'The Sea is Salt and So Am I,' is a hard-hitting novel about three friends: Ellis, Harlow, and Tommy. The story is told in the perspectives of each of the teens, which I always love.

The characters are flawed, which makes them realistic, but also made it difficult for me to connect with.

One of the major themes in this story is suicide. It is known at the beginning that Tommy starts the novel with a swim he is not intending to survive. Because one of the POVs is Tommy's, the discussion and topics of suicide are very personal feeling. If this is something you struggle with, it may not be the time to read this book.

I got this audiobook thanks to NetGalley and recorded books.

This is the story of three teens Harlow, Tommy, and Ellis living in west finch a small town that may disappear in the sea by the effects of climate change.

Harlow and Ellis have a plan to leave west finch as soon as they graduate while Tommy, Ellis brother doesn’t. But after Tommy's suicide attempt things change.

This story is narrated from the 3 main characters point of view. I loved and hated them all. They were all assholes at some point in the story which gave this book humane characters. Reading with the 3 points of view got me to understand the story, and get inside it.

Though I have to say the plot of this story is not the best. There were a lot of times where I thought nothing was happening but it compensated with the amazing characters this book had.

I think that if you care more about having amazing characters than a great plot this book is for you. You can appreciate a lot of character development through the story and grow attached to the characters.

Final ratings:

Concept: 3.5/5
Main characters: 4.5/5
Character development: 4/5
Plot: 3.5/5
Pacing: 4.5/5
Dialogue: 4.5/5
Ending: 3.5/5
Over all: 4/5

Trigger Warnings: Suicide, Suicidal Ideation, Depression, Animal Death, Animals Suffering

The Sea is Salt and So Am I follows three teens whose lives are intertwined: Harlow, who wants to save her town and excels at making terrible decisions; Ellis, bisexual runner with a prosthetic foot who just wants to prove himself; Tommy, depressed artist who really just wants everything to end. Ellis and Tommy are twins and Harlow is Ellis’ best friend.

The focal point of this book is the messy relationships between Harlow and the twins. This seems to be a story about how disastrous life is, how even though everything is going wrong, there is always a reason to live. It’s sad, it feels like a book that’s bleeding out in front of you, but it’s still somehow hopeful.

I have a lot of conflicting feelings about The Sea is Salt. I enjoyed it quite more than I thought I would, and found myself enjoy how completely unlikable and Harlow was. She irritated me, but in a way that was endearing. I don’t know how to explain it- it was chaotic. I love chaos.

If you are depressed or suicidal, this book is one you might want to wait on. Hartt doesn’t disguise or try to avoid the topic, including a content warning at the beginning for this very reason. It’s an unflinching look at what it means to be suicidal. As someone who has experienced it, I see the reality of it all in Tommy’s inner monologue.

I don’t like the romantic relationships in this book at all. I don’t think many people did- but the point is not, from what I can tell, that any of them are helpful. I partially wish the book would have discussed the codependent nature of Harlow and Ellis, because they really were not healthy in the slightest. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good codependent toxic romance- The Wicker King by K. Ancrum is one of my favorites, for heaven’s sake. It was one of the few parts of the book that was messy in a way that I wish had been more explicitly discussed in a nuanced way. Everything else in the book was nuanced and interesting, so I don’t feel it’s crazy to wish for more nuance in how that relationship is portrayed.

I would recommend this, hands down, if you’re a fan of Sally Rooney. It’s got that vibe of people making poor choices and revealing the true nature of humanity.

I was warned that this is a depressing book. I listened to a panel review and the author speak about her book so I chose to read it. I enjoyed the background of the novel as a small town on the brink of disaster due to climate change. I had trouble relating to the three main characters though. I think some of it was because I listened to the audio version and there were times I just was not engaged. I know this is a story that is being devoured but it's just not for me.

Note: There is a content warning from the author at the beginning of the book that it contains “instances of suicidal ideation and attempted suicide, as well as detailed depictions of depression,” so please take that into consideration because this is a very heavy book.

This is a difficult book for me to me to review. The Sea is Salt and So Am I is a very character driven book, so in order to like it you have to be invested in the characters. The difficult part of this book for me is that the characters are so unlikeable that it's hard to care about them. There's three different narrators and while I appreciated that each felt distinct (and had separate narrators in the audiobook), I really only could root for one of them. The characters were all flawed and I can acknowledge that they were intended to be written this way, but it definitely prevented me from connecting with the story. I did think the background plot of climate change affecting the small sea town was really interesting and the actual writing of the story was lyrical and engaging, but ultimately it wasn't enough to distract from how awful two out of the three main characters were.

