What the Sea Wants

by Tracy Banghart, Julia C. Blum (Illustrator)

The windswept, rocky shores of Maine are inhabited by a people as rugged and individual as the coast. Tree-lined, fog-shrouded coves guard ancient mysteries. And in a small coastal town, a young girl named Victoria Winslow has a strange, unyielding attraction to the sea. On the last day of summer, Victoria will discover the truth about the sea's awful power and neither her life nor the lives of those around her will ever be the same... With lyrical writing and graceful illustrations, this eerie story plays out in a world where the ocean is as living and breathing a thing as any human.

Genres: Fiction

72 pages, Hardcover

First published August 15, 2006

About the author

Tracy Banghart grew up in rural Maryland and spent her summers on a remote island in northern Ontario. All of that isolation and lovely scenery gave her the time to read voraciously and the inspiration to write her own stories. Always a bit of a nomad, Tracy now travels the world Army-wife style with her husband, kids, and pets.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 2 out of 5]

Victoria Winslow had always felt a deep connection to the sea. Attuned to its ever-changing moods, she spent her days haunting the shore near her Maine home, painting, and longing for the day that the sea would "take her." When she is rescued from near-drowning by her neighbor, Sam, it seems as if her hoped-for homecoming has been derailed. But can the sea be thwarted? Or will it find a way to take what it wants...?

Stories of mermaids, selkies, and other creatures of the sea, who, stranded on land, long to return to their watery home, have always had a fascination for me, so when I read the description of this short novel for children, in which a young Maine girl has a "strange, unyielding attraction to the sea,", I was quite anxious to obtain a copy. Sadly, despite its promising premise, I found What the Sea Wants rather lackluster. The narrative was muddled, with no real explanation given of Victoria's fate. Although the implication is that she becomes(?) a mermaid, the ending is fairly ambiguous.

This may have been done to create a sense of mystery, but the effect is to create an unsatisfying ending. Banghart's prose, described in the publisher's blurb as "lyrical," struck me as somewhat pedestrian. Nor was I particularly impressed by Julia C. Blum's interior illustrations, although I did like the cover-art. All in all, this felt like an amateurish first effort (which it appears to have been), and while I wouldn't discount the possibility that the author will improve in time, I also wouldn't recommend this title to fellow readers.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4 of 5

A novella with imagery so powerful and evocative I could smell the ocean, feel the harsh winter wind against my cheek, hear the rocking chair on the porch. The ending was abrupt and ambiguous, but it fully supported what Grannie Foster taught Victoria, "Superstitions are just superstitions, but every rumor, every legend starts with a grain of truth."

[Rain Misoa · Rating 3 out of 5]

For such a short book, it really wasn't such a BAD read. I was expecting this to be somewhat horrible only because I wasn't particularly fond of the writing style. There were times when the writing seemed... strange. Perhaps redundant is a better word. Whatever it was, it just didn't do it for me. And the illustrations were hit and miss. Julia Blum has a simplistic art style, which isn't bad. However, sometimes it seems as if she put a lot of effort into creating a beautiful piece... where as other times it looks like a toddler made the drawing. I wasn't that thrilled with it. The plot itself was... okay. Just a lot of sea talk. Yup... that's basically it. We don't spend enough time with the characters to become attach to them which is why it can seem dull at times. The only character I really enjoyed was the dog, Dart. But that's for entirely different reasons. XD In any case, you might want to check this book out from the library first since there's really... not much to this book. :/

[Amanda Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was some sort of poetic oceanic folklore I think? Not my usual thing but it was short and I’m always happy to branch out now and then from what I usually read

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a girl named Victoria who has a passion for painting pictures of the sea. She gets wrapped up in all the fictional stories her grandma tells her about the sea and all the rumors and tales of the Caption's House, which they happen to live right near. Victoria learns that the sea "takes what it wants" and she is convinced the sea has human feelings. She almost drowns by the shore until her friend, Sam, saves her life but.... we later find out she didn't want to be saved. She eventually was "taken" by the sea from the Caption's House, and we learn that the stories her grandma tells, might not actually be fictional.

[Marilyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted this book to work - I love tales of the sea and mermaids, selkies, and whales. I love the cover and wanted the story to be mysterious and beautiful to go with the cover. It wasn't. It came across to me like a mediocre high school creative writing assignment. I found the pen and ink drawing amaturish; it was hard to believe the cover was done by the same artist. Oh well, I'll stick to reading fairy tales about mermaids and selkies.

[Tracy Banghart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm re-releasing this as an ebook with a new cover. This version is the story only; it does not contain the illustrations featured in the original, hardback edition.

What the Sea Wants is a short, strange story, very different from my full-length novels. It was inspired by summers spent in Deer Isle, ME with my grandmother and will always hold a special place in my heart as my first published story. I hope you enjoy it!

[Bobbie Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short novella with very nice writing - just left me hanging though. Looking forward to reading the first published novel By Blood though because she is a very descriptive writer.