The Girl The Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young

*Spoiler free*

For as long as she can remember, Tova has lived among the Svell, the people who found her washed ashore as a child and use her for her gift as a Truthtongue. Her own home and clan are long-faded memories, but the sacred symbols and staves inked over every inch of her skin mark her as one who can cast the rune stones and see into the future. She has found a fragile place among those who fear her, but when two clans to the east bury their age-old blood feud and join together as one, her world is dangerously close to collapse. For the first time in generations, the leaders of the Svell are divided. Should they maintain peace or go to war with the allied clans to protect their newfound power? And when their chieftain looks to Tova to cast the stones, she sets into motion a series of events that will not only change the landscape of the mainland forever but will give her something she believed she could never have again—a home.

I enjoyed Sky In The Deep, though I didn’t love it. I found myself craving another book by Adrienne Young. She’s a fantastic writer and I was curious to see what she would do with this story. It intriuged me, that this would follow one of the minor characters of Sky and take place ten years later. And the new main character, Tova, sounded really awesome.

Young has such a way with words. I love her writing style. I find it really calming, even in the middle of a fight scene haha. She managed to weave a really great story. Even when I found myself getting bored at parts or wishing certain things would happen, I would still be entertained by the writing style. It was easy really easy to read and to keep reading. It made everything in the book a lot stronger.

I really, really liked Tova’s character. She was awesome, I liked getting to know her story. It was cool to see and learn about a new clan in this world. I liked her backstory and how she can read the future and how she thinks about things. It was also cool to see Halvard ten years later! He felt like the same character, but older (I don’t know but this seemed worth mentioning haha).

This book didn’t progress at all like I thought it would. I almost wish more had happened. It seemed like a lot of build up, without a lot of payoff. Halvard and Tova are travelling to a certain place, both emotionally and physically, so they have their own journeys. I thought they would converge sooner than they did. I got sort of bored here and there waiting to see what would happen. I felt like there wasn’t enough going on in between to make the end result worth it.

I also didn’t connect emotionally fully to the characters or the story. I think it has to do with the fact that I was waiting for something for a lot of the book. There’s an emphasis on getting there, but I wish there had been more of an emphasis on the emotional journey. I didn’t feel Tova’s emotional turmoil or her struggle. It’s like she just walked through the story and let things happen to her. Halvard is a bit of the same way, but I felt his development a little bit more.

I felt like some of the major themes fell through the cracks. I didn’t get the sense that Tova was fighting for and trying to find a home. It just felt like some things got lost in the shuffle.

There are also flashbacks throughout the book. The way they’re spaced makes it a little hard to figure out the timeline. I found myself getting confused here and there about what happened and when.

Characters from Sky do make an appearance. I’m not sure how I feel about their presence. I felt like it was in the middle of too much and too little, not quite enough of either. That’s weird, I know haha.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and I think a lot of people are going to love it! I just think a lot of the main aspects aren’t for me. Though, it was still really interesting and the writing is gorgeous. And I am looking forward to reading whatever Young writes next!

The Girl The Sea Gave Back comes out September 3, 2019! You can add it on Goodreads and pre-order a copy in the meantime!

Thank you for reading!