I was just a bit bored and multiple times I considered not finishing. I’d read the authors next book but this one just didn’t do it for me.

This book, simply put, was not for me. Right away the MCs kind of annoyed me and the plot was moving sluggishly, so I could not finish it

I wasn’t able to finish this one. Hart has a very engaging writing style, but the heavy topic was too much for me. While it handled mental illness and complex relationships in a real and grounded way, it didn’t offer any growth or positive resolution. Not to say that YA can’t handle difficult topics, but there is usually a glimmer of hope for readers or a guide on how to navigate and persevere through similar issues in their own lives. This one seemed to wallow in the trauma and sadness. I skipped to the end to see if there would be some relief, but I didn’t find enough to finish it.

I Thought this was an okay read. I was fond of any of the characters> They were all selfish and self involved. That was probably the point, and why the title is what. The story was pretty good, the characters annoyed me sometimes, but other times I understood.

I enjoyed the story of this book but I had a hard time keeping track of what was happening, if that makes sense. I also found Harlow and Ellis hard to root for. That being said, it covers very important topics and I loved the deep dive into Tommy's character - I just wish it had lived up to the potential the story has.

Harlow and Ellis have been inseparable bffs since she moved to the small seaside town of West Finch, which is one hurricane away from destruction. Ellis is on a path to try to save her town and Ellis's parents' diner. But Ellis tries to avoid problems as best he can either by overworking himself in cross-country or hooking up with whoever is willing. His twin brother, Tommy, is also in the depths of a depressive episode and Harlow wants to "fix" him, too. But everything Harlow tries to fix ends up worse than how it started. Plus, Tommy and Harlow hate each other, but there's a thin line...As their lives tangle together, so do the secrets they keep, but secrets are hard to maintain in small towns.

The premise of the book has so much potential! This book is written from all three MC's POV alternating perspectives every other chapter or so. Unfortunately, the characters were really difficult to empathize with and I found myself absolutely hating Ellis and Harlow. If Ellis and Harlow knew each other so well, one of them would've caught on to what they each were hiding...really, Harlow's secrets were the worse of their "Worst Thing I've Ever Done" game. My favorite character was Goose, Tommy's dog, who Harlow also tries to fix. I found the book difficult to get into and felt myself losing interest as the drama peaked. The climax was also very anticlimactic especially considering how much was emphasized. 1.5 stars rounded to 2.
TW: suicidal ideation.

DNF. This book was just not for me. I had a difficult time finishing the story because I struggled getting through the difficult topics presented in this book. This book was just not for me even if the writing style is beautiful.

Nobody can ever tell me that “they do not read YA” ever again.

Because - this book exists.

🌊 This is about three teens - two twins named Tommy and Ellis, and Harlow, their best friend, a budding environmentalist determined to save their small Maine hometown, one hurricane away from falling into the sea. And yet…. ITS SO MUCH MORE.

🌊 The Sea is Salt and So Am I is the perfect read for my literary fiction lovers out there, looking to branch out into the YA world. The voice, the mature exploration of teens mental illness & navigating their relationships because of it.

(CW: for depression/suicide), though I will throw my own opinion in there when I say YA characters that aren’t afraid to discuss mental health are my favorite of all (!!!)

🌊 There’s also love triangle vibes here which was done in such a unique way I haven’t seen before.

🐶 Not to mention - this book has THE BEST DOG REPRESENTATION I’ve ever read. So of course I read it alongside Lucy 🐶 - Tommy, has a dog named Goose who is attached to his hip. I loved reading about the importance of animal love 😭😭😭 we need this more.

cw: suicide attempt, severe depression, limb loss, pet with cancer, death of a loved one, car accidents with injury. Please understand this book is saturated with this content; these are not brief mentions.

