Reviews

The Last True Poets of the Sea by Julia Drake

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05olivia15's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

If you have ever grieved and/or fallen in love this book is the absolute blueprint. The prose is gorgeous, unique, and so fumbling and so introspective. It's the kind of book where every couple of sentences you have to put it down and stare off into the middle distance because a void you didn't know you had just opened in your chest.

Bonus points for being deeply nostalgic of New England seaside towns. I spent a lot of my childhood with family on the rocky beaches of New Hampshire eating fried clams out of a paper bag. This book captures that extremely specific salt crust in such a loving way that made me smile. If you've never been, you will want to go, and if those places mean something to you it will make you feel like you're there again.

Violet is such a frustratingly accurate teenage narrator. Her thoughts perfectly capture that experience of discovering some new and beautiful part of your life while being the most miserable you have ever felt. I wanted to reach through the pages, shake her by the shoulders, and just tell her it was going to be ok-- while at the same time wanting to do this to a past version of myself.

I loved this book. If you need a cathartic cry session this is the stuff right here.

ashliebysmashliereads's review against another edition

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3.0

TW - teen sex, disordered eating, self harm, suicidal ideation.

This book was interesting. I found the main character pretty insufferable, but also the portrayal of anxiety attacks incredibly realistic. It was interesting to be inside the brain of an asshole teen girl who is the "okay" sibling in a set of kids when compared to a brother with depression, eating disorders, and suicidal ideation.

Every time I started to really enjoy it, Violet would do something or say something obnoxious again. Idk. It was worth it. I won't reread

katstine's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book really captures the intense, exaggerated but very real feelings of what it’s like to be 16 - falling in love and feeling like the world is falling apart around you. It’s almost an un-coming of age. Violet grew up too young too fast and needed to re-learn how to just be a teenager. To make mistakes and own them, to learn from them. The prose is poetic and beautiful. The characters are unique and feel very real, raw, not trope-y. Overall, a captivating, beautiful story.

suspencebooks's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5

k_galloway's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

caseyaboutthroughout's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Hell yea being gay and having complicated family relationships and repairing said relationships. We contain multitudes

Content Warnings

malvina's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved this book! Every character is so beautifully flawed and human. They just jumped off the page for me. Even when plot points were predictable, they were executed so well that it felt like a reward instead of a cop-out. A depiction of modern teenagehood and contemporary understanding of mental illness that feels real instead of overbearing. There is so much love and tenderness poured into this book.