Coming of age/quarter life crisis takes place at an aquarium. There's certainly more to it than that, but at the heart of Sea Change is a sweet and sad story about a young woman coming into her own and trying to define herself on her own as opposed to in relation to the men in her life - her father and her newly ex-boyfriend. As she grapples with her boyfriend who chooses to leave on a mission to mars and her father who disappeared in the Bering Sea when she was a child, she struggles to figure out what she's doing with her life and connect with her lifelong friend and her mother. Ro is instantly relatable and I think many women in their late 20's and early 30's will see part of themself in her as she tries to find her way forward. I loved the aquarium scenes and the relationship Ro has with the sweet octopus, it adds a lot of color (literally!) to the novel and casts a quiet melancholy feeling to the whole book.

At 30, Ro is stuck in a dead-end job working at a mall aquarium, estranged from her mother, alienated from her best friend, and her boyfriend just left her for a mission to Mars. Ro spends her days caring for a giant Pacific octopus, Dolores, who happens to be Ro's remaining link to her missing father. But when a wealthy investor decides to buy Dolores and moves her into a private aquarium, Ro finds herself on the precipice of self-destruction. Is this her last chance to locate her father? A final opportunity to come to terms with her childhood trauma?

SEA CHANGE is all vibes and little plot. It's a story that alternates between the present & the past, and explores love, complex family dynamics, and relationships through Ro's sometimes questionable actions 🙈 Ro is lost, in limbo, and struggling to love herself. She's such a messy and chaotic person it can be hard to connect with her if you have your life together, but her struggles with trusting happiness & feeling lost are all things I deeply resonated with (especially when I was in my 20s 🤣).

While I sometimes have trouble focusing on character-driven books, Chung's beautiful and intimate writing allows me to empathize with Ro's struggles as she reflects on life. I particularly love how Ro sees the humanities in the sea creatures; her musings are profoundly moving. At its core, SEA CHANGE is a novel about letting go of the past and finding your way back to love.

SEA CHANGE pairs well with ALL THIS COULD BE DIFFERENT (Sarah Thankam Mathews), with themes on navigating complicated family dynamics, struggling with messy relationships, and finding your community. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a story that's more about the journey than the destination.

✨ “I’ve never trusted happiness, have trouble with the very notion of it. It doesn’t seem like the kind of thing you should try and pin down or rank or quantify or even declare, because you never know when it might disappear in the night, leaving you with nothing but questions and an unending ache.” ✨

SEA CHANGE by Gina Chung is a contemporary fiction novel about Ro, a Korean American aquarium employee whose boyfriend, Tae, has just left her to volunteer on the first manned mission to Mars. Ro struggles with unhealthy drinking, her mom’s inability to speak about Ro’s father’s disappearance many years ago, and the impending sale of Dolores, the aquarium’s lovable octopus, to a wealthy donor.

As the narrative progresses, Chung introduces more layers of background in flashbacks that reframe the book’s scope. Is this about a missing father, presumed dead? Is it about a breakup? Is it about an octopus? Is it about climate change? Or is it about a lifelong best friendship that has been on the rocks for years now?

The answer, it seems, is all of the above. While it covers immigrant family dynamics, dating travails, workplace skirmishes, and friendship woes, it’s ultimately a heartfelt book about loving without being afraid to lose it all. Ro is kind of a disaster, but she has anchor points that, as the reader, you cheer for her to reach out for, hoping that she’ll repair her relationships with her mom and with her best friend, figure out life after Tae, and disentangle herself from the stupor that’s been hanging over her since her dad was lost to the Bering Vortex.

I found it refreshing to see a Korean American couple depicted in the novel, as it’s rare to find a contemporary (non-romance) novel featuring an Asian American couple. While I’m all for interracial relationships, there’s something affirming about seeing this depicted in literature, too.

Pick this one up if you enjoy messy protagonists, immigrant child dilemmas, and New Adult vibes.

Happy publication day today, March 28!
Sea change is the debut novel by Gina Chung. It is the story of Aurora “Ro” who is in the thick of a rough season of life. Ro just turned 30, and her boyfriend of several years just left her to go on a mission to Mars. Her father disappeared years ago and she is still grappling with the fallout. She has a strained relationship with her mother, who has seemingly moved on with her life. To top it off, Ro works at the same mall aquarium that her father worked at and she has just found out from her estranged best friend that the aquarium is losing money. This means a huge change for Ro and also for Dolores the octopus, who is the same octopus that Ro’s father found many years ago. Ro is dealing with all of these issues by drowning in “sharktini’s”. The book alternates a lot between the present Ro and Ro’s experiences growing up with Korean-born parents living in the US, her friendship with her now estranged best friend YoonHee, and the development and end of her relationship with Tae. I found that the character development of Ro was slow until the end, but I did enjoy the themes of this book and I truly felt bad for Ro as she’s dealing with her past and present selves. Dolores the octopus makes a few appearances throughout the book, which I loved. Overall, solid debut novel from Gina Chung. Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC! 3.5 stars

