Review of Sea by Heidi R. Kling

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Still haunted by nightmares of her mother's death, fifteen-year-old Sienna Jones reluctantly travels to Indonesia with her father's relief team to help tsunami orphans with their post traumatic stress disorder-something Sienna knows a lot about. Since her mother's plane went missing over the Indian Ocean three years before, Sienna doesn't do anything if it involves the ocean or planes, so this trip is a big step forward.

But the last thing she expects is to fall for Deni, a brooding Indonesian boy who lives at the orphanage, and just so happens to be HOT. When Deni hears a rumor that his father may be alive, Sienna doesn't think twice about running away with him to the epicenter of the disaster. Unfortunately, what they find there could break both their hearts.

A compelling summer romance, Sea marks the arrival of a stunning new voice in YA.

Sea by Heidi R. Kling is a beautifully written story filled with love, longing, and grief. We open with the main character, Sienna’s, birthday. Sienna, Sea, for short, lives with her father in California. Her mother, unfortunately went missing in a plane crash several years ago. On Sienna’s birthday she receives a gift which will allow her to come to grips with her grief and create positive change. She will embark on a life-altering journey to Indonesia to work in an orphanage with her father as part of Team Hope. Oh, what a wonderful, wonderful journey we take.

I know I prattle on about the characters in every single review I write, but it’s incredibly important to my reading that the characters aren’t cardboard. Sienna is a multifaceted girl. I found her to be compulsively likable. She deals with so much, yet soldiers on. Something I love about Sienna is that she does not remain hung up on one boy forever. She recognizes we have the capacity to love more than one person in our lifetime. Exactly the kind of message I love to get from a YA book, that perhaps the boy you met over summer vacation won’t be the boy you marry. However, that should not lessen whatever feelings you have towards him. Sienna is not judged or shamed for this, which again, I love.

When Sienna is in Indonesia, she meets this boy named Deni. Ya’ll Deni is the picture of awesome. He’s quite different from the boys I have met in other YA books. Culturally, Deni does not act the way American boys do. This is not to denigrate Deni at all, it’s just there are different customs in Indonesia than in America. I loved learning about these subtle differences while reading Sea. Also, Deni is totally Ilsa. If you have seen Casablanca, you will understand. FYI do not click the link if you don’t want the end of Casablanca spoiled.

Although the vast majority of Sea by Heidi R. Kling takes place over just two weeks, it felt like a sweet, delicious lifetime. I was absolutely enraptured by the budding romance. I do not say this often, but this is definitely a book to pre-order. I had such a deep emotional reaction to this addicting read. Seriously, I want to discuss it all day. If you have read it, please let me know what you think of this gorgeous debut.

Other Reviews of Sea by Heidi R. Kling:

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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