Review: You, Me and the Sea, by Meg Donohue

About the book, You, Me, and the Sea

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (May 7, 2019)

From the USA Today bestselling author of All the Summer Girlsand Dog Crazy comes a spellbinding and suspenseful tale inspired by Wuthering Heights that illuminates the ways in which hope—and even magic—can blossom in the darkest of places.

To find her way, she must abandon everything she loves…

As a child, Merrow Shawe believes she is born of the sea: strong, joyous, and wild. Her beloved home is Horseshoe Cliff, a small farm on the coast of Northern California where she spends her days exploring fog-cloaked bluffs, swimming in the cove, and basking in the light of golden sunsets as her father entertains her with fantastical stories. It is an enchanting childhood, but it is not without hardship—the mystery of Merrow’s mother’s death haunts her, as does the increasingly senseless cruelty of her older brother, Bear.

Then, like sea glass carried from a distant land, Amir arrives in Merrow’s life. He’s been tossed about from India to New York City and now to Horseshoe Cliff, to stay with her family. Merrow is immediately drawn to his spirit, his passion, and his resilience in the face of Bear’s viciousness. Together they embrace their love of the sea, and their growing love for each other.

But the ocean holds secrets in its darkest depths. When tragedy strikes, Merrow is forced to question whether Amir is really the person she believed him to be. In order to escape the danger she finds herself in and find her own path forward, she must let go of the only home she’s ever known, and the only boy she’s ever loved….

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About the author, Meg Donohue

Meg Donohue is the USA Today bestselling author of How to Eat a Cupcake, All the Summer Girls, and Dog Crazy. She has an MFA in creative writing from Columbia University and a BA in comparative literature from Dartmouth College. Born and raised in Philadelphia, she now lives in San Francisco with her husband, three children, and dog.

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Find out more at her website, and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

My Thoughts

Despite it’s wild coastal setting, You, Me, and the Sea is not a “beach book” in the sense of a light summer read. Rather, it’s a complex family drama that tackles serious subjects like death, loss, and abuse, and balances them with an unconventional coming-of-age story and a touch of heartfelt romance.

Protagonist Merrow seems like a broken bird, at times, suffering torture at the hands of her older brother Bear, to the point where you want to shake her and make her go get help, though when her father brings home a friend’s adopted (and now-orphaned) son, Amir, she at least gains a friend and an ally.

Bear, Amir, caring neighbor Rei, and later the Langford family, all play their parts, filling out the chorus of Merrow’s life, but this novel is really her story, from tortured waif, to successful teacher and partner, as she struggles to find her own truth and make sense of her own life.

Early in the novel, Merrow tells us that her father once shared that “The past never leaves you. It just changes shape.” Like the sea Merrow is so connected to, her past, her present, and her future continually change shape through this wonderful, powerfully written story.

Goes well with hot chocolate and a butter croissant.