The Sea of Tranquility

By Katja Millay

Written By:
DURANO, MA. ALTHEA CAYOBIT
BPA– BLK 102
I. BOOK TITLE: The Sea of Tranquility
II. AUTHOR / WRITER: Katja Milay
III. FIRST PUBLISHED YEAR: 2012
IV. BOOK SYNOPSIS:
I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants
or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die
and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the
weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.

Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school
without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from
her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.

Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life
until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is to be left alone
and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone
tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and
won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he
gets to know her, the more of an enigma she becomes. As their relationship intensifies
and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn
the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to.

The Sea of Tranquility is a rich, intense, and brilliantly imagined story about a lonely
boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.
V. SUBJECT AND THESIS STATEMENT OF THE BOOK:
VI. BOOK SUMMARY:
The Sea of Tranquility is a beautifully written, deep, heart-wrenching drama about
two damaged teens surviving unchangeable tragedies, and devastating grief, hurt, and
pain, learning to cope with them, accept them, and somehow finding healing, safety,
and finally happiness and love in each other along the way.
VII. FIVE BOOK REVIEWS OF GOODREADS:
Debra (August 23, 2020):

5/5 I loved this book! The Sea of Tranquility is beautifully written. The words are
beautiful and often flowed like water. Katja Millay really knocked it out of the ball park
with her debut novel. I loved that it wasn't a typical YA romance book - it is so much
more than that. It is heart breaking, it is sad, it is tragic, it is uplifting, it is a journey of
sorts,it is about hope, it is about second chances, it's about survival, it's about starting
over, it's about finding your way home. This book is full of characters that feel real, they
are flawed, they make mistakes, they are beautiful and they are likable. I really enjoyed
the character development. I also liked how the story unfolded and the reader learns
more and more about what happened to Sunshine/Nastya. I don't really want to say
what happens in this book because I don't want to give any of the story away. I love
books that make me think and feel and this book did that. I may have also shed a tear
or two (or three). I highly recommend The Sea of Tranquility!
Val “Shameless Handmaiden” (November 14, 2014):
4/5 Everyone and their mother, daughter, and grandmother have read and rated this
and I'm late to the party so I'll keep this short.
I really liked the story. Very well written. Great characters. Full of YA angst. I didn't give
it 5 stars because there were a couple of things that happened - namely one thing - that
BOTHERED me. Also, I felt like there could have been more true Sunshine/Josh time, if
that makes sense.
Mansi (November 1, 2012):
3/5 Well, that was a bit of a disappointment. Not to say I didn't like the book. I really did.
I guess what with all the amazing reviews, I set my hopes up too high.
I feel sad giving this book three stars because of the high standard of writing. It was
beautifully written, although the author described EVERYTHING in detail, which got a bit
tiresome sometimes. This book took a while to get into, and even after that, I kept
waiting for the 'it' moment, where it would click for me and the story would get started.
The 'it' never happened.
The book focuses on character development, which explains the lack of plot. The
themes discussed are strong, such as death, grief, murder, and I love the author's
refreshing take on them.
This book is told in two POV's - Nastya and Josh's. And I have to say, the author utilises
this to perfection. The timings of the POV switches are impeccable and really assist the
story.
There are only two things that make me love a book - the story and the writing. The
writing was amazing. The story not so much, honestly, it bored me.
Sarah Swann (August 7, 2022)
2/5 I have a VERY unpopular opinion on this book. I kind of hated it. I truly read this
book just not understanding how these characters are making the choices they are
making. It made no sense to me. These are children dealing with VERY adult situations
and I feel like this would have been better written with adult characters. Every single
character in this book drove me nuts and I wanted to yell at all of them. Why are you
doing this? Why aren't you talking to each other? Why are you DOING THIS???? I got
so frustrated with them that I couldn't enjoy it. Every single decision didn't make sense
and made everything difficult for no good reason. I was so over the angst that they were
creating for themselves and they were all so selfish. I just couldn't stand it. I'm giving it 2
stars because I did finish it and there were times where I stayed up late to read it, but
overall it didn't work for me.
Cathryn (August 6, 2018)
1/5 This book was just not for me. I'm not into beautiful, tortured characters or books
that are 200 pages longer than they should be. Not enough story for how long it is.
 CHAPTER 1

