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The Girl the Sea Gave Back is a 2019 young adult
fantasy novel by Adrienne Young. It was published by Wednesday books. It is
part of the same series as Sky in the Deep, but reading Sky in the
Deep prior to this novel is not necessary to understanding it. In the
interest of full disclosure, I didn’t read Sky in the Deep prior to this
novel, so please keep that in mind for this review. The novel can be purchased here
The novel follows Tova who has lived among the Svell people
after being found washed ashore in their lands as a child. She is a
Truthtongue, able to read portents and see in the future, which is a gift the
Svell have used to their advantage for years. With two nearby clans joining
together, the chieftain of the Svell looks to Tova to advise them on what
course of action to take. By looking into the future, she sets into motion a
series of events that could change everything. The conflict could give Tova the
one thing she thought she’d never have again- a home.
The Girl the Sea Gave Back doesn’t have one protagonist but two. Tova is a Truthtongue and half of the novel follows her
story. The other main character is Halvard, the man who will be the next
chieftain of the Nadhir people. The Nadhir are the group the Svell are debating
whether to go to war with or not. Switching between Tova and Halvard’s perspective,
the conflict between the two group draws the pair close together and it’s clear
from early on that the two share a connection. Given that I would describe the
story as being more plot-driven than character-driven, there’s not a lot I can
say about Tova or Halvard. Halvard is a young man, only 18, who is unexpectedly
called to lead his people in the midst of a crisis. He wants to lead his people
in the best way he can, but has no idea how to do that. Tova is an outsider who
has always wanted a place to belong but has never found it. Despite her
abilities making her valuable to the Svell, a number of them want her dead and
believe her to be cursed. As expected, Tova finds a place to belong over the
course of the story and Halvard learns how to lead his people.
Aside from the two main characters, there are a few others
worth mentioning, most of whom are Svell. Jorrund is a Tala, a religious
figure, of the Svell. He was the person who found Tova as a child. While there
are moments where its clear he cares about his surrogate daughter, one starts
to wonder if he cares about her or the power her abilities give him the more
the story progresses. Vigdis is one of the tribal leaders of the Svell and
becomes the new chieftain after the old one, his brother, is killed early in
the book. He’s the villain of the story, being responsible for both the main
conflict, the war between the two peoples, and the inner conflict Tova feels
throughout the story. There are a number of friends and mentors Halvard has,
but the most interesting of which is Kjeld, who is one of the Kyrr. The Kyrr
are another tribe that live on the headlands of the sea, while the other tribes
live along fjords and the coasts. Tova is also one of the Kyrr, although she
remembers very little of her homeland, as she was found by the Svell at the age
of six. She believed they had cast her out and left her to die. The two Kyrr
meeting in the midst of this conflict pushes Tova further in her journey of
self-discovery and changes the tide of the war.
One of the central themes of the book, and most consistent
one, revolves around destiny. Tova is perhaps the only character who fully
understands how fate works, given that she can see the future. Everyone else,
especially the Svell, are under the impression that nothing is destined to
happen, even as events she predicts come to pass. An interesting pattern I
noticed was the unspoken idea of self-fulfilling prophecies. In telling the
Svell the future she sees in her omens, is she causing it to change or would
things always turn out this way? This idea is something she struggles with in
the middle of the book when she believes that her casting stones, the way she
sees the future, about whether war is wise led to the destruction of an entire
village. She believes her reading caused the destruction, while it could be
argued that it was the Svell’s leadership’s actions that are responsible. The
connection between Halvard and Tova is hinted to be as a result of destiny.
When she looks into her own future, she sees him and this causes her to seek
him out to understand why.
The story is told mostly in first person from Tova and
Halvard’s alternating perspectives. The prologue and a few chapters that take
place in the past are told from the third person perspective and give insight
on both narrators’ childhoods and events that shaped who they are. I’m normally
not a fan of alternating perspectives because, more often than not, I think
that they don’t serve a purpose. I often see alternating POVs being used to
serve a plot twist rather than something that serves the plot itself. Alternating
perspectives are effective in this story because Young doesn’t just show events
from two different perspectives, but also provides extra context along the way.
Being told from only one perspective would make the story feel a little
disjointed and the climax wouldn’t make as much sense.
I found the story and the world enjoyable. The clans are
inspired by Viking history from what I can tell and it shows. Young does an
excellent job weaving the story together and explaining aspects of the world
without making it seem like too much or too little. Each clan felt unique, as
did their way of life and beliefs. It was the most enjoyable coming of age
story, and self-discovery story, that I’ve read in a while. And, while certain
aspects of the plot are a little predictable, I liked the risks the author was
willing to take. The Girl the Sea Gave Back isn’t a story where only specific
character archetypes die. it’s not a story that’s entirely black and white and
the gray area leads to some interesting character dynamics and changes to the
plot. Characters you’d think are one-dimensional actually have quite a bit of
depth and characters who appear trustworthy turn out not to be.
One thing I wish there had been more of was explanation
about the Kyrr. There is a scene at the very beginning of the book, showing how
Tova ended up in the Svell village, but aside from that not much about that
group is explained until the very end, and even then, it’s not much. I suppose
the reason for this could be to keep the Kyrr as mysterious as possible.
Depending on which character is describing the Kyrr, they’re either demons or
this strange, almost mystical race that no one knows much about. Another
critique I have is the pacing of the story. The main conflict between the Svell
and Nadhir is concluded in the span of about 10-20 pages and the way it was
resolved felt a tiny bit forced to me. If the ending went on for a little
longer, or the closing events felt less contrived, I would’ve enjoyed the story
a lot more.
The Girl the Sea Gave Back is a book that I found by
random chance. I picked it up on a whim due to both the title, which intrigued
me, and the cover art which is beautiful. I was happy to discover that the story
within its pages more than met my expectations. It’s not a perfect book, but
better than I expected it to be. The fantasy aspect doesn’t make the story too
difficult to follow, making it an ideal choice for someone looking to start
reading fantasy. It’s also a novel that is easy to read quickly, once the first
few chapters are over and the story truly starts. I would recommend and I plan
on reading the author’s first book that takes place in this world.
Rating: 3.9 stars
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