Girl of the Southern Sea

This book was extremely fantastic and super well-written. I give this book a 5/5 star rating and think it was absolutely exquisite. I really enjoyed the events that happened in the story and how the author built up the character, Nia, who lives, and grew up in, Jakarta, Indonesia, with a mother who died and a drunk, selfish, and irresponsible dad. She has a younger brother named Rudi, and even though her life was amiss, she still did what she had to do and was strong through it—all the while dreaming to become a writer someday because that was her passion. But, to do this, she needed to get an education. This meant going to high school, but, going to the high school meant paying the money fee; however, with her dad spending all the money on arak, she will not be able to fulfill her dream…or will she?

In the middle of a crazy life, where surprises pop up at every corner, and most of the time, they are not good surprises, she gets onto a minibus to go an pay the rent. But the minibus crashes, and a “miracle” occurs, as a guy named Oskar says—and who thinks she is “magic.” She flies out of the window and is the only person who did not get injured. Then, she takes a risk and charges double for her banana fritters. Is this a fantastic opportunity or a huge mistake? Read this fantastic book if you would like to find the answer.

If you are a person who enjoys books with content that makes you feel for the character and not want to put the book down, then you should definitely read this book. If you are a fan of choppy and dry books, well definitely do not read this book, because this book is very far from dry and choppy. It is juicy and full of color, character, and exquisite content. I liked that this book was written in the first-person because I feel that it adds more emotion and is just way better because you are able to be in the body of the character and in their head—especially with the way this author wrote this phenomenal book.