A. Chapter One
B. Best Quote or Best Line of the Chapter:
“Dying really isn’t so bad after you’ve done it once. And I have. I’m not afraid of death
anymore. I’m afraid of everything else.” – Nastya Kashnikov

C. Chapter Summary
It was August in Florida when a teenage girl named Nastya Kashnikov came back to
school at Mill Creek Community High after two years. Nastya felt being not safe outside.
So, she brought along her aunt, Margot. They have an appointment with Mr. Armour,
and the school principal and her aunt explain Nastya’s “unique situation”, which the
principal remembers Nastya. And afterward, Nastya met Drew, and she even described
him as a “dirty-blonde Ken doll” at the office.
D. Insights
In the first chapter, I noticed the first paragraph of our MC Nastya’s (Main Character)
thoughts. She was going through something, that as a reader, I find curious and
captivates my attention of the way she lived in the past. To quote those lines of Nastya
that captured my attention are:

“Dying really isn’t so bad after you’ve done it once. And I have. I’m not afraid of
death anymore. I’m afraid of everything else.”
“The loud sounds make it impossible to hear the soft ones and the soft sounds
are the ones you have to be afraid of. I can handle it now because we’re in a car,
and I usually feel safe in cars. Outside is a different story. I never feel safe
outside.”

Somehow, those lines of hers are familiar to me. It may not be to others, but to me it
was. Based on what I’ve read and understand, she was trying to live again. She feels
not being safe, and that’s why her aunt Margot was with her when she was going to
register herself for going to school again after two years. As a reader, I want to explore
more about the enigmatic character, Nastya.
E. Five words I rarely encounter:
 Idly
 Peruses
 Cacophony
 Scrawls
 Imperceptibly
 CHAPTER 2

A. Chapter Two
B. Best Quote or Best Line of the Chapter:
“Surviving. That’s what I’m doing now, and it hasn’t been quite as horrible as I
expected.”
“No one’s had much of an opportunity for socializing yet, so I’ve been able to skate
below the surface, but lunch is just a highly unsupervised hell dimension.” – Nastya
Kashnikov

C. Chapter Summary
Josh, a teenager who lives with his grandfather prepares himself of going to his first
day in school, which he finds ‘pointless’. He lived near the school that he was attending
and met his friend, Drew. While Nastya, the eyes of other people are following her
because of her gothic clothes. No one dared tried to talk to her, except Drew. The
teachers of Nastya gave such an impression to her that they feel apologized and gave
her the impression to expect her to treat Nastya differently. Classes resumed and
Nastya met a boy that catches her attention.
D. Insights
This chapter finally introduces Josh, a teenager that lives with his grandfather. We
can see that Josh is an independent teenager. It’s as if he’s living for himself. While
Drew, his friend, lives on the teenage dream where he does the “BS” during summer
breaks. In this chapter, the perspective of Josh and Drew depicts the reality of
masculinity in our society. Men working. Men have sexual desires.
Nastya, she was surviving throughout her first day in school. No one talks to her
because she looks different, as she wears those gothic clothes and she avoids the
crowd. She finds herself a place that she can be comfortable and I do think everyone
can relate this during their first day of classes; finding a place or group that we belong.

