LitPick Review
Girl At Sea is a coming-of-age novel with a twist. Beth is also on a path for revenge. A happy 14-year-old until tragedy strikes her life, Beth is forced to grow up fast. Thankfully her family friend Silas, a 45-year-old former Navy SEAL who lives on his boat, steps in and saves her from a life in foster care. But before they can sail away, Beth is forced to learn some harsh lessons about the darker side of human nature. As they sail around the world, death and danger seem to follow them, along with a black albatross that mostly flies above their boat unseen. Every chapter brings a new dangerous scenario, and they narrowly escape one just to seemingly fall into another. The thriller element often overtakes the coming-of-age arc, although there are some strong emotional moments as Beth and Silas navigate her turning into an adult and the accompanying sentiments that come with it. The excitement lasts until the end, and there is a definite sense of closure after nine chapters of uncertainty.
Opinion:
I enjoyed the story of Beth and Silas and their bond. The author did a nice job with their friendship, and I found myself loving Silas for stepping in and raising Beth and also loved that Beth was able to fill a void for him without trying to replace the daughter he tragically lost. My struggle in this book came with the other side of the story: the thriller piece. Almost every chapter was a new location, a new cast of characters, and a new impossible situation to overcome. It was a bit confusing and after the main characters escaped certain death for the fourth or fifth time, I found myself losing interest because the intrigue was not there. The formatting was also somewhat choppy. Every so often there would be a set of sailboats in the middle of the page (I read the Kindle edition) or an image of an albatross. There were multiple grammar mistakes and that combined with the formatting had me stopping and starting throughout the book.
