The Girl the Sea Gave Back

The Girl the Sea Gave Back

By: Adrienne Young

Boy you’d think surviving being cast out to sea as a child would be the most dramatic thing in a girl’s life wouldn’t you?

Not poor Tova who is found and brought up by a distrustful clan of warriors who only want to use her for her ability to cast the stones and see the future when she does this for one particular idiot things only go to hell all the faster.

But at least she gets a great book cover.

The Girl the Sea Gave Back is a sequel of sorts to Sky in the Deep. The other point of view is one of the characters we meet in that novel and through his we see several of the other characters. So I would say if you aren’t interested in that one you can easily read this without it.

But if you have been interested in reading Sky- do that first or your going to get spoiled.

Young does some great world-building here though it can be difficult at first to follow names, clans, Gods, etc. It mostly sorts itself out. But I really appreciate the message here that this kind of war and violence is a never-ending cycle. Unfortunately even for those who think they’ve ended it.

The Girl the Sea Gave Back also deals a lot with prophecy and fate and whether those things are written in stone or you can change them through your actions.

I did find most of the Svell who raise Tova and are looking for war to be particularly unlikable. One nitpick I had there was I think it was out of proportion who much guilt and blame Tova takes in this situation.

I did like both POV’s. Much like Sky in the Deep I actually feel like this one could have been longer and gone deeper but maybe we’ll get another book in the world so who knows?

Overall The Girl the Sea Gave Back was a good read (bonus points for the cover) but I don’t think it’s going to blow anyone away. Yet I definitely believe as an author Young is going to do that one day.

Recommend: Yes.