Thank you to the author, Vintage and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is an impressive debut novel that slowly peels back the layers of grief, displacement and heartbreak, without pathos but with a moving account of a young woman's search for answers to the life she finds herself in. Ro is real and relatable, and even when I was wincing at the bad choices she makes, for example way too much alcohol way too frequently, I understood so clearly why she attempts to drown her sorrows in that way. I loved seeing how she found peace in time spent with Dolores, another flawed creature - a giant Pacific octopus found in the poisonous Bering Vortex - and how, through slow and small steps of change, her view of herself starts to change in a positive way. There is no neat ending to this story tied up in a bow, but I found this a very satisfying read that stayed with me.

Ro may be thirty but this is very much a coming of age story. She's facing major life changes- her boyfriend not only moved out, he's going to Mars, her former BFF is getting married and has detached from her, and worst of all, the aquarium where she has worked since forever, is about to sell Delores. the giant octopus her father helped to capture. Delores has been the one touchstone in her life- especially since her father disappeared-and how she's unmoored. This moves back and forth in time between the present and her childhood and adolescence when she lived with her parents, immigrants from Korea. At times Ro feels incredibly immature (she's in her 30s) and this novel like so many others about women (younger mostly) who are facing these sorts of issues (romantic issue leaving, losing a job) but it's elevated by Delores and by the way Chung incorporates the story of Ro's parents. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Ro is in her thirties - she's estranged from her mother, her boyfriend left her to join a mission to Mars and she has an ordinary job at a mall aquarium. Ro's closest companion is Dolores, a giant Pacific octopus, the only connection to her father who disappeared during an expedition.

This is essentially Ro's journey of self-understanding - through flashbacks and glimpses of present-day events, one better comprehends Ro as a character and the reason she doesn't trust happiness. She's not the most likable, messy and finds comfort in Dolores. I found interesting the way Chung makes use of (sea) animals and environment, whose nature works as mirror of human behavior.

The quiet plot and intimate tone invite introspection about the complexity of family, loss, love, loneliness and immigrant experience. I enjoyed having some contemplative moments as we, like Ro, projected our own concerns onto the animals and circumstances, philosophizing over relationships and life in general. The occasional depressing moments are smartly balanced with humorous ones.

Dolores is such a captivating and unique element and I wished to see more between Ro and Dolores. The prose, reminiscent of Weike Wang, is full of tenderness, which I am fond of. Regardless of the overall poignant touch, the story ends on a note of hope. My small complaint is that the ending wrapped up too quickly.

Deeply sensitive and vulnerable, SEA CHANGE is a character-driven debut that allows one to confront one's inner self. For those looking for less plot and more deep-in-thought vibes, I would highly recommend this one.

cw: addiction, grief, alcoholism, miscarriage

Octopi stories are all the rage lately, from Netflix's 'My Octopus Teacher', to the latest bestseller 'Remarkably Bright Creatures'. We even let them pick the winners of the world cup, as Paul the Octopus did. Are we obsessed with these creatures since they are so unusual looking and deemed to be smart?
However, Sea Change is more about Ro's family relationships than her relationship with Dolores, the giant Pacific octopus that lives in the aquarium at the mall where she works.

Ro has been abandoned throughout her life, her mom left early on, her father disappeared at sea, and her boyfriend is leaving on a mission to Mars. Thus she sinks into an alcohol fueled depression at times. The story goes back and forth between Ro's past and present and we see how each loss drags Ro down further and further into the depths of her melancholy and listless feelings. Almost like being dragged down deeper into the ocean. The character development of her mother, friend, and even absent father are excellent.

Things change for Ro when a billionaire decides he wants to buy Dolores for his private aquarium. I would have liked to have more focus on Dolores, her color changing sequences were funny, and her multiple hearts begged the question; What if humans could have separate hearts for each person they loved? Would that have helped ease Ro's listlessness and depression? There is a lot to discuss here for book clubs around symbolisms and metaphors here.

Don't go into this book expecting a story like 'Remarkably Bright Creatures'. This is more of a character study with a side dish of Octopus.

I am a fan of the new popularity octopus are getting in society today! They are marvelous and brilliant creatures, and I never get tired of reading about them. Would be a fun summer reading club activity to read this and show a screening of My Octopus Teacher.

