A review by hiltzmoore
The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

5.0

Had I paid attention to what this book was about, I might not have started it this week, just days after the memorial service for my best friend, who died 6 months ago at age 33 after a long fight with breast cancer. However, reading it when all those emotions were at their strongest ended up really opening my eyes to the simple and tragic beauty that is this book. This is a book about grief, about life being unfair, about loving others even through that unfairness. I loved the deeper concepts about tragedy and grief that were the overall themes of the book, but I loved the simplicity and truth of the characters even more. As someone who lost a parent at age 7 (thank God, only one), I really related to Josh, and loved his interactions with the entire Leighton family - I know how the Leighton "normalcy" is both craved and envied when a young person has suffered a loss. I loved that Drew didn't get written as a stereotypical ass the way many young adult authors might have done, he simply had a bit of immaturity that is expected of someone living a very sheltered life. In fact, I thought this was one of the best YA books I've read, no dumbing down of hard topics or writing down to teens here - great work!

I will take a lot from this book as I move forward with my own current grief. Nastya's realization that there is a difference between self-pity and grief, as well as Josh's assertation that letting go of anger does not mean accepting what has happened were two key take-aways from this book.