Sea (Grief, coming of age)

Book Title: Sea by Hiedi Kling

Topic: Nightmares, tsunami, love

Thoughts: Sienna's mother died three years ago in a plane crash over the Indian Ocean.  Because of this Sienna refuses to enter the ocean anymore (she lives near a beach in California) or fly in a plane.  For her fifteenth birthday, her father, a psychiatrists, surprises her with a plane ticket to Indonesia to go with him and his friends to help orphans of the tsunami overcome post traumatic syndrome. 

Upon arriving at the orphanage, Deni catches Sienna's eye and they both help each other overcome the nightmares they experience each night.

I liked learning more about the Indonesian culture.  I already knew why they only eat with their right hand, but I learned what is the proper custom of accepting a person's hospitality with sitting, eating food, and drinking.

This is another one of those novels that when I finished, I reread the first chapter.  What I thought Sienna was referring to in the first chapter is not what she is referring to by the end of the novel.

"Sea" a new culture and give this book a try!