadowing and payoff, pacing, tension, showing-not-telling... This is a knockout of a debut from Katja Millay. I can't wait to see what she offers next.

Plot/Story Development: ★★★★ Millay does a great job gradually revealing the backstories of Nastya and Josh. This story unfolds so beautifully and naturally. I found it very realistic and entirely engrossing. Nastya makes a lot of poor/questionable choices. Josh has a lot of real reactions. One of the most rewarding reads I've ever had. Also the ending is freaking wonderful.

Character Development: ★★★★ Nastya and Josh are two pretty broken people when they meet. As they get to know each other, they both are given a chance to move beyond the terrible pain of their past and try to find some kind of normal. But (spoiler alert? I don't think so, but you might be sensitive...) I love that they can't fix each other. Because in real life, broken people need to fix themselves (okay--in real life, everybody needs Jesus to fix them, in my opinion... but that's another story...). Josh can't heal Nastya. And Nastya can't heal Josh. But they learn they've got to do something just by being around each other. And that is a good character arc, if you ask me.

Message/Theme: ★★★★★ First and foremost, the dream of second chances. Pain/death/suffering/anger/hate/revenge v. healing/life/forgiveness/hope/love/friendship/family. Identity. Heaven. Home. Belonging.

Rating: R for language, sexual content and humor, and violence.

Overall: ★★★★★ I adored this book. I read it twice in five days because I wanted to revel in it again. The writing is beautiful. The characters are compelling and unforgettable. The story is moving and inspiring. I hope to write something this good one day.



Some Examples of Why I Love Millay's Writing:

"How come you call her honey and never use terms of endearment on me?" he fake whines.
"I do," Mrs. Leighton says, patting him on the cheek as she walks by. "Just last week I called you the bane of my existence."
"That's right," he says. "That was a good day."


I have a black belt in self-pity. I was an expert in the field. Still am. It's a skill you never forget.


I am an expert in all manners of therapy. The only thing I'm not an expert in is getting them to work. My parents had me in therapy before I even left the hospital, which is the recommended course of action when the devil finds your fifteen-year-old and the afterlife spits her back out. 


Nastya on group therapy:
So that's what it was like every week. I'd sit in a circle and a bunch of people who'd be through as much shit as I had would look at me like I snuck into the club without paying the cover. And I'd feel like screaming and telling them that I had paid it the same as everyone else in the room, I just didn't feel like waving around my receipt.


It was fine when being the Brighton Piano Girl defined my life. when I was making the right choices. When all of my choices were influenced by what my parents wanted me to choose. I let their current steer me, let it smooth and shape me like a stone pushed along the sand until I was perfect. And as soon as I was, I was ripped out of the water and thrown and smashed into a thousand pieces that I can't put back together. I don't know where they go. And there are so many missing that the ones that are left don't fit together anymore.
I think I'll stay in pieces. I can shift them, rearrange, depending on the day, depending on what I need to be. I can change on a whim and be so many different girls and none of them has to be me.


I chose the silence and everything that came along with it because I wasn't a good enough liar to speak.


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 hand.


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The Book Thief | Book Review

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh this book. It is incredible. Painful. Dark. Slow. Mournful. Beautiful. I loved it. And yes, I hated it. But it is a book that strikes you with its realness despite its fantastic elements. I give it 4.5 Magnificent Stars--it loses points only because its realism robbed me of the happiest of endings. The ending is good, probable, and acceptable. But not quite as hopeful as I would have preferred.


Writing Technique: ★★★★★ This is not a fast read. But it is grand because Zusak's writing is thoughtful, poetic, shocking, and different. I love that the narrator is Death, and that Death doesn't tell the whole story in a straight line. Had we come to that ending with no warning, I might have been enraged. But style of the storytelling is such that it is engaging and surprising. One must be patient. One must be focused. But ultimately, it is a rewarding story to finish.

