The Last True Poets of the Sea by Julia Drake
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
🧡💛💚💙💜
Violet Larkin’s life is spiraling out of control. Even she realizes she is not making the best choices for herself, but she can’t stop.
Urges hit her and the NYC nights grow longer, the drinking more ample and the sex more risky.
When her younger brother, Sam, attempts to take his own life, Violet even acts out at the hospital.
The situation is overwhelming and scary. Despite the serious nature of their circumstances as a family, she just can’t stop herself.
Her parents catch her hitting on a much older man at the vending machines and know that something must change or they risk losing both of their children.
While her brother Sam heads off to Vermont for treatment, Violet is sent to Lyric, Maine, to stay with her Uncle.
Luckily, Violet doesn’t see Maine as a punishment. In fact, her great-great-great Grandmother founded the town of Lyric after surviving a shipwreck, and they travel there as a family every summer.
She has a lot of good memories in that town. Maybe it will help her slow her brain down and find some inner peace.
Violet settles in quickly. Her Uncle is kind and understanding of her needs.
She gets a job at the local aquarium, and although still struggling with the stressors of her regular life, begins to make a new group of friends.
One of Violet’s missions for the summer is to locate the shipwreck that her ancestor survived. It is something she and Sam always talked about doing together and she wants to find it for him.
Along with her new friends, including a truth-seeking girl who makes Violet’s pulse race, she sets out to unravel the mystery of the wreck.
This is such a beautifully told story about family, self-discovery and forgiveness. Drake packed this full of hella serious subject matter, while writing with such humanity and care, it filled my heart.
The friendship group that Violet finds in Lyric are complete friendship goals. Additionally, the evolution of her relationship with Liv…
It was everything. It felt so real. The anticipation, those moments when you first figure out your feelings for another person. The excitement. I was legit swooning.
I also really appreciated Violet’s family. I like that her parents were supportive and loving. You could tell they wanted what was best for their kids.
I think oftentimes in literature, YA in particular, it seems like if a character is struggling with their mental health, they come from a horrible family, or their family isn’t there for them.
I thought it was nice to show that issues with mental health impact people from all segments of society, great families and not so great families alike. I also thought the ranges of the issues both Violet and Sam are working through were more varied than you generally see.
As you can tell, I was really impressed with how this novel handled the topic of mental health.
Overall, The Last True Poets of the Sea is the perfect read for anyone looking for a hard-hitting, Queer YA Contemporary. If those buzzwords work for you, make sure you pick this up!!
Thank you so much to the publisher, Disney-Hyperion, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. It is a story I will never forget.
