Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
I’ve been participating in Joplin Public Library’s Adult Winter Reading Challenge, a reading challenge designed specifically for adults that runs December 1, 2024 through January 31, 2025. The goal of the challenge is to complete five of fifteen provided reading categories, which include choices such as Debut Novel, Small-Town Setting, Western, and Suspense/Thriller, to name a few. The reader participating in the challenge chooses which categories they would like to complete, and what books to read. Once a reader completes the challenge they receive a ceramic mug from the Library and three tickets to enter into a prize raffle drawing. This challenge is ideal for regular readers who are looking for a challenge to read different genres or read outside their comfort zone, as well as individuals that want to be more regular readers and need a little nudge in that direction. Any adult can participate, no library card necessary, and challenge forms can be picked up in the Reference Department of the Library and found on our website calendar, as can a link to participate electronically.
The category I most recently completed is Been Meaning to Read, and for this I read the novel Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson. A whimsical epic adventure, Tress of the Emerald Sea feels like a chuckle and warm hug from a friend and turned out to be one of my favorite reads this year.
Tress is an 18 year old girl who lives on a rocky island void of vegetation and many other resources. The Emerald Sea her island is located upon is not like our seas: it is not made of water, but of green verdant spores which transform into vines upon contact with water. This makes sailing the seas (of which her world has 12 of different colors) tricky and dangerous. As such, Tress has lived the entirety of her life with her family on her small island, looking out upon the Emerald Sea and maintaining her teacup collection, of which she is very fond.
Tress has one very good friend who she would like to be more than friends with on the island: Charlie. Charlie is the Duke’s son, although he pretends to be the grounds keeper when Tress is around, despite her seeing right through his act. Charlie and Tress spend a great deal of time together until the day the Duke puts his son on a ship and sends him off to find a bride. Tress and Charlie are devastated. Months pass, Charlie sends letters and cups to Tress, detailing how he is purposefully boring his potential brides, until word is received that the Duke’s son will be returning with his new bride. Tress is inconsolable; that is, until the Duke’s “son” returns and it isn’t Charlie at all but a squared jawed rude imposter! Tress learns that the Duke has abandoned Charlie to the Sorceress of the Midnight Sea, who is reportedly very evil and very unstoppable, and has adopted this fake son in place of Charlie.
Well, Tress cannot stand for that. Someone must save Charlie, and that someone is her. Thus begins Tress’s epic adventure to save the one she loves. With a setup similar to many epic adventures, Tress is the hero that tackles impossible obstacles to see her end goal complete, with many mishaps, lovable characters, and self-growth along the way. Tress transitions from a stowaway on a boat, to a captive of a pirate ship, to a beloved crew member of that same pirate ship, to someone that can truly conquer all she takes on. There’s a talking rat, a cannon master with horrible eyesight, a wise yet intimidating dragon, and more verdant spores than Tress knows what to do with. The novel is narrated by a humorous character that Tress eventually encounters, and this narrator often breaks the fourth wall with asides to the reader that range from helpful information about a plot point or character, to random facts about himself, to nonsensical ramblings that have nothing to do with the story whatsoever; it’s wonderful.
Brandon Sanderson has stated that he pulled inspiration for this novel from The Princess Bride after his wife pointed out that for the title character, there isn’t a lot of focus on the princess bride herself. Sanderson wanted a novel that featured a heroic female lead and that had similar spunk and whimsy to The Princess Bride, and boy did he accomplish his goal. Tress of the Emerald Sea is a delight to read. I really liked Tress as a heroine; she is kind, brave, practical, loyal, and not annoying in the way some heroines can be. The writing is clever and could be enjoyed by readers of all ages. This novel is fun to read, and I might be crossing into gushing territory here, but I do not have one negative thing to say about it. I recommend Tress of the Emerald Sea to readers interested in a character-driven playful adventure novel that simultaneously manages to accomplish creative world building and smile-inducing writing.
Review by Sarah Turner-Hill, Adult Programming