I was really excited to get approved for this ARC and was really looking forward to it. Generally speaking, I'm a fan of sad books (and this book is SAD), as long as the sadness feels authentic. There's so much about youth suicide that needs to be talked about more, and more authentically. And while an overarching metaphor of being stuck in between storm swells is a little trite, it's also very accurate. But this book doesn't really get into any of that, and there isn't much in the way of healthy resolution, although there is some, and hints at some more. I'm also not a huge fan of flawed characters, although I can be when the characters are aware of their flaws and working to improve them. I feel like that really impacted by impression of this book, and if you like characters with significant flaws, you may like this book much more than I did.

The Sea is Salt and So Am I centers on three teenagers in West Finch, Maine: twin brothers Ellis and Tommy, and Ellis's friend Harlow. Harlow is a budding activist, long concerned about the impacts of climate change on their coastal town. She is known throughout the town for always having a petition and flyers in her hands, hosting letter-writing campaigns, and popping by with 3-ring bingers of research on how to stave off the effects of a storm season only increasing in intensity every year. Ellis is Harlow's best friend, and has been for seven years now, but Tommy cannot stand her, and their friendship has driven the twins apart. Ellis is also a star runner on the high school's track team, especially impressive given that he lost his right leg in an accident several years back. He's looking forward to training camp this summer before heading off to college on a D1 scholarship in another year, all according to The Plan that he and Harlow have had for what seems like forever. Tommy is the complete opposite, with an incredible talent for art (that Harlow continues to insult), a very close bond with his dog (who Harlow is not allowed to touch), and no real friends to speak of.

The story begins with Tommy being rescued by a family friend in the midst of an attempted suicide and follows him through his hospitalization and as he gradually re-enters life in West Finch. While most people settle for just looking at him with pity, asking him every two minutes how he's doing, and searching his room when he's not around, Harlow has devised a perfect plan to help Tommy feel better: find him a girlfriend. She starts with Tommy's ex and then goes through just about every girl in school before settling into the idea that if she wants her arch nemesis to have a girlfriend, she is going to have to fill the role herself.

As Harlow and Tommy start seeing each other, Harlow is committed to keeping the whole thing under wraps--Ellis must never know. Ellis isn't stupid though, and definitely notices something is up. Sad that Harlow has begun seeing someone she won't talk with him about, he begins seeing an out-of-towner who has rolled in to help his sister protest the destruction of the jetty--one of the main actions residents could take to help prolong the time their town can stay livable. He expects Harlow to be jealous, even angry, that he is sleeping with her sworn enemy, but she seems strangely apathetic. How would Ellis react to knowing Harlow and Tommy are together? What ever made she and Tommy such fierce enemies to begin with? And will this relationship help or hurt Tommy in the long run?

I really, really struggled with this book. From the time Harlow decided Tommy had to have a girlfriend to "bounce back," I wanted to set it aside. But I had hope that maybe by the end we could all agree that was a terrible idea. That people have to get acquainted with themselves and develop some internal coping skills while having a dependable support system--not a girl who is in it until he's fixed and then will go back to allying with his brother. But no. I struggled with the rigors of The Plan that Harlow created for she and Ellis, and how hard Ellis worked to live up to its standards for Harlow, and how she just accepted defeat when something didn't go her way. While Ellis was busy tweaking The Plan and making a Plan 2.0, Harlow was ready and willing to throw it all out the window. If things don't line up perfectly, what's even the point? I didn't want to write Harlow off as an irredeemable character, but she doesn't develop over the course of the book. If anything, she gets worse. And that ruined it for me.

Honestly, it isn't just Harlow. All three of them are so self-absorbed, but also all three of these kids have been through tremendous trauma and no one is talking about that. No one is talking about what it's like to literally watch your twin brother attempt suicide, to watch your friend get hit by a car and know you could have called out and maybe prevented it, to lose your leg, to see your only friend in the world get cancer and hear that the treatment you've been saving up for can't even cure it. Just so many things. We get a few references to Tommy's Cool Therapist, but no sense of what it's like for Tommy to actually go. We get a dismal portrayal of Tommy's hospitalization, and a depiction of medication that would make you think anyone would be crazy for agreeing to take them. And while there is a moment where Tommy "decides" to go back on his medication all on his own, he continues to self-sabotage until his girlfriend and brother find out he has been off of them. Then all of sudden, medication is now strictly a measure of compliance, something he does to appease others, but never for himself: "The most important part of being healthy is for other people to think I'm healthy." There's no growth, no development, no resolution. Just wallowing. 384 pages of wallowing. And I'm not here for it.