E. Five words I rarely encounter:

 bourgeoning
 recontemplate
 incrementally
 reprieve
 office-tirade
 CHAPTER 3

A. Chapter Three
B. Best Quote or Best Line of the Chapter:
“I watch people a lot. Normally it’s not an issue because no one really looks at me, and
if they do, I’m pretty adept at looking away fast. Very fast.” – Josh Bennett

C. Chapter Summary
At this point, Josh was doing his daily regimen; go to school, construct, and go
home. He even does make errands that are being demanded by his teachers. As he
was going to get his books, he noticed that he was being watched by the girl from the
courtyard — the one who was watching him who is new to his sight.
On the other hand, Nastya attends her fourth and fifth classes. During her fifth class,
she encounters the usual ‘get-to-know’ setup, where everyone from the class has to say
three things about themselves and one of those things has to be a lie. However, Nastya
didn’t utter any words from her mouth when the teacher asks her the three things about
herself. It was revealed in the chapter that she can’t talk.
D. Insights
“I watch people a lot.” I can relate myself to Josh when he gave this phrase in the
novel. He likes observing as much as I do. I keep on looking at those people who pass
by or just exist in front of me, because I am observing them, just like Josh.
From Nastya’s perspective, she is talkative when it’s her point of view in the story.
From what I observed about Nastya, she chose not to talk when she was encountering
the “getting to know” games that the class participates in. I guess it was Nastya’s choice
that she won’t talk in front of everyone else because she was still holding back.

E. Five words I rarely encounter:

 verbatim
 veracity
 roster
 suckfest
 sonnets
 CHAPTER 4

A. Chapter Four
B. Best Quote or Best Line of the Chapter:
“Just basic logistical facts. Talking has never been the issue. Communication is the
issue.” – Nastya Kashnikov

C. Chapter Summary
Nastya found it intolerable in the new environment that she had in the school that
she was attending, along with those people in it. Nastya was in the same class as Drew,
and she find it entertaining to watch him rather than find Drew attractive. She even met
Ethan, a boy whom she describes as a “dark-eyed, dark-haired, refreshingly charm-free
jackhole from the courtyard”.
She got home and communicates to Margot through the phone that she was already
at the house. Only Margot and Nastya’s mother have Nastya’s contact number. She
spent her leisure time doing exercise inside the house and just like clockwork, she
prepares her clothes and packs all of the signed paperwork after eating dinner. The
following day, she saw Drew in a “heated exchange” conversation with a girl named
Sarah, which Nastya calls “Barbie”. Only to find out, Drew and Sarah are siblings,
according to Nastya’s observation.
D. Insights
Communication is the key, but never in this chapter. Nastya only updates Margot
when she’ll be late or early for going home. Nastya is having difficulty communicating
with her Mom, to which she didn’t reply when her mother messaged her. I feel a bit
guilty. I can ridiculously relate to her because I’ve done this to my mother. Maybe, I am
having a hard time telling things to her and I don’t want my mom to meddle in my
matters that can easily be settled.

E. Five words I rarely encounter:

None.
 CHAPTER 5

A. Chapter Five
B. Best Quote or Best Line of the Chapter:
“I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or
shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die
and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the
weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk .” –
Nastya Kashnikov

C. Chapter Summary
On Friday morning, Nastya had to pick up her amended schedule from the Guidance
Office. She wore her usual gothic-style clothing, which she has in her closet. She
successfully hides in hallways and bathrooms during lunch breaks. She already learned
the identity of the boy whom she trailed her eyes, Clay. As she was stalking Clay, the
heels of her shoes lodged in the crack between two brick pavers. Unfortunately, she
was stuck between Clay’s and Sarah’s benches. Nastya removed her shoes and was
continuously insulted by Sarah and her “ladies in waiting”, according to Nastya. Then,
someone stopped Sarah from insulting Nastya. She even defined the guy “knight in
shining armor” that she didn’t expect. She was pissed by the likes of him.
.
D. Insights
We tend to believe that no one will save us but only ourselves. Nastya believed that
there was no being that can lift and save her from her sorrows. Because she survived
alone. But then, people will test us on how should we believe to ourselves that we are
okay with being alone. Right when Sarah bullies Nastya based on her appearance, I
feel like my blood was boiling. Bullying in school shouldn’t be normalized or tolerated
and it should be a safe environment that students will be able to have. It’s a nice move
for Josh to save Nastya from Sarah’s group of attracting the crowd to cause a
commotion. I find it funny when Nastya wasn’t happy about being saved by trouble, but
instead, she’s irritated when Josh did save her. She needed help and she wasn’t used
to it.

