The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

Nastya doesn't talk. She can, but she doesn't. But when she goes to a new school, she meets the obnoxious Drew and his friend Josh. And that leads her to the start of healing. I say start of, because at the end of the book, she's better but not healed.

There's not much to say about the plot. It's interesting, and it's told from the perspective of Nastya and Josh as they get to know each other. The whole story is centered on what happened to Nastya, and there's a pretty good ending.

I think, the stars of this book are the characters. There are a bunch of characters, but the book focuses on three - Nastya, Josh and Drew. Nastya is angry, bitter, and if you knew what happened to her, you'd think she has the right. Josh has had people pitying him for the longest time ever. Drew should be the most well-adjusted (he comes from a happy, normal family), but he's a playboy. The way the three of them interact (and no, Drew is not the antagonist here. I don't even think there's an antagonist) is wonderful.

But, there's a huge caveat to this book. Even though the protagonists are all teenagers, this is definitely not YA. I won't recommend it to anyone except those that are mature. While the story and characters are great, there is a lot of swearing. And the swearing is pretty offensive to, I almost stopped reading, but the characters had hooked me.

Apart from the swearing, it's a little explicit. There are no explicit sex scenes, but all the characters constantly make dirty jokes. If this sort of thing bothers you, don't even bother picking up this book.

Basically, I think this book is good. Unfortunately, the amount of swearing and sexual references means that I can't recommend it unhesitatingly. If you're interested, consider the kind of reader you are before deciding if you want to pick this up.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.