Lastly, I don't want to wrap this up without talking about the ending. I don't often talk about actual endings in my reviews, but in this case it feels important: I have more than a little concern about the way this book ends. When the MacQueens lose their diner in the storm and just start piling the logs next to where the building used to stand, the author goes out of her way to state that no one is sad about it, presumably because it was expected. While I think there are several different ways to read this passage, one of the main ones has to be that eventually the severe storm that is your mental health will take you down--and not only is that inevitable, but no one will even grieve for you; they will just take the insurance payout and pack up and move on, as if this tragedy is just another fact of life. And that's such a dangerous narrative because it feels so natural and obvious when you are so depressed, but it's just not true. The loss of this diner could have been avoided; it didn't have to be this way, and it will be a missed as a key component of their small community. And while I think that is actually the larger point the author is trying to make, I'm concerned by the fact that Tommy doesn't really get there and that this ending sends the wrong message, especially in targeting a YA audience.

Pros
Ocean Love: This book is brimming with love for the sea. There are oceanographers and environmentalists with conflicting voices and conflicting plans. Crashing waves and jetties, gentle marine ecology and dangerous swells: all sides of seaside life make the page. This book encompasses the push and pull of marine life: sea walls, piping plovers, salt spray, and stormy days.

Enlightening Perspectives: There are a lot of potential pitfalls for a writer tackling multiple POVs in their work, especially if those points-of-view repeat the same scene. After all, it can be dull for a reader to read the same scene again from a slightly shifted perspective. But Cassandra Hartt manages the shifting POVs here really well. Though scenes are repeated, the view points are so drastically different in terms of frame of mind, agenda, and narrative voice that it's not merely a dull repeat. It is an eye-opening, enlightening new perspective on what has already been read.

Lyrical: Hartt's writing is beautiful. This book is very character-driven, and the writing does an excellent job of expressing the human mind. It is haunting, sad and echoing--lost and wallowing. Depression sweeps through the early pages of this book like waves. It comes and goes. The word usage if lyrical--but the content, especially early on, is most definitely in need of a trigger warning. It is beautiful but also chilling--not for the feint of heart.

Cons
Ethereal: I don't usually mean this as a critique. I love things that are ethereal, especially good writing. Here, however, it's not really what I wanted. "Ethereal" might not be quite the right word, even, but it's the best I could come up with for my critique. Basically, I felt like the whole narrative here was kind of floating, swimming on a sea of lyrical prose but not ultimately grounded. It was rather wishy-washy, like the waves that are essential to it. The narrative came in and out without purpose, root, cause--it just felt too surreal for me as a reader. It didn't feel purposeful enough.

Toxicity: It wasn't quite clear how intentional the toxicity in the relationships of this book was, but intentional or not, it needs to be addressed. And it wasn't addressed to the extent that it should have been. The relationships are incredibly toxic. Harlow is incredibly toxic, the kind of character who perhaps needs a redemption arc. The only character who got his arc was Tommy. Everyone else stayed lost in their toxic ways.

Tackles Too Much: This book is something you don't find a lot marketed as YA. That is, it has the tone and feeling of "literary fiction" instead. Literary fiction can be really good when done well, but sometimes, the author of a literary piece wannabe just tries too hard. In my experience as a reader, a bookseller, and someone who attended a university that specialized in producing "literary" writers, someone who aims for literary fiction will end up with a book like this: a book swamped in poignant threads that could have been great if they hadn't been lost in the ultimate sea of jumbled ideas. There's too much happening in this book. There isn't enough focus for it to be poignant in the end.

Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
6/10

Fans of Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock's Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town will sink right into this small-town-big-problems world. Those who enjoyed the lyrical prose of Julie Carrick Dalton's Waiting for the Night Song will love the beautiful word usage of this book as well.

