The Sea Is Salt and So Am I

May 3, 2021
White and 16, identical twins Tommy and Ellis, as well as Ellis’s best friend Harlow, all live in the fictional town of West Finch, Maine, which is collapsing into the ocean—a metaphor for the precariousness of the teens’ lives. After Tommy, who is depressed, attempts to drown himself in the same sea, Harlow’s efforts to help him, despite their tense past, result in a romance that poisons Harlow’s complex friendship with Ellis and reveals a history of toxic secrets. The first-person narration shifts indistinctly between Harlow, a violet-eyed teen with a drive to fix coastlines and people; Tommy, an artist who has lost his ability to draw (“Art happens in my head and my head is no longer a safe place to be”); and Ellis, a competitive runner who dates across the gender spectrum and, following a childhood accident, uses a prosthetic leg. Debut author Hartt portrays Tommy’s depression persuasively, but temporal and physical details are less carefully rendered. The book opens with a trigger warning and concludes with an author’s note that includes resources for LGBTQ youth and readers navigating mental illness. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jennifer Rofé, Andrea Brown Literary.

May 15, 2021
Three small-town teens navigate sea changes both personal and environmental. After another storm in West Finch, Maine, withdrawn artist Tommy MacQueen attempts suicide while on a swim. His survival triggers events that change both his future and those of his confident twin, Ellis, a bisexual amputee and track star, and Ellis' best friend, activist Harlow Prout. Estranged ever since Harlow entered their lives and drawn further apart by Tommy's depression, the MacQueen brothers struggle to regain their childhood bond. Harlow begins a secret relationship with Tommy out of pity, but what's meant as a distraction becomes a tender romance between the formerly bitter enemies. Harlow and Ellis' volatile friendship is given equal weight in the narrative: Vacillating between codependency and profound devotion, their relationship is the novel's heart. Insular West Finch is as atmospheric and colorful as Tommy's paintings, overshadowed by the acceptance of its own eventual destruction through coastal erosion. Hartt is uninterested in easy answers, unspooling mysteries and emotions that shift what we thought we knew about characters caught in realistically nonlinear growth. The points of view are specific and well realized, with belligerent, loving Harlow, a fixer unable to stop breaking things, being a particular standout. Tommy's recovery proceeds in complicated fits and starts; his depression is portrayed with sensitivity. Main characters default to White. A melancholy and thoughtful debut. (author's note) (Fiction. 14-18)

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Starred review from June 4, 2021

Gr 10 Up-Harlow is an environmental activist hopelessly in love with her best friend, Ellis, even though she's hooking up with his twin brother Tommy. Heartbreaker Ellis is bisexual and an athletic runner with a limb difference. Each teen is written with aching authenticity. They often make the wrong decisions and fixate on their mistakes, becoming so self-involved that they can't see how they are affecting one another. This long and often slow-paced narrative alternates among the three points of view. Ellis and Tommy are extremely different, but both experience suicidal ideation, presented in vastly different ways. The novel starts with Tommy's attempt to drown himself, but he is eventually saved. Ellis also attempts suicide early in the story, after driving a car into a tree while under the influence. The work adeptly examines the different ways teens deal with similar issues and pressures. Additionally, there is an overarching environmental theme. The teens live in a small Maine town threatened by erosion, and many businesses and houses are collapsing into the ocean. Many teens will identify with the protagonists and their societal and personal struggles. The characters are presumed white. VERDICT Character-driven and profoundly moving, Hartt's debut will tug at teens' heartstrings and is ideal for fans of Jennifer Niven and Nina LaCour.-Melanie Leivers, Burnsville, MN

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