Angie's Reviews > When Sea Becomes Sky

After an aggressive amount of reading in preparation for our first Battle of the Books at the end of the 2022-23 school year, I lost my reading mojo for a hot minute and hadn't reviewed anything on Goodreads for over 2 months (gasp! What?!) This book, When Sea Becomes Sky, absolutely begs for an immediate review and reaction though. I didn't want to wait a single moment after finishing it to post my review! This book is gorgeous and heartfelt and made me feel all the feelings. I LOVED it. I haven't loved a middle grade reader like I loved this one in a very long time. My husband walked in the room moments after the gut punch McDunn had delivered and found me weeping on the sofa, trying to explain what this book had done to me. I can't even say anything more without potentially ruining the reading experience for others so I'll just tell you a few of the things I loved most about this book.
- the characters - oh my! Davey and Bex are just such a wonderful pair of siblings with a wonderful story to share
- the Carolina marsh setting - beautiful, unique, comforting, exciting
- the WRITING! Descriptive, careful, clever, warm. I highlighted so many lovely little written gems in this book! Here are a few that made me smile.
"Davey smiled in that very specific way he had, where the left side of his mouth lifted up first and then the right side curled, like it was afraid to be left behind."
"Even simple foods taste better when they're prepared by someone else."
"Clouds hovered overhead but refused to share even a drop of rain. If I could have reached them, I would have squeezed them like sponges."
"I popped the candy in my mouth and let the candy shell melt. Usually I adored the taste, but that day it was too sticky-sweet. I swallowed hard. It was a bad day indeed when chocolate didn't taste good."
"I smiled to myself and chewed my sandwich. It was sweet and salty, crunchy and smooth, with a trace of bitterness. It had everything at once."

I especially loved all of Bex's reflections on writing, too. The author had me absolutely hooked in chapter two as Bex and Davey discussed writers and writing, and I knew at that moment that McDunn was going to deliver a well-crafted story. Boy, was I right!

This is a beautiful story of family, friendship, adventure, love, grief and healing. I highly, confidently recommend this book!