REVIEW AT BOTTOM

Description
I’ll Give You the Sun meets Normal People in Cassandra Hartt's The Sea Is Salt and So Am I, a stunning YA contemporary debut that asks if the secrets we keep and the people we love can change who we are.

"Achingly beautiful.”—Rachael Lippincott, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Five Feet Apart

"Turbulent and tender, this deeply-felt debut will make your heart swell time and time again."—Julia Drake, author of The Last True Poets of the Sea


West Finch is one hurricane away from falling into the sea.

Yet sixteen-year-old Harlow Prout is determined to save her small Maine hometown. If only she could stop getting in her own way and find someone, anyone, willing to help. But her best friend Ellis MacQueen “fixes” problems by running away from them—including his broken relationship with his twin brother, Tommy. And Tommy’s depression has hit a new low, so he’s not up for fixing anything.

In the wake of the town’s latest devastating storm, Tommy goes out for a swim that he doesn’t intend to survive. It’s his unexpected return that sets into motion a sea change between these three teens. One that tests old loyalties, sparks new romance, and uncovers painful secrets. And nothing stays secret in West Finch for long.

Exquisitely honest and shimmering with emotion, The Sea is Salt and So Am I is a captivating multi-POV story that probes the depths of what it means to love and trust—both ourselves and others.

REVIEW:

This coming of age story has a lot of raw emotion HELD IN. HAHA. I appreciated following each character as they became more aware of themselves and their own needs - wants. The story is very relatable with characters I wanted to see so well. Secrets, secrets, secrets ...

I listened to this book as an audio ARC and was utterly charmed by it. I was aware of the sensitive subject matter going in, and I had my guard up a bit because of this, but it didn’t take long to see the author was doing justice to the mental health issues under consideration here (namely depression and suicidal ideation). Not only did it seem well-researched and realistic, but the story and characters were unique and engaging, lending nuance and specificity to the portrayal of mental illness. The story is told from three alternating POVs, which allows for the perspective of the teenager with depression to constantly be re-centered in the narrative. The setting of small town Maine and the immediate impact of the climate crisis on this place, the various sub-plots related to this, and the storms punctuating the story were incorporated really nicely with the interpersonal drama of the three main characters. Plus I have to say, I found the romance really sweet (love the “forbidden love” trope, personally, haha) - I thought it worked well and reinforced the other journeys of personal growth happening in the story. Audio narration was perfect! I’d recommend this one to adult and YA readers alike.

This is a hard one for me to review. Going in, I was POSITIVE that I was going to love this and that it was going to be a new all-time favorite. Unfortunately, it didn't end up living up to the expectations I placed on it. While I was gripped by the story throughout, I feel like I really had to struggle to keep track of what was happening and who was feeling what at any given moment. Ultimately I feel like this just didn't quite do what I was hoping it would, but I did enjoy it enough to want to read more from this author in the future. Here's hoping their next book will work better for me!

CW: suicide, severe depression, animal illness, car accidents, death of a loved one

The Sea is Salt and So Am I is an advanced copy that I was given via NetGalley so that I could read and review it. Thank you for that NetGalley and the publishers.
This story follows three points of view, Tommy, Ellis, and Harlow. Tommy and Ellis are twin brothers who both have their issues. The book starts off with Tommy attempting suicide. This is a big focus of the story. Everyone is doing their best to make sure that Tommy is okay after his failed attempt. Harlow and Ellis are best friends. They’ve been best friends since they were kids. So, Tommy is depressed. Ellis is an amputee. And Harlow focuses on all the wrong things to ‘fix’ and just creates more problems for herself.
I had a few problems with this book. The biggest one was that I just genuinely didn’t like any of the characters. I think the depression and amputee representation was a great thing. But I didn’t like Harlow and Ellis was sort of an asshole for most of the book. Harlow starts dating Tommy so that she can make sure he doesn’t try to kill himself again. Like, what? More than one person thought that this was okay for these characters? I just didn’t get it. I understood that eventually there were genuine feelings. But Harlow overall, she just wasn’t a character I could get behind. I didn’t root for her. It doesn’t happen often but I actively didn’t like her and the same goes for Ellis. He couldn’t sympathize with the reasons behind his actions and the more I read about him the less I liked him.
Overall, I just didn’t love this book. I loved the environmental topics. There’s mention of the Piping Plovers which are something that I knew lots about from my hometown, so I definitely laughed about their mention. But I also really liked the topic of erosion and the ocean washing away West Finch. I think this was a really great topic. I also think the author did a great job of showing us the story, the relationships, the settings, and not just telling us. There were things that I liked, but my dislike for the characters really put a damper on those things.

“𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙪𝙣𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣’𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣.”

It’s a rare & magical occasion when I find a book like The Sea is Salt and So Am I. An unexpected, beautiful surprise that illuminates a little piece of me I forgot was there. A YA novel I wish I could gift teenage Sky. Tell her, “See? There are people, even if they are fictional, who struggle the way you do. Hurt in the same way. You are not alone.” Tell her to soak in all of the important messages it sends: climate change & protecting your home, discovering who are outside of the relationships in one’s life, finding true meaningful friendships & the importance of mental health (take your damn meds, girl.) I think she would hold this precious gem close to her heart & cherish the validation it would give to her broken soul. It would feel like a family to her.

I haven’t stopped thinking about this one since I finished last month. Such deep, well developed characters. I loved getting all three perspectives of Harlow, Tommy & Ellis to fully understand the story/truth & not just one side. (PS teenage me would have definitely had the hots for Tommy. Loved the pieces of romance sprinkled in.) I was consistently surprised by the profound writing - sentences that took my breath away. The plot felt like a slow burn while simultaneously keeping me on the edge of my seat. There were small things that felt “cheesy” & the characters were kind of frustrating at points but I chalked that up to it being a YA & it being about dramatic, self-centered high schoolers. The Sea is Salt and So Am I is definitely not a light read if that’s what you’re looking for, but this was a perfect book for me & I whole heartedly recommend it to people with similar taste 💙

Trigger warnings: suicide attempt/ideation, clinical depression & death of a loved one.

The Sea Is Salt and So Am I by Cassandra Hartt is profound and tragic, but also heartfelt and absorbing
There were many things that caught my attention about The Sea is Salt and So Am I. The beautifully ominous title. The artsy cover with brushstrokes forming the curl of an angry wave that is about to crash over homes. The gist of the blurb: a small beach town, a devastating storm, one girl determined to save it. Tested loyalties, new romances, painful secrets… Sounds right up my alley!

I had absolutely no idea the hurricane of emotions I had just signed up for
Before I go into any more detail, I will say this: my heart hurts because it ended. This story captivated my attention and refused to let me go. I miss the three main characters, Harlow, Ellis, and Tommy intensely. I NEEDED MORE TIME WITH THEM! (Hint hint to anyone who can make this happen, this book needs a TV series deal.)

The Sea is Salt and So Am I by Cassandra Hartt is a beautifully melancholic story of healing from wounds that cut deep and refuse to heal.

Harlow and Ellis are best friends. They have built their whole lives and future around each other. Tommy and Ellis are twins, but Tommy has never been allowed into that exclusive circle of two, not even marginally. In fact, Ellis and Harlow’s relationship has caused a wedge and irreparable disconnect between the brothers.

Even more, Tommy and Harlow have been mortal enemies for most of the time they have been in each other’s life. Harlow regularly goes out of her way to be cruel to Tommy (and Ellis allows it), even when knowing Tommy’s struggles with mental health. In the background of these stories is their small coastal hometown and family diner, which are one storm away from being swallowed by the sea.

Content warnings and mild spoilers
Tommy tries to take his own life and this is the catalyst for the shake-up in each of these characters’ lives.

The story deep dives into the ripple effects of this incident on all three main characters as told from their multiple points of view. Each one of the teens telling their side of the story and the events that led to the unraveling. Hartt does a beautiful job building this multiple-voice narrative without making us feel like any detail is repetitive. Each element builds up to the bigger story—the devastating storm, actual and emotional, that is approaching. She slowly and painfully peeled back the layers of our main characters and with each layer she presented, I loved them more.