Character Development: ★★★★ Liesel, Papa, Mama, Rudy, Max - these characters have my heart. Completely. Even Death. In trying to explain this book to others, I've struggled. It's about Liesel, mostly. But ultimately, it's about her effect on Death, the "person." She grows and changes and does many great things. Papa is the most admirable man. Rudy, a boy to love and follow. And Max, a man robbed of everything who finds hope in a family of misfits. And ultimately, the last words of this book do not spoil anything but aptly portray Death's thoughts and perhaps reason for telling this story (read them or not, it's up to you):

"I wanted to tell the book thief many things, about beauty and brutality, but what could I tell her about those things that she didn't already know? I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race - that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant. None of those things, however, came out of my mouth. All I was able to do was turn to Liesel Meminger and tell her the only truth I truly know. I said it to the book thief and I say it now to you. I am haunted by humans."

Plot/Story Development: ★★★1/2 I will say that not as many things happen in this book as are felt. Experienced. Learned. The plot moves slowly. But it is not a story that's really about things happening as people and their relationships in a tumultuous time (World War II).

Message/Theme: ★★★★★ life, death, love, hate, suffering, pain, struggle, fight, family, friendship, hope, war, peace, ethics, racism, power, strength v. weakness, The Power of Words, the essence of humanity.

Audiobook Performance: ★★★★1/2 Allan Corduner is the perfect voice for Death. His German, French, British (etc.) accents are all masterful. Fantastic audiobook if one can be patient enough to listen and if one doesn't fall asleep (as his voice is comforting and lulling even when discussing the darkest of subjects).

Rating: PG/PG-13 for language (there is muuuuuch swearing in German--which I rather enjoyed--and also some in English.)

Overall: ★★★★1/2 One of the best historical novels I've read. Quirky. Dark. Brilliant.



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Days of Blood & Starlight | Book Review

Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm trying not to freak out about this book. Trying really hard. Mostly failing. There's a chance this is the best book I've read all year. And this is book 70 for 2012. So, that's saying something. I feel absolutely inspired by this story. I want to study it, and dissect it, and tear it apart, and put it together just so I can see how all the pieces work because it is actually 100% total gloriousness. I liked Daughter of Smoke and Bone -- a lot. I really really liked it. But it doesn't hold a candle to the magnitude of Days.


Writing Technique: ★★★★1/2 Taylor's style is incredible. Beautiful and comedic and dramatic and conversational and poetic and surreal/fantastic all at the same time. The words she uses--UGH. The way she strings them together--GEEZ. How is she so dang good?? I envy this writer so much. Her manipulation of the English language is divine.

Character Development: ★★★★★ Where to even start? Book 1 followed just Karou and Akiva. Book 2 follows like 17 people. All SO unique. The difference between Akiva and Liraz and Hazael and Joram and Jael is galaxies wide even tho they're all angels. Akiva's plot is a path to redemption and OMG did I love watching him get there?! Liraz and Hazael are so much more complex than they were in Book 1, and I fell in love with both of them and both made me straight up cry because the changes they went through. And then Karou - GEEZ LOUISE! Her journey is just PAIN. And Ziri and AGH! There are so many. Watching these "people" fight and try to survive and get revenge and start rebellions and work together and OMG. Rife with character development. Taylor doesn't not fail in the deep complex changing growing lovable hateable character department.

Plot/Story Development: ★★★★★ Um... seriously. Perfection. I can't even tell you why it's good without spoiling things for you. But there are soooo many twists that I just didn't see coming. Hazael?! Birds? Ziri? The Wolf? I-- I-- There was too much. It's so freaking good. At the end of like every chapter, I would look up and go, NO FREAKING WAY. And I kept thinking I knew where things were going, but I had no idea. Sigh. I'm so sad this book is over.

Message/Theme: ★★★★★ Revenge --> Revenge begets revenge begets revenge. Thus the eternality of war. --> Revenge is not the path to a better life. Hope. There is a better way to live. Peace is worth fighting for (that sounds contradictory but it makes sense in the book). Redemption. Love. Hatred. Friendship. Family. What truly makes a monster--appearances or actions? Integrity. Second chances. Resurrection. Rebellion. Hope. Hope. Hope.

Overall: ★★★★★ I wish I could give this more stars. I wish I could accurately express how great this book is. This caliber of story is what I'm attempting to write, and honestly it's overwhelming and inspiring to have seen someone do this so well. I am blown away.

And I HATE that I have to wait OVER A YEAR to see how it all ends. I could DIE before then!!!



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