By: Mariah Thomas
This Raging Sea is De Elizabeth’s debut novel. Touching on themes of loss, guilt and heartache, this book dives into the worlds of dark fantasy and young adult horror. Other books of similar content focus on a modern lens while this story feels timeless, which is fitting as one of the main characters quite literally becomes lost in time. There is a striking nostalgic feel to this story as it feels reminiscent to the mid 2000’s young adult fantasy genre.
Briar Winters and her group of friends have just graduated high school. Though the others lust after leaving and intend to, Briar is stuck for a multitude of reasons. When she was younger the sea claimed the life of her twin brother and his death continues to haunt their family. Her parents do not want her to stray too far from the witchy New England tourist trap they reside in, Loch Creek. The town holds dark secrets and an eerie ocean that comes with its own whispers and lore. During the night of the Carnival, Briar’s best friend Finn goes missing. As the friends search, they realize he doesn’t even exist. They remember him, but no one else does. Paralleling stories show readers both perspectives as Finn is lost in the past in order to save Briar. Many twists are unveiled as the story counts down to Briar’s nineteenth birthday where much chaos ensues. Feelings are realized and love goes stronger as this duo must face terrifying truths to come out of this mess.
“Bad news tastes like salt.” Those are the opening words of this story, and I found myself instantly drawn in. Salt becomes a common theme throughout the story in various ways. Of course, the obvious is the ocean. Salt lives in the sea, in the air and it holds so much weight. When salt is mentioned, you know something awful is on the horizon. Another element I enjoyed about this book are the different types of love shared between characters – romantic, yearning, friendship and a love that can never be and so much more. Love is deeply woven into cracks of horror and fantasy. Though I can’t say much without spoiling, I really enjoyed the final few chapters of this book. It is an ending that breaks and heals you at the same time.
I often find myself missing being a teenager and falling into the world of teen/young adult stories. When attempting to revisit certain books or even check out new ones, the formatting can get lost. It is a genre written for youth and sometimes the sentence structure shows. All of that to say, I finally found the nostalgia I have been searching for in author De Elizabeth’s created world. Though This Raging Sea is centered on teenagers, I found myself deeply drawn into the story. In fact, I was not pulled out of it with that aspect the way that I have been for other books. Every sentence has intention and paints a vivid picture of the scene at hand. There is a poetic brilliance to her style of writing that makes me excited for future books.
This Raging Sea dances across so many different genres and blends them beautifully. It touches on romance while also saving room for suspense and places of dark fantasy. In the same breath, it also holds deep young adult horror elements. Additionally, it incorporates sexuality as a common theme for our main characters. All of these genres meld together into the perfect read gearing up for the Halloween/spooky season. I would sum it up as heartbreaking horror. Though it plays in those darker genres, it is not a book to be fearful of. I would highly recommend anyone in need of a fall time book to read This Raging Sea.