Overall, I still have mixed feelings, but would recommend to people who like hard-hitting YA but aren't afraid of unlikeable characters.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Recorded Books for providing the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

The Sea Is Salt and So Am I (Audiobook)
by Cassandra Hartt
An eye opening Young Adult book. Started as a simple story of a boy and a girl and a horrific accident this book goes far beyond that. The event of the accident is an undercurrent of the book, the gilt of the girl, the knowledge of the boy, and their close encompassing friendship, the lowest level of the book. The imaginary town is facing rising seas, and global warming, affecting not only the animals, but the sea is taking the town building by building. The book has a warning about suicide, and is one of the struggles of the main characters, but it does not say that suicide is a good option. I think its something that may help children understand that suicide is not an option to make things easier, and that it affects a wider circle then just the single person. I think its a great discussion point, and something for young adults look into and understand.
The audible book has a kind nature, the book brought to life by the reader, showing the thoughts of the characters.

Following 3 teens. We get to experience the life in a small town with 3 friends who have been together forever it seems. But after an attempted suicide ties get strained... This is one of those books that like stuff happens but once you're done feels like nothing happens you know? But the dialogue was good and didn't feel pushed

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Sea Is Salt and So Am I was interesting. In it, you will meet Ellis and tommy who are twin brothers. As well as Harlow, who is their friend. I'll admit that throughout the entire book I only truly liked/enjoyed Tommy. The other two could walk right out of this book and I wouldn't even notice. I just wanted a huge fan of them and how they treated Tommy in the beginning. Or really throughout the entire book.

Besides liking Tommy, I really adored his friendship with his dog Goose. First off, the name is completely adorable. Second, can I please kidnap Goose for myself? Third, pretty please? My dogs need a dog friend.

Other than that, the book was just okay. The pace was pretty slow throughout the entire thing and I was afraid for things to get repetitive since we just kept going through the three point of views. Two of which I just didn't care for. If they had more growth or likable personality.. then maybe my opinion would have changed. Unfortunately, it didn't.

In the end, I'm glad that I got the chance to dive into this. I just wish things went a bit differently after all the flaws were out in the open.

Maybe I'm missing something here. I understand the author has spoken about writing unlikeable characters, but I thought the point was that eventually they grow and you start seeing their side. In this, I immediately disliked Harlow and Ellis and that didn't really change. Harlow especially was mean, vindictive, and careless about other's feelings. She thinks highly of herself because she's an activist, but her plans aren't realistic and when other's point out the flaws she just lashes out. If she left at the end and we just saw the brothers grow closer, I would have enjoyed this more.

The pacing in this is slow and I wasn't really sure what point we were heading toward. Just the end of summer I guess? The book rotates through Harlow, Ellis, and Tommy's points of view and Tommy is definitely the best character. I felt so much empathy for what he was going through and just wanted him to be cared for. I loved his dog Goose and they have an adorable relationship. Tommy will do anything for her and they were the best part.

I can see why some people have loved this, if you're really into flawed characters and more forgiving than I am, you'll like it more. I wish the ending was less open ended, but at least it wasn't too sad.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. Thank you to RB Media and NetGalley for the copy.

I was kindly given an audio arc in exchange of an honest review.

This novel tells the story of a trio of teenagers, their interconnecting lives and their town. There’s a big focus on mental health so TW for suicidal ideation, depression etc. It’s handled frankly but it make me uncomfortable still. The book and audio has a warning about this at the begging through which I appreciated!

I found it hard to connect with the characters despite my own mental health problems. They seemed so alien and far away to me, not like particularly real people. I can’t put my finger on it but I think I expected something magical or less character driven. Maybe more about the town?

This wasn’t for me and that’s okay. I still appreciated the journey and liked the narrators.

I finished this book with tears in my eyes.

Tommy is definitely my favourite character. I'm so much like him! I'd love to be able to hug him. I wish I could actually see his art! Cassandra did a wonderful job writing all of this.

Harlow was incredibly interesting. I loved listening to her point of view. Her sarcasm, her activism, her intensity, her growth.