Harlow is determined and stubborn. She sets goals and will fight for them at any cost. Saving the diner, making sure Ellis stays on track with their life plan, fixing Tommy… There is nothing she won’t do to keep everybody on track with her desires. Ellis is arrogant and undependable, frequently described as being obsessed with himself. He partially lost his leg in an accident when he was younger, but that doesn’t stop him from being a star runner for his school. Finally, we have Tommy, my favorite, the artist, our underdog. He is clinically depressed and lonely. Dismissed by his brother and bullied by Harlow, Tommy is desperate to find a place in the world where he can fit in. They are all angry, spiteful, and many times unlikeable. They are in toxic and codependent relationships and are headed for shipwreck.

And so we have a story of three teens that are worlds apart but desperately trying to pull each other closer together.

Final thoughts
In The Sea Is Salt and So Am I, Hartt’s writing is thoughtful, descriptive, and raw. Even though this book made my heart ache (which, to be clear, is a feeling I’m 100% on board with and actually seek out when reading), I often found myself chuckling at the characters’ dialogues and clap backs. There are more than a few gems in there that will stay with me.

The book’s narrative structure is elaborate and nuanced. At first, I found it hard to follow and struggled with its intensity—there are many plot points that feed Harlow, Ellis, and Tommy’s journey and so much to unpack! But I also couldn’t put it down. I yearned to go back to them every time. Each one of their stories was messy, honest, and insightful. Harlow, Ellis, and Tommy might at times be unlikeable like I mentioned before, but they are all fighters, desperately seeking love, understanding, compassion, and trying to claim a space in their world and each other’s world. How can you not love that?

The Sea is Salt and So Am I by Cassandra Hartt is one of those novels that will leave you thinking about them long after you put it down. Wow, what a debut novel!

3/5 Stars

** I received this as an E-ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review, Thank you!**

I have some mixed feelings about this book. This book goes into some very heavy topics, including suicide and depression. It's a lot to take in. I picked up and put down this book a couple of different times. I think this would be a great book for a specific type of person. I found that I was often frustrated by the characters and their actions. I also wasn't the biggest fan of the writing style, it was okay just not my prefrence. I also was turned off by the animal death and treatment in this book. I don't like reading books that have sad things about animals, this is completley a personal thing but it really put me off on the book. Again with this book having such heavy and important topics, I would recommend treading lightly.

loved this book about romance and saving a piece of land. Loved that this book tackled depression and suicide. I loved the brothers and what they did to help each other. I loved the romance between harper and tommy. I loved that life wasn't figured out but at least there was some hope.

I loved this book; from the character interactions to the distance between reader and character, everything kept me hooked. The novel follows three characters (Harlow and the twins, Tommy & Ellis) over the course of a summer. A unique flare on the novel: each chapter shifts perspectives among these three. While I understand Hartt's reasoning behind this, I will say that I was never fully invested in Ellis's perspective. This is because of the romance aspect Hartt introduced early on between Harlow and Tommy. Meanwhile, we don't really get anything from Ellis. It makes reading from his perspective a little dull since all we see are complications and inner struggles with himself and a sudden instant revelation of love at the end. This revelation could have come much sooner and made things more interesting.

For Tommy and Harlow, though, not only do we have the romance aspect between them, we also have their unique inner struggles and the secrets that they hide from one another and others. This makes shifting perspectives between them (especially when back-to-back) even more interesting. I will say the story hooked me until the ending. I understand and respect why Hartt ended the novel the way she did, but I was not a fan. I won't say what happens, that's for you lovely readers to find out.

If you get a chance and see this novel in bookstores or an online ebook version, definitely give it a read. The storytelling throughout is wonderful. Hartt does a great job of captivating her audience through the power of writing.

I found this book to be extremely boring regardless of the topics it tackles and just could not get interested. I found the characters kind of superficial. Thanks for the advanced copy of this book.