E. Five words I rarely encounter:

 Disheveled
 Surreptitiously
 Scathing
 Decibel
 Inconspicuous
 CHAPTER 6

A. Chapter Six
B. Best Quote or Best Line of the Chapter:
“Maybe I just wanted the girl to look at me again .” – Josh Bennett
C. Chapter Summary
Josh’s mind was mentally flogged after he defended the girl that was being picked on
by Sarah. He was just trying to stop the girl from making enemies with those “bitches”.
He gets his level that is old, wooden, and archaic which belongs to him and his father.
He heads back to the parking lot as he was being called by Drew. Then he saw the girl
whom Drew was talking with. The girl he saved earlier looks at him pissed at what he
did earlier during their lunch break. The girl left at Josh’s sight.
As the girl left, Josh asks Drew if he knew her. Drew plans to know the girl and he
even describes her as a “Russian chick”. Josh knew her name, Nastya, the Russian girl
who wears black dresses.
D. Insights
I find it cute when Josh defended Nastya from Sarah from making enemies with
them. As a reader, Josh did the right thing for Nastya’s sake. But then, I was turned off
when Drew was obviously sexualizing Nastya.

E. Five words I rarely encounter:

 innuendo
 thinly-veiled
 warped
 flogged
 exodus
 CHAPTER 7

A. Chapter Seven
B. Best Quote or Best Line of the Chapter:
“I know this place. But before I can think, the hands have stopped, the sound has
stopped and the person in the garage has turned around to face me. And I know him,
too.” – Nastya Kashnikov
C. Chapter Summary
At this point, Nastya made it through her second Monday at school. She can’t sleep,
she’s been in bed for two hours. She took a jog while bringing her canister of pepper
spray and a kubotan that holds her keys in her right hand that serves as her security
blanket. She kept on running, and she didn’t pay any attention to the houses or cars that
she passes by. She follows only her feet to clear out the thoughts that have flashed
back in her mind. She got herself wounded by a shrub with thorns. Then suddenly, she
was lost and instinctively gets her phone which she forgot to bring with her.
She just followed the sound and light, then stops at the end of a driveway in front of a
pale, yellow house with a brightly lit garage. She sensed the familiarity of the place,
where she saw someone in the garage that is working on sanding down the narrow
edge of a wooden beam. When the person in the garage turned his head around a
Nastya’s direction, everything stopped at that moment.
D. Insights
Clearing off our thoughts in our heads while it’s resting hour will probably be one of
the most difficult things that we could do when we are not feeling ourselves. But in this
chapter, Nastya finds a way to tire herself out by jogging in the neighborhood. And it is
stupid on her part that she lost track on her way and forgot to bring her phone for GPS.
Nastya is a well-made character in this chapter.

E. Five words I rarely encounter:

 kubotan
 yanked
 coaxing
 full-throttle
 cathartic
 CHAPTER 8

A. Chapter Eight
B. Best Quote or Best Line of the Chapter:
“And it sucks to need something from someone who so clearly detests you, but I’m not
proud enough to say no.” – Nastya Kashnikov
“You look different.” – Josh Bennett
C. Chapter Summary
It was Josh Bennett who was in the garage. Josh hasn’t recognized Nastya
immediately, as she wasn’t the girl who wears gothic clothing with her makeup on. He
asks Nastya how she knows where he lives, to which Nastya didn’t respond. She wasn’t
aware that this was Josh’s garage and house. Josh looked at Nastya, in crisscrossed
bloody legs. She steps back, like prey evading a predator. But, Josh offers her a ride to
her house. Nastya agreed and only Josh told her that she looks different when he took
Nastya home.
D. Insights
It feels weird when someone doesn’t recognize a person who usually wears makeup.
In this case, Nastya was scathed by the wounds she obtained while jogging. Scars are
visible in her skin, as Josh sees in her. But Josh recognizes Nastya. I like how Josh is
being kind to Nastya as he takes Nastya to her house. It’s the kindness that Josh
portrayed that made me feel empathized with Nastya’s state.

