I absolutely loved this book. I'm honestly surprised I haven't heard more buzz about it because it deserves to be on a lot of readers' radar.

The writing is beautiful, and the story explores grief, love, family, and tragedy with so much care and compassion. It never felt overly sentimental, just deeply human. The characters and their relationships stayed with me long after I finished.

I also grew up spending time in Hawaii, so all of the island references added another layer of enjoyment for me. The setting felt authentic and immersive, making the story even more memorable.

This is one of those books that reminds you how powerful fiction can be. Heartbreaking, hopeful, and incredibly well written. I highly recommend it.

How is this a debut?! Seriously.
This book pulled me right out of my reading slump. Every time I set it down, I found myself wanting to pick it back up because I had to know what was going to happen next.
It’s beautifully written, but it never felt like it was trying too hard. The emotional moments completely landed. I got choked up more than once!
Now let’s talk about Jane. That woman tested my patience from start to finish. I wanted to reach into the pages and tell her to get it together; or maybe just give her a good shake. 😅 But honestly, that’s a credit to the writing. She felt like a real person, flaws and all.
And then there’s Kenji, who deserves all the good things. His kindness and endless patience balanced Jane’s chaos so perfectly, and I adored him.
One of my favorite parts was how this book explored not only family, but the people who become family. Those relationships felt authentic and were the heart of the story for me. I also really enjoyed learning about that part of the world—Hawaii, tsunamis, and the culture of Hawaii and the people that live there.
If this is Alicia Upano’s first novel, I’m already looking forward to whatever she writes next.
Thanks so much to Net Galley and William Morrow/Harper Collins for the advance readers edition.

This may not be a five star read to everyone but to me, someone who grew up in Hawaii who moved away to the mainland, it hit every emotion and had so much nostalgia. It was an easy five star and may be my favorite book of the year. The different depictions of grief were heartbreaking. I think a truly great book lets you see all the facets of someone, even the undesirable, maybe especially the undesirable parts and understand that is what gives us our humanity. I cried and cried reading Kenji and Jane’s love story, stuck between cheering for them to be together and being frustrated at their stubbornness, but it felt real.

An incredibly intense, captivating, and emotional debut. Personally, I love books that focus on coming-of-age tales and this absolutely delivered. Alicia Upano is an author I will absolutely be following/looking forward to reading more from.

The story follows Jane and Kenji during a summer romance whose worlds are shattered after a tsunami sweeps away everyone they love. This event propels them down two different paths; for Kenji it meant returning to Hilo and submerging himself in the relief effort. For Jane, it meant staying back and trying her best to force what happened into the past as she focuses on grad school and a career.

Both characters are flawed human beings and I couldn't fault either of them for their choices. In fact, there were a few times (in tears as I read it, mind you) where I completely understood where Jane was coming from. The side characters also played important roles when it came to Jane and Kenji's character development.

Upano's prose was atmospheric and immersive; the depiction of Hawaii was beautiful, filled with cultural references that I loved reading about. The depiction of grief was raw, to the point I had to set the book down a few times because of how accurate it felt.

Overall, a beautiful and haunting debut. Ending this review with my favorite quote: "To love was to know that your life contained something worth the risk."

Everything to the Sea by Alicia Upano is a beautifully written, emotionally layered novel. Once you start this book, you will not want to put it down. Upano writes about loss, identity, and the quiet ways people rebuild themselves after tragedy. From the beginning, you feel a part of the emotional and physical struggles of Kenji and Jane and are along side them, riding the wave of joys and struggles. I especially appreciated how the relationships felt real—messy, tender, and deeply human. This is a thoughtful, character-driven read that will resonate with anyone who enjoys stories about healing, connection, and finding their way back to themselves.