Ellis was intriguing. I think it's the second fiction book I read with a disabled main character and I'm disappointed at myself because it shouldn't be. I loved the way the author included his bisexuality, natural and not at all relevant to the plot.

I will definitely reread this book and of course I will read every book by Cassandra Hartt!

Thank You NetGalley and Recorded books for early access to the audiobook!

The Sea Is Salt and So Am I is a story about three people - twins Ellis and Tommy and their "friend" Harlow, these three teenagers live in a small town called West Finch and aside from other problems they're facing, the town is dealing with great issues caused by climate change. Before you read this book, you should definitely read the trigger warnings because this book contains some pretty rough stuff including suicide or depression.
If you are into more psychological stuff than a fast-paced plot, I would definitely recommend you this book, because the way it explores emotions and mental illness is brilliant, I would love to see this approach in more YA books. On the other hand, it was a little slow for me personally, I sometimes struggled to keep my attention (this would be probably better if it was a physical book instead of an audiobook).
I appreciate that the author chose to include the topic of climate change because we should definitely talk about it more than we do. And overall the setting in the small seaside town was very interesting and it got me hooked.
The characters - mainly Harlow, Ellis and Tommy are very well written, they have their flaws, which is also nice to see, I love when the characters are realistic. However, the characters are not very likeable, so be prepared for that.

As for the narration of the audiobook, I was a bit disappointed and I think I would've liked this book a lot more if I'd just read it in its normal form. I had no problem with the narrator of Harlow, but I didn't enjoy the narrations of Tommy and Ellis. I struggled to differentiate between these two and the narration was a little bit bland and boring.

To conclude this review, I wouldn't recommend this to younger readers, because the topics in this book might be too heavy for them. But if you're an older teen or a young adult who's looking for a book with an accurate depiction of a mental illness, go for this one.

Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

Overall - I liked it, happy I was able to read it. Did not love it. I felt the beginning I was intrigued and I really enjoyed (most) of the characters, but the ending did not live up. I felt it just ended and there was not finish to the novel. What I did enjoy was how relatable the characters were, teenagers going through the final years in high school - confused, scared about their next step while also diving into deep/personal struggles. The friendship of Ellis and Harlow I had quite mixed feelings about. To me it felt toxic. The relationships between the main three Harlow, Ellis, and Tommy was interesting to unpack - but I feel it could have been delved into more.

In regards to the audiobook - I quite enjoyed listening to the female speaker (Harlow's voice), very easy to follow and listen to. The speaker for Ellis and Tommy's POV was not as easy for me to listen to. I felt at some points it was a bit hard to follow and I kept having to go back and re-listen.

Thank you again.

I read the book but liked the audio version much better. The characters had more depth. I empathized with Tommy and his poetic chapters in the book. His bouts with depression and his attempt at suicide seemed so much clearer. And Harlow, well she came across as self-serving and did not deserve either of the twins. I find books that have chapters narrated by different characters to be much more easily understood as the narrator’s voice provides more differentiation. Its hard to classify a book that deals with suicide, climate change and teen sex. I’m not sure I would recommend this to a young adult, but I bet their perception of what is going on with Ellis, Harlow and Tommy to be far more accurate than mine.

This was a story that had so much potential. But sadly, it ends without any of the potential being actualised.

There is the climate change angle, as the location of West Finch is slowly disappearing under water.
There is the mental health angle, with one of the three main characters suffering from severe depression.
There is the friendship vs. romance angle, with two characters trying to know where they stand with each other.
There is the us vs. them angle, where each side of the climate activists seem to see things only from their perspective instead of trying to reach common ground.
There is the dissimilar twins angle, where the brothers seem to have for a life of contrasts in their outlook as well as decisions.

Any of these angles would have given us a well-developed story and memorable characters. But this book wastes all these opportunities and just goes on and on without going anywhere. (I would have DNFed it for sure were it not an audiobook.) It seemed like a waste of time, especially once you reach the end and see how weak the finale is. This is a Contemporary YA book masquerading as a Literary Fiction, but it does justice to neither because these two genres are like oil and water. The only good part of the book is how it represents the pressures of depression. None of the characters are likeable and I couldn't connect to any of them.

The 12.5 hours long audio didn't feel worthwhile considering the story. Of the three narrators, I liked only the one who voiced Harlow. The male narrators voicing the twins Ellis and Tommy sounded much older than the characters' ages, and their performance seemed lacklustre.

