Review: Familiar Characters in a New, Vibrant World
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 30, 2013
The Sea Inside drew me in immediately.  The heroine Jayne’s situation fascinated me - a once-award-winning runner had a diving accident that’s left her paralyzed from the waist down.  Right away in the story, she started having strange, inexplicable experiences, which intrigued me.  The language was nicely descriptive, and I liked the characters that floated through the heroine’s life in the hospital.As the story went on, it reminded me of Alice in Wonderland, Mirrormask, and Narnia as far as the creation of a close-but-not-quite reality.  The close descriptions of colors and objects reminded me of The Night Circus.  For the first part of The Sea Inside especially, I was impressed with all the different words for “blue” Vickie Johnstone was able to work into the story.However, the strength of Jayne’s character and the development of other characters in general faded away.  After a while, all the characters sounded the same to me when they talked.  I forgot that Jayne was 16 because her age was only mentioned once; the guy she fell for was continually described as a “man” rather than a more age-appropriate term; and Jayne vacillated between being mature and immature.  Her determination, her belief in herself, and her occasional quick thinking made her a great character.  But I wanted to see more interaction between Jayne and the guy she fell for.  What did she like about him?  I wanted to see Jayne step up and accept the (albeit strange) magically based places she traveled to.  She seemed confused by everything.  I would’ve loved to see more of what sets Jayne apart as a heroine, especially her running background, mentioned later in the book.  For a teenager in a pretty intense, uncommon situation, her uniqueness blended away, and I missed the Jayne I met in the beginning.I also wanted more story at the end.  I’m glad Vickie Johnstone is making this a series (I assume based on this being book 1).  It makes the ending of this book easier to accept.  Without giving anything away, I wanted to see the reunion played out here so I could look forward to book 2 with Jayne’s emotions as the driving force - is she hurt?  Hopeful?  Conflicted?The Sea Inside was highly imaginative.  Even with familiar archetypes like guides and mythical creatures, the story never felt unoriginal.  The plot would twist unexpectedly, making me want to know more.  But Jayne could be a frustrating heroine as she missed the obvious time and time again.  I began to drown in all the mentions of “blue” after several chapters.  It was an intriguing story, but I wish it would’ve been more cohesive.