Sea by Heidi R. Kling Review

From Goodreads: Haunted by recurring nightmares since her mother’s disappearance over the Indian ocean three years before, fifteen-year old California girl Sienna Jones reluctantly travels with her psychiatrist father’s volunteer team to six-months post-tsunami Indonesia where she meets the scarred and soulful orphaned boy, Deni, who is more like Sea than anyone she has ever met.

She knows they can’t be together, so why can’t she stay away from him? And what about her old best friend-turned-suddenly-hot Spider who may or may not be waiting for her back home? And why won’t her dad tell her the truth about her mother’s plane crash? The farther she gets from home, the closer she comes to finding answers.

                                      And Sea’s real adventure begins.

Rating: 5/5

Plot: 5/5

Characters: 5/5

Ending: 5/5

Favorite line: "I wanted to tell him that you can meet someone and they can change your life forever, even if you have only known him for a short while, that when you leave, you're a different person than before you met him... and I undertstand that because of meeting Deni."

Whenever there's a lot of buzz surrounding a book, I'm somehow always hesitant to pick it up. I don't know why, but I'm glad I didn't shy away from this one. It was one of the most well-rounded books I've ever read, in terms of YA. The story had romance, culture, and a very believable coming-of-age story. And all set in the aftermath of 2005 Indonesian tsunami! Heidi Kling is a great writer and I'm anxious for what she'll write next!

Sienna's, aka Sea's, life has been forever changed since the disappearance of her mother over the Indian Ocean. She lives right on the beach and doesn't go into the water, has stopped talking to one of her good friends, Spider, and has nightmares and anxiety attacks. On her 15th birthday her father asks her to come with Team Hope, his volunteer group, to Indonesia to help at an Orphanage with children who lost their parents to the disastrous tsunami. Reluctant at first, she agrees to go. While there, Sienna helps with young girls with PTSD, but also ends up with a kind of therapy herself.

She finds a friend in Deni, a sexy, mysterious boy who lost his family. Together, they each come to terms with their losses and figure out what's important to them. The romance between Sienna and Deni was very sweet and swoon-worthy. Especially in the setting they were in. But there was also her relationship with her old friend, Spider. It was oddly nice to see her relationships with both of them- it showed her evolution.

I really enjoyed learning about Indonesian culture, their language, and the great imagery Heidi put into her book. I honestly don't remember hearing or seeing much about the tsunami in the news, besides people raising money, so it was a very educational read that didn't feel educational.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. All you do is:
1) Grab your current read and open to a random page.

2) Select a few sentences from anywhere on the page- try not to include any SPOILERS!

3) Make to tell the name of book and the author so others can add the book to our TBR pile!

"'Oh, man,' Walcott said. 'Amy, I'm so sorry.' I heard that there was real feeling in this, and I didn't brush it way, like I had everyone else's condolences." Page 177 of Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

30 Days of Insight Day 13

I actually remembered today! Yay!

Day 13- A memory that never fails to make you laugh.


So this is hard to explain but I'll do my best. I was in 8th grade and my 2 best friends and I were walking to an assembly. We went a different way than the rest of our class. So, our middle school has 4 levels and we were on the 4th-ish level so we had to walk to down the stairs. Remember: we were on level 4 and had walk to level 2!! At this time, my one friend and I were annoyed with the other friend. So, as we got to the 2nd level, our friend was talking to us. Except, she kept walking down the stairs. It was hilarious because we just looked at her hopping down the stairs, all happy thinking we were listening to her. It was the funniest thing EVER! When she realized it-I'm guessing she heard our laughter-she came back upstairs and we all fell to the floor laughing. We still bring it up to this day. You just had to be there. Believe me, it sounds way better in person.

I have to tell this other story. It's my 2nd funniest one. A few years ago, my 10 year old cousin, was helping everyone take out the trash. It was late at night so it was dark out. She was half-running through the grass to the trash bin for our apartment when she hit a tree! I know it's sounds mean to laugh at her, but picture someone running slowly with a trash bag in their hand, late at night, running into a tree and their head slinging back and them falling to the ground. I'm laughing right now just thinking about it.

30 Days of Insight Days.......Idk I've missed too many!

Day 08- Someone you think would make a good president.

I think I'd make a good president! Joke. I'd be wayyyy too nervous. I think we need a woman in the White House.

Day 09- Five things you want to see change.
1. I want all people to get the same care, food, and living. If people make more money, that's alright, but there should be a bottom line.
2. Gay marriages should be legal. I understand the problems that might come with it, but it's not fair to keep people from marrying and sharing a life together.
3. There should be more programs in middle and high schools to help with bullying and just talking with your peers.
4. Global warming is here people!
5. I think someone should give me a job. :-)

Day 10- A dream you had this past week described in detail.
I can't really do that because I don't remeber my dreams until days after I dream them. Even then, everything's fuzzy.

Day 11- Favorite picture ever taken of yourself.

None. I don't like pics of myself. Only ones from when a was a kid.

Day 12- Your favorite musical artist’s life story.

Alexz Johnson. She's from one of my fave tv shows, Instant Star. I love her voice and all her songs from the show. Pretty much everyone on that show is great.

In My Mailbox (2)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren and inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie. I haven't done in a while, I know. Sorry!

From my second, almost first home, the Doylestown Library:

Stranded by J.T. Dutton

Love Sucks! by Melissa Francis

Jealousy by Lili St. Crow

She's So Dead To Us by Kieran Scott

Van Alen Legacy by Melissa De La Cruz

I had 1 book on hold at the library but ended up getting 5. Honestly, I would've gotten a lot more if my dad wasn't ready to go. I mean, he only lost me for 3 minutes and I picked up 4 more books!

Won:

4 Willow Bookmarks-one of which is signed!!!-from Alea at Pop Culture Junkie
Zan-Gah and the Beautiful Country and Zan-Gah: A Prehistoric Adventure  by Allan Richard Shickman from McKenzie at The Book Owl

Bought-I already have read and own these and the rest of the books in the series but I love the box thingy it's in and maybe it could be a giveaway......I don't want to be selfish or anything:
Vampire Academy Box Set- Books 1-3

Book Blogger Hop August 13-16!!!

It's blog hop time! Go join at Crazy For Books! This weeks question is: HOW MANY BOOKS DO YOU HAVE ON YOUR 'TO BE READ SHELF'?

If we're talking about an actual shelf here, then not too mnay. But if we're talking a Goodreads to-read shelf, then WOW! I have 1, 947 books on Goodreads. Wowza!!

Read-A-Thon Update

My list I'd like to finish at least finish a few of:

Sea by Heidi R. Kling

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

13 To Life by Shannon Delaney

Breathless by Lurlene McDaniel

Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith

So it's been more than a day...and I haven't read too much. I totally forgot it was my great-grandmother's 86th birthday and I went out to lunch with her and my grams. It was fun, but I still really wanted to be reading. I did accomplish one thing though! I finished Sea!! And I'm about to start on Amy and Roger's Epic Detour.