I might have liked this a little better if I had read it. But even then, it might just have been a decent one-time read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Recorded Books for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."
The audiobook version was well done. The difference in narration was helpful in the different sides of the story., and they all did a good job.
The story never really came together completely for me. It ended in a real-life the future is uncertain kind of way. I do think there was decent character development and story telling overall.

3 stars
I was able to listen to the audiobook thanks to netgalley and RB media.

TW: attempted suicide, depression

The Sea is Salt and So am I is set in a small coastal town threatened by hurricans. The novel revolves around the complex relationship between three teenager living there (Harlow, her best friend Ellis as well as his twin brother Tommy). The depiction of these relationships is raw and honest. Each of them is flawed, battling insecurities and trying to find their path.
While I didn’t always like all of the protagonists and was frustrated by some of their choices or lack thereof, the depiction still felt realistic. The multiple POVs worked well because switching perspectives reveals what they really think even if they don’t voice it.
One of the strongest points is that the author doesn’t shy away from describing Tommy’s mental state and the ups and downs of coping with depression
However, I had major issues with the final part of novel. I felt the relationships were toxic at times, but the characters don’t really establish healthier bonds by the end of the book. The open end left many issues unresolved. Even though the novel is very characters-driven with low action, the secondary characters remain quite bland.
About the audiobook: The voices of the twins sound similiar but still distinctive. Harlow’s voice felt a bit too upbeat at times.
The cover is gorgeous and reflects the setting as well as the tumultous relationships between its main characters.

I'm very undecided about the rating of this book. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either. Sadly, I can only rate it as an audiobook, I can't distance myself from that. If I have read it, I might have had a better opinion. 2 out of 3 narrators were really not good, and the one reading Tommy's part had that wet voice where you can hear saliva in him mouth with every word. Listen to it on the headphones, and I was disgusted every time his part came and found it hard to focus on the story.
Harlow's narrator was fantastic, well suited for a teenage girl. But I was constantly wondering how Recorded Books couldn't find a better actor to read the parts of the 2 teenage boys...

Anyway, I liked the gloomy, rainy, gray atmosphere of the town this book was set in. I didn't like any character in particular. Well, I liked Harlow the most and Ellis the least, that's for sure. But I'm still confused about the plot.
I couldn't catch or understand the reasoning behind most of their actions. And I'm still not sure who did what to whom and why does everyone hate each other.

The ending was bizarre, if there was an ending at all. It was so weak.

I think I could go with another reading of this book. But reading this time. And I am certain that I will be reading more by this author. The book has so much potential, it's just that a little something was missing.

Hm, definitely not one of the easiest books to review, I'm kind of torn. At first I was really into the story, I think mainly because of the rainy, stormy atmosphere which I always love in any book. At first, also, I sensed a vague similarity in vibes to The Great Godden by Meg Rosoff, one of my favorite books, so I was prepared to love this one as well. However, I feel that literary fiction and young adult contemporary are genres that don't necessarily mix well. The character's intentions were so unclear at all times, their emotions and reasonings very vague. The ending, which I didn't like, was also very vague. I feel like this book had the potential to do either an abrupt, intense, epic ending (because, hello, torrential storm) or a very neatly wrapped one, where all the loose ends tied.
In any way, I couldn't stop listeing to the audiobook, I was enthralled, therefore the four stars. Strong debut. I would definitely read more from this author! Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the audiobook.

I waffled about the rating for this book a lot and until the end I thought it would get a higher score. Major trigger warnings for depression and suicide. None of the characters were particularly lovable, but I didn’t mind that so much. I liked switching perspectives because so much of the drama and misfortune in this book is a lack of communication so it was nice to see what everyone was really thinking. I liked Ellis the least and found myself most willing to turn it off when it was his turn. I had a harder time understanding his perspective and found him to be selfish and cruel at times. I liked Tommy’s perspectives and found his pieces to be poetic, sad, and beautiful. Harlow’s chapters were hard to read at times because she had some major flaws, but at least I could get her perspective (even if I wanted to shake her for her decisions). I think what dragged my rating down the most is my frustration that there was no true ending. The characters deserved it and after listening for twelve and half hours I feel like I also deserved an ending. This whole book was about the relationships between these three teens two twin boys and the girl who came between them. In a plot driven novel a lack of resolution about relationships would not be so bad, but to have such a long story about relationships end with no ending frustrated me a lot. I will say I loved the narration and felt like all three characters had voices that fit them.