Book Review: The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young

For as long as she can remember, Tova has lived among the Svell, the people who found her washed ashore as a child and use her for her gift as a Truthtongue. Her own home and clan are long-faded memories, but the sacred symbols and staves inked over every inch of her skin mark her as one who can cast the rune stones and see into the future. She has found a fragile place among those who fear her, but when two clans to the east bury their age-old blood feud and join together as one, her world is dangerously close to collapse.

For the first time in generations, the leaders of the Svell are divided. Should they maintain peace or go to war with the allied clans to protect their newfound power? And when their chieftain looks to Tova to cast the stones, she sets into motion a series of events that will not only change the landscape of the mainland forever but will give her something she believed she could never have again—a home.(Goodreads)

Well, I’m going, to be honest, this did not compare to Sky in The Deep for me.  I think there were a couple of reasons, first, the dual narration and the switching between past and present just did not do it for me.  I didn’t feel connected to Tova or even Halvard, who I loved in Sky in the Deep.  

This book was much more focused on the story, and the story was an interesting one, however, because I wasn’t connected to the characters, I wasn’t as into the story.  Tova and Halvard had just a few scenes together making it difficult to understand what was between them. That coupled with the fact that I had no background information on these tribes left me wanting more.  Even the characters from Sky and the Deep, Fiske and Eelyn seemed to be shadows of themselves in this book.

  I wanted to love this book, but I just didn’t.  

Overall Rating: 3

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