E. Five words I rarely encounter:

 kubotan
 devoid
 tendrils
 infernal
 revere
 CHAPTER 9

A. Chapter Nine
B. Best Quote or Best Line of the Chapter:
“I like him. Not like him, like him. But I do like him and I wonder what that says about
me. He’s entertaining, and I am sorely in need of entertainment.” – Nastya Kashnikov
C. Chapter Summary
Josh Bennett walks in and heads straight to Nastya’s table in the shop. He’s the only
person that Nastya can appear seriously put out with no expression at all on his face. He
seems disturbed by the fact that Nastya exists, much less occupies the same space in his
precious shop class. This is where Mr. Turner put Nastya and she was trying to decide if
she want to have a stare-down with Josh Bennett. There aren't any other empty tables
because the one that Nastya was sitting at was the last one. She likes sitting in the back
so that she will know that no one is behind her.
She pushes herself up on the counter and turns her face to the front. As she does,
she saw Josh walking back, he doesn’t look at her but he does speak to her. His back is
turned to the rest of the class. She can’t understand Josh Bennett and she wonders why.
Later on, she was invited by Drew at Trevor Mason’s during their Debate class. She
agreed as she finds Drew likable for giving Nastya the attention of needing entertainment.
She wrote her address on the ripped page of her notebook and handed the paper to
Drew, then she will be picked up at nine.

D. Insights
This chapter portrays how Nastya explores other things, such as Drew inviting her to
be with Trevor Mason’s party. I find it alarming when Nastya walks on a path where it
might trigger her traumas about her past. She lurks with it and always observant of
things that pique her interest.

E. Five words I rarely encounter:

 fervor
 interrobang
 chagrin
 preppy
 man-whorishness
 CHAPTER 10

A. Chapter Ten
B. Best Quote or Best Line of the Chapter:
“She’s like an optical illusion. You look at it from one angle and you see the picture and
you think you’ve got a lock on it and then it shifts and the image changes to something
entirely different and you can’t even find the original picture anymore. It’s a serious
mindfuck.”
“Good morning, Sunshine!” – Josh Bennett
C. Chapter Summary
Drew arrives at Josh’s place around after midnight. As Josh puts down his pencil that
is used to make measurements, Drew asks him a favor to take Nastya. Josh asks Drew
if he did anything to Nastya. Defensively, Drew said no. Nastya drank too much flame
thrower which has a mixture of grain alcohol and cherry Kool-Aid. Both boys saw
Nastya’s arms filled with scars that they even call her a “badass” in her drunk state.
Josh let Nastya stay at his house and she barely moves when Josh tries to drag her out
of her seat to pick her up at his house.
Nastya woke up and the first thing she noticed is that she was on someone else’s
couch. Then, she saw Josh Bennett telling her that she kept on vomiting. Nastya
wonders why she was at Josh’s house; Drew was the person that she was with during
the party. Josh keeps on bickering and enjoys annoying Nastya. He even calls her
“Sunshine”. She wanders and observes Josh’s house, filled with wooden furniture. After
drinking the deceptively like cherry Kool-Aid, Josh offered Nastya clean water to
replenish her. Nastya cleans herself after looking like a mess. He drives Nastya home.
And Nastya let Josh call her whatever he likes for a while.

D. Insights
To Josh, he sees Nastya as an optical illusion. In this chapter, he was able to
observe the Russian girl who captivates his attention. I like how they clash one another,
especially Nastya who immediately disliked Josh. And how Josh companied Nastya to
stay at his house. Maybe, in reality, there are only few strangers who will be nice to let
someone stay at their house while being unconscious. Funny thing is that Drew was the
person who initiated to let Nastya be with him and ended up at Josh. And Josh was
completely annoyed of what Drew did.
Seeing Nastya having the visible scars on her body will make me wonder if she’s a
bad-ass or a victim of attaining those. Well, I’m waiting of what will happen next.

E. Five words I rarely encounter:

 mindfuck
 flame throwers
 disconcerting
 castration
 wince
 CHAPTER 11

A. Chapter Eleven
B. Best Quote or Best Line of the Chapter:
“Her face is insane, even with all that shit she covers it up with. If I can do that justice,
I’ll never need to draw another girl again.” – Clay Whitaker
C. Chapter Summary
Drew’s mother visits Josh at his house around 4:00 and asks Josh how’s his life
going on. They ate the cookies that appeared at Josh’s doorstep and Drew’s mom asks
Josh if he learned how to bake, which Josh truthfully says that he didn’t. Someone gave
Josh that cookie from his doorstep. And Drew met Josh and he asks of what happened
after he left Nastya in Josh’s custody. He even explains that he had a hard time dealing
with Nastya in her drunk state.
It was figured out that Nastya baked that cookie. In their class, Kevin Leonard
insults Josh to the public that he was emancipated, and Nastya’s curiosity grew bigger.
To Josh, he hates being pitied by everyone who knew his fate since all of his close
family members are dead and the reason why he was emancipated is because he’s
only surviving on his own, despite earning a lot of money from his commissioned works.
Classes resumed and everyone from the class feels awkward when Nastya because of
her presence. Even Josh feels awkward. In their craft class, Josh receives applause
from Mr. Turner who asks Josh if he’s okay about the “Kevin” situation. Only he hears a
whisper of Nastya telling him he lied to Mr. Turner and he wasn’t sure if he was just
imagining things.
He attended his Art class with Clay Whitaker. He asks Clay what’s the subject of his
drawing which Clay corrects Josh that it’ was a “who” and it was Nastya who serves as
Clay’s muse in his drawings, trying to figure of the unveiled face of Nastya Kashnikov.
D. Insights
In this chapter, everything screams the typical “enemies to lovers” trope. Josh has
his boundaries to people. Maybe because the loss of his family members was one of
the factors why he was being distant to people around him, except Drew and the
Leightons.
E. Five words I rarely encounter:
 precarious
 emancipated
 innuendo
 CHAPTER 12

A. Chapter Twelve
B. Best Quote or Best Line of the Chapter:
“I know where the sidewalks are uneven, where the pavement has been pushed up by
the roots of an angry tree.” – Nastya Kashnikov
C. Chapter Summary
Nastya was seeking ways to recover from her own exhaustion last week. She
continues on running around the streets. And for the past six nights, she purposely
avoided the pale-yellow stucco house on the Corinthian Way. She got home unscathed
at Margot’s house around 9:25. She took a shower and talked to herself. Flashbacks
appear of what happened to her and her past.
As she goes to school, to her, shop class isn’t bad for her.
D. Insights
Nastya’s rage was unbelievingly amazing because she knows everything that
happened to her. She aims to heal. To clear off. To move on. And, she slowly finds
people that will help her heal, despite of avoiding them.

E. Five words I rarely encounter:

None.
 CHAPTER 13

A. Chapter Thirteen
B. Best Quote or Best Line of the Chapter:
“.” – Nastya Kashnikov
“.” – Josh Bennett
C. Chapter Summary

D. Insights

E. Five words I rarely encounter:






 CHAPTER 14

A. Chapter Fourteen
B. Best Quote or Best Line of the Chapter:
“.” – Nastya Kashnikov
“.” – Josh Bennett
C. Chapter Summary

D. Insights

E. Five words I rarely encounter:






 CHAPTER 15

A. Chapter Fifteen
B. Best Quote or Best Line of the Chapter:
“.” – Nastya Kashnikov
“.” – Josh Bennett
C. Chapter Summary

D. Insights

E. Five words I rarely encounter:





