The Sea Is Salt and So Am I

by Cassandra Hartt

Book Overview

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...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250619246
• ISBN13: 9781250619242
• Release Date: June 2021
• Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.1" x 9.1"
• Age Range: 14 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 9 to 12

Customer Reviews

Hard to review

This is a complicated book to review. It makes good points but, to me at least, most of the characters (Ellis and Harlow) were hard to like and it has a lot of triggers for suicide and depression. Of the three viewpoints in this book, I most definitely like Tommy's the best. He is real and sad and it is heartbreaking at times but so much better than Ellis who is selfish, runs away from anything hard (besides running which he works way too hard at to the point of injury) and lets people down and Harlow who is quite toxic at times, hurting Tommy and others with her words. Harlow is a bit redeemed by how her actions are kinder at times than her words when she works hard to try to save the diner from being destroyed by the ocean. She tries to fix everything and make it all go according to The Plan. I did not love this book as it was quite a downer at times and I had to keep setting it down to get a brighter outlook but it wasn't bad either. However, the ending was very unclear and a bit confusing too and so I don't think I would recommend this book.

Such a lovely read!

This was such a dreamy read! This story takes place in a small town in Maine named West Finch. 16 year old Harlow Prout sets out on an adventure.. looking for anyone and everyone willing to help save her small hometown from falling into the sea. Storms and hurricanes of years past have damaged her town little by little. The book is heartbreaking at times but in a really beautiful way. There is a warning at the beginning of the book that alerts the reader to potential triggers to suicide and depression. Those sensitive to those topics should maybe steer clear of this read. The way the author describes Harlow’s town makes it so alive! I almost felt like it was another character in the book. You could almost hear the seagulls and the waves crashing into the shore. She had a wonderful way of writing that really makes you FEEL like you dove head first into the book. I am recommending this to all my friends and I’m doing the same to you!

Beautiful, wrenching and complex

TW: attempted suicide, depression, death, injury The Sea is Salt and So Am I is presented as YA contemporary fiction. It is a character driven novel, set in a small coastal town in Maine which is washing into the sea as a result climate change. The writing is beautiful and stunning, the characters complex. The three main characters are teenagers Harlow, and identical twins Ellis and Tommy. Harlow and Ellis are best friends. Ellis and Tommy are estranged and Harlow and Tommy hate each other. Harlow is trying to save her town from being washed away, Ellis is a bi amputee and a serious track athlete and Tommy is an artist suffering from clinical depression. The story starts when Tommy goes into the frigid Atlantic Ocean in an attempt to commit suicide. Ellis and Harlow witness this and do nothing. Tommy's attempt is unsuccessful because he is rescued by a local lobster fisherman. Tommy is hospitalized for a week, and returns home to battle his depression. Harlow and Tommy start making out on the sly, and Ellis faces major challenges with his leg and how it negatively threatens his athletic future. Almost all the characters in this novel are flawed - the adults as well as the teens. Harlow and Ellis are unlikeable and their relationship is bizarre, toxic and codependent. I had great empathy for Tommy especially since his faithful dog is diagnosed with cancer shortly after his suicide attempt. The depiction of his struggle with depression was one of the most important parts of the story. The parenting in this book is poor and/or absent, and the toxic relationship between Harlow and Ellis seems to have developed unchecked by the adults. The relationship between Tommy and Harlow is also unhealthy. Harlow and Ellis have mental health issues serious enough that they also need counselling. The choices made by these teens are heart-wrenching to watch. I'm worried that some of the teen readers, to whom this book is marketed, might not be able to see how unhealthy these relationships are, and turn them into a "Team Ellis vs. Team Tommy" love triangle. In many ways, this book works as adult literary fiction and it would be advisable to read and discuss this book with your teenage children. There is much to unpack here with the environmental issues and numerous side plots. Secrets that explain the characters' motivations and behaviors are kept hidden from the reader until near the end. At times the book could be slow moving and the ending is inconclusive, leaves a lot unresolved, but seems to fit with the complexity of the story. In conclusion, and from the perspective of an adult, I really liked The Sea is Salt and So Am I, found it lyrically written and thought provoking. The coastal setting is atmospheric and beautifully depicted. Cassandra Hartt is definitely on my radar.