I love a good adult coming-of-age novel, and this one about a Korean American woman was so well done. Inspired by her estranged father, Ro works ar an aquarium looking after its resident octopus.
Fans of last year’s hit <Remarkably Bright Creatures</i> should enjoy this, but I also think this book’s biggest flaw is its similarities to that one. It’s definitely a different overall story but the aquarium portions of the book felt a bit deja vü after reading RBC.

Loved a lot about this - it has a lot going on, relationships, climate change, mars. Diverse protagonist and and enjoyed the layers. I think this could have been better without the alternating timelines.

Somehow Gina Chung has managed - in her literal FIRST novel - to capture the same confusing emptiness and fullness that you’re left with after watching devastating, slow-burn A24 movies like EEAAO, Minari, and Aftersun.

SEA CHANGE deftly explores pain, loneliness, belonging, grief, memory, ambition, and what repair looks like for strained relationships, mixing the toxic cocktail of claustrophobia and helplessness that you face when you want to be better but your mind is Devil’s Snare. Ro’s story is covered in a shroud of aching and inertia, like an unexpectedly constricting weighted blanket.

Ro and I are not the same, and yet I felt a pinch every time I was seen by our shared experience, like our Asian mom's resistance to middle school health class evangelization about shaving and deodorant, or superstitiously believing that tiny rituals guarantee a good day.

Gina's words live in my mind rent-free, and I managed to whittle down my Kindle shrine into quote cards that I hope convince you to let SEA CHANGE make you sad ASAP.

Therapy is therapy, but this book is also therapy. Can’t wait to read more from Gina Chung. Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy.

--

Parting thoughts - I assume this could be comped to Remarkably Bright Creatures, but I haven’t read it yet and am curious about the similarities for those who have read both!

Sea Change is the story of Ro (Aurora), a Korean- American woman. She is working at an aquarium where she is the caregiver of Delores, one of the last living Pacific Octopuses on Earth.

As Ro's story unfolds, we witness her dysfunctional childhood and her current struggle with alcoholism while trying to make sense of her life. She was raised by Korean immigrant parents whose relationship was strained. Her father cheated and then tragically disappeared during an oceanic research expedition. Ro's relationship with her mother is difficult as Ro feels as though she never quite measures up to her mother's expectations. To further compound matters, she is left by her boyfriend Tae as he was chosen for a mission to Mars.

I really enjoyed the character of Ro; she is messy and flawed and oh so relatable. You will find yourself rooting for her and hoping she finds a way to navigate herself towards something positive in her life.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

In Korean American writer Gina Chung's charmingly offbeat debut, Sea Change, a young woman who works at an aquarium realizes she needs a life bigger than her usual self-sabotage and wallowing in loss.

In this near-future novel, environmental degradation is even more advanced and there are plans afoot to colonize Mars. Aurora--her Korean name is Bae Arim, but she goes by Ro--has followed in her father's footsteps by working at the aquarium in Fountain Plaza, a New Jersey mall. Fifteen years ago, Ro's father, Apa, set off on a research expedition to the polluted Bering Vortex--where he'd previously discovered Dolores, the aquarium's prized giant Pacific octopus. His craft disappeared and Apa is presumed dead, though Ro holds out hope that he'll return. Her ex-boyfriend, Tae, is nearly as inaccessible, having volunteered for the Arc 4 mission to Mars.

At age 30, Ro is isolated--partially by chance, but also by choice. Her belief that everyone she loves leaves her has driven her to withdraw from those still in her life: she's estranged from her mother and from her best friend, Yoonhee. Ro's after-work habit? Head to Hattie's bar. Drive home drunk. Wake with a hangover. Repeat.

It's clear something's got to give here. Whether Ro will summon the will to change is an emotionally involving question. Flashbacks to her growing-up years fill in the background of her Korean immigrant parents' troubled marriage, but also depict happy family moments. A relaxed pattern forms whereby almost every other chapter delves into the past, alternating with Ro's matter-of-fact, present-tense record of daily life.

When she learns Dolores is to be sold to a private collector, Ro must rethink everything. Dolores--an intelligent and playful creature who changes color to reflect her mood, and appears to recognize individual humans--is a constant source of amusement and wonder: "There is something about staring directly into the knowing iridescent eyes of a cephalopod--you can get a hint of the ancient knowledge that girds the strands of her DNA," Ro thinks. She's a symbol as well: when Ro imagines Dolores escaping her tank for the open ocean, she appears to be envisioning liberation from her own self-destructive habits, too.

The self-hating young woman is a familiar figure in recent fiction, but the specifics of Ro's situation and her friendship with Dolores, along with the speculative elements, make Sea Change stand out.

“You octopi my heart” What a heartfelt debut! This is a coming of age story about a young woman, Ro that explores love, loss, family, and Ro’s love for Delores the octopus. This reminded me of some of my favorites books, Lily and the Octopus and A Man Called Ove, where I wanted to underline so much of the story and know I’ll be thinking about it for some time! Here are two quotes I loved.

“There’s a theory (highly unscientific, of course) that octopuses are actually alien life-forms, remnants of extraterrestrial life that once came to our planet and either died out or left. Octopuses can fold themselves into the tiniest spaces, as long as their sharp beaks, the only hard parts of their bodies, can fit into them.”

“I used to wonder if we would take better care of our bodies if our skin was transparent, if every little thing we did and said and ate was observable. If every hurtful or careless thing we ever said to one another manifested itself visually in the body. Would we be any different than how we are now? Would we do more to protect each other, ourselves?”

I can’t wait to read more from Gina Chung and hope you want to meet Ro and Delores too.

4 stars

Thank you @netgalley, @aaknopf, @pantheonbooks and @vintageanchorbooks for the arc

Grab your copy out March 28th!

Sea Change is a wonderful book featuring an enchanting octopus named Dolores. But this book is about much more than just a sea creature. It is about change and the effects of change on people and on the world. It is a moving coming-of-age story, a story about the immigrant experience, and a view into the culture of Korean Americans.

Dolores is a huge Pacific octopus who lives in a small aquarium in New Jersey. Aurora “Ro” works at this aquarium, and part of her job is to care for Dolores.

Although octopi are particularly inscrutable animals, Dolores appears to have a special affinity for Ro. She comes to the front of her tank when Ro calls her, she wraps a tentacle around Ro’s arm when it is lowered into the tank, and she seems to be trying to communicate with Ro by changing colors. Dolores is smart and playful and affectionate, and I fell in love with her.

Ro is very attached to Dolores, partly because of the special relationship the two share, but also because Dolores is a link to Ro’s father. He is the one who discovered Dolores and brought her to the aquarium.

Ro’s father disappeared when she was fifteen. He was on a marine expedition, exploring The Bering Vortex where he had previously found Dolores. His boat never came home and he is presumed dead. Ro, of course, believes for years that he will someday return. His loss is especially hard for Ro, who was extremely close to her father.

The story seems to take place in a near future where climate change is beginning to have a noticeable effect on everyday life. This world looks a lot like our world today, but there are changes in weather patterns. For example, there are rarely nice spring days anymore. Instead, summer heat begins much earlier in the year. Ro’s boyfriend leaves to become one of the first human colonists on Mars, believing that his contribution will offer an alternative future for humankind.

And some parts of the world are severely polluted, including the area where Dolores was found, The Bering Vortex. Ro’s father was trying to determine how some species flourish in the harsh environmental conditions.

This book is fascinating in its depiction of Dolores. It was so interesting to learn about the octopus, including the fact that octopuses are highly intelligent and that each one has three hearts.

But mostly this book is about Ro and her struggles to cope with the loss of her father. In addition, Ro’s relationship with her mother is difficult. Ro’s lifelong best friend is becoming more distant. Ro misses her boyfriend and doesn’t love her job (except for her time with Dolores). Ro feels lost, lonely and left behind.

I very much enjoyed this compelling, reflective, melancholy novel. I look forward to more books from this talented debut author. Recommended, with a strong ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Available on March 28, 2023.

My thanks to the author, Gina Chung, to the publisher, Vintage Books, and to NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book.

#SeaChange #vintageanchorbooks#penguinrandomhouse #netgalley

I'll fully admit to requesting this one from the publisher solely due to the octopus on the cover.

I think we're all a little obsessed with octopuses, now, huh?

For me, it wasn't even because of last year's bookstagram sensation, Marcellus, from Remarkably Bright Creatures, because I haven't read that. I did read and love The Soul of an Octopus a couple years back, but I think I had a fascination for them even before then. So I see an octopus named Dolores on Netgalley? Sure, sign me up.

What we find in the pages of this debut, however, is less about Dolores and more about Ro, one of her keepers at the mall aquarium where she lives. A couple decades ago, Ro's father found Dolores on a research trip in the Bering Vortex, an area in the Bering Straight that has succumbed to the toxins of oil spills, and where a unique group of animals have mutated enough of their genetic material to not only survive, but to thrive into huge, near fantastical iterations of their former species. Dolores, a giant Pacific octopus, is giant and much older than any modern day octopus could hope to be. But 15 years ago, Ro's father disappeared on another research trip, and that loss has dug its way deep into Ro's psyche. We're talking major daddy issues. Now, Ro's longtime partner, Tae, has left for a special mission to Mars with hopes of human colonization, and Ro is spiraling from a second abandonment.

While I struggled connecting with the "young woman reels from breakup" plot line featured here (have I read too many of these? Am I just not in that phase of life anymore?), there is a lot I found interesting and compelling in this story. Chung chose to place her story in a near-future setting, which always intrigues me to see where we might end up in the next couple decades -- though I'm not altogether clear on why she made that choice. There's also a best friend element to this novel whose resolution caught me by surprise (in a good way). The conclusion to Ro's story wrapped up satisfyingly (although not tidily), but it was a messy middle for sure. I think a lot of readers are going to love this one, but I didn't quite get there.

3.5 stars

A tender and heartfelt story that explores grief, loneliness, trauma and family.

Our main character Ro, navigates all of the above, in a deeply endearing story that bounces between her present and her past. Ro is nearly thirty, and in the midst of a sea of loss. Her boyfriend has left her to go on an expedition to Mars, her best friend is not quite the same anymore, she's still dealing with the disappearance of her father, and she's about to lose one of the only things left that she feels a sincere connection to; Dolores, a magnificent octopus that lives in the aquarium that Ro works at. But this isn't just any old octopus, and certainly not any old aquarium. This is the octopus that her father rescued from toxic and polluted waters, and the aquarium that he worked at and loved, before he disappeared. Dolores has been a constant in Ro's life; through her childhood memories and her adulthood work environment. But when a buyer is suddenly interested in purchasing Dolores and transporting her out of the aquarium, Ro's precariously teetering control on life finally spirals out of control.

This is a story of loss, self forgiveness and growth. Written with thoughtful prose and packed with relatable sensitivity, Sea Change radiated pure comfort and reassurance that it'll all be okay, even if it's not okay yet.

Sea Change by Gina Chung

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/5 stars

Themes of:
-grief/loss
-heartbreak
-animals/humans
-Korean American experience

Synopsis: “A novel about a woman tossed overboard by heartbreak and loss, who has to find her way back to stable shores with the help of a giant Pacific octopus.”

Favorite quote: “I’ve often wished that human bodies were as clever as those of octopuses. If we could divvy up the work of one heart among three, if we could have a semiautonomous brain in each of our appendages, perhaps we’d be more efficient with our time, less likely to waste it on grudges and hurts and all the things we feel we can’t say to one another.”

Thoughts:

Thank you @netgalley and the publisher @aaknopf, @pantheonbooks and @vintageanchorbooks for the ARC! Can’t wait for the release date March 27th

-I am a sucker for anything ocean/sea life related and Asian American diaspora and this checked those boxes for me!
-some stunning quotes and lines from Gina Chung (see pictures)
-sincere way of dealing with heartbreak and the seeming loss of multiple types of relationships
-very good for a debut novel!

We meet Ro at a time of personal crisis, she’s at the lowest point in her life; she’s never recovered from her father having gone missing when she was a teen, her boyfriend has abandoned her for a new life on Mars, she drinks way too much, and Dolores a giant octopus who she takes care of at the aquarium (and the only bond left with her father who found Dolores) is being sold to a Palo Alto tech billionaire (maybe not billionaire but super wealthy).

Ro, a first-generation child of Korean immigrants, has been stuck in the same rut for years. She has the same best friend she’s had since first grade, she lives in the same town, and she works at the same aquarium where her father worked so she can care for the giant octopus her father brought back from his research trip from a mystical Bermuda triangle-type place (the same place from where he goes missing). I did find her character hard to connect with to be honest (she just wasn’t getting her life together, wasn't allowing good things happen or getting help when offered – it was a bit frustrating). At first you feel bad that her boyfriend and best friend are gone but later the book later reveals, she has allowed the situations to occur. Ro is so scared of getting close with people that she’s closest with an octopus who shows her present emotions in her skin colors (e.g. if she’s in a playful mood she’s orange, if she’s mad she’s red etc.) so Ro always knows how she feels about her in the moment.

Why I did like the book (and it really isn’t another Remarkable Bright Creatures just because there is another octopus) was that there was some great writing. There are also some funny concepts and really it’s a book about learning how to deal with loss (maybe a little childhood trauma) and moving on in your life the best way you can. In the end, I enjoyed taking the journey with Ro.

Thank you to Netgalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, Vintage for the chance to review.