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A review by samantha_89
Sea by Heidi R. Kling
3.0
I loved Sea. I've been wanting to read it since I started following Heidi R. Kling on Twitter. After quote a bit of time I was finally able to get my hands on a copy, and even with school being busier than ever I managed to finish this fast book in just a few days.
I loved how different this book was from everything else I've read recently. I loved learning about the culture and how everyone was affected by the tsunami. Everything tied together very neatly in the end.
Sienna was very fifteen. I don't really like reading about characters so much younger than me but the fact that Sienna was obviously fifteen made it a little easier. I do feel that considering her parents had gone to third-world countries previously the extent of her culture shock might have been a bit much. I mean, did she really expect there to be indoor plumbing? However, being fifteen meant her selfish actions were more true, had it been the same book with a seventeen-year-old... oy vey! I think the people saying that she was selfish and ungrateful seem to forget how fifteen-year-olds don't always see the whole picture, or a big part of the picture... or any of the picture. I think that Sienna was a very well formed character but she had very little connection to those around her. More on that later though.
Deni... I wasn't feeling it for him. In romance books there's supposed to be this certain about charisma for the love interest and I wasn't feeling it. Maybe because Sienna was fifteen, maybe because it was just infatuation and rebellion. I'm not sure, but it wasn't there for me. I would have liked to see more foreshadowing from him about the ending. The excuse that it was too hard to talk about made it seem like Kling just came up with the ending at a split second and went with it. Foreshadowing is a lovely technique and everyone knows a little mystery can go a long way in creating charisma for a character.
Now, Spider, I wanted to know more about Spider!I actually would have liked to know about Spider and Bev and Sienna from before the accident. There seemed to be this very believable friendship there and I really wanted more of that. The thing with Deni almost made it seem like Kling was trying to whole (way too popular) love triangle thing. I wasn't for it.
There were two characters that really could have been something amazing; Ellie and Amelia. To me, it seemed like Kling was trying to create two people that changed Sienna. If that was case, I liked the idea but it didn't seem to play out that well. Had those two characters been stronger and more present I really could have loved the book.
Ultimately not my favorite book and it didn't live up to the hype. But I also didn't hate the book. It would be a fun summer read.
I loved how different this book was from everything else I've read recently. I loved learning about the culture and how everyone was affected by the tsunami. Everything tied together very neatly in the end.
Sienna was very fifteen. I don't really like reading about characters so much younger than me but the fact that Sienna was obviously fifteen made it a little easier. I do feel that considering her parents had gone to third-world countries previously the extent of her culture shock might have been a bit much. I mean, did she really expect there to be indoor plumbing? However, being fifteen meant her selfish actions were more true, had it been the same book with a seventeen-year-old... oy vey! I think the people saying that she was selfish and ungrateful seem to forget how fifteen-year-olds don't always see the whole picture, or a big part of the picture... or any of the picture. I think that Sienna was a very well formed character but she had very little connection to those around her. More on that later though.
Deni... I wasn't feeling it for him. In romance books there's supposed to be this certain about charisma for the love interest and I wasn't feeling it. Maybe because Sienna was fifteen, maybe because it was just infatuation and rebellion. I'm not sure, but it wasn't there for me. I would have liked to see more foreshadowing from him about the ending. The excuse that it was too hard to talk about made it seem like Kling just came up with the ending at a split second and went with it. Foreshadowing is a lovely technique and everyone knows a little mystery can go a long way in creating charisma for a character.
Now, Spider, I wanted to know more about Spider!I actually would have liked to know about Spider and Bev and Sienna from before the accident. There seemed to be this very believable friendship there and I really wanted more of that. The thing with Deni almost made it seem like Kling was trying to whole (way too popular) love triangle thing. I wasn't for it.
There were two characters that really could have been something amazing; Ellie and Amelia. To me, it seemed like Kling was trying to create two people that changed Sienna. If that was case, I liked the idea but it didn't seem to play out that well. Had those two characters been stronger and more present I really could have loved the book.
Ultimately not my favorite book and it didn't live up to the hype. But I also didn't hate the book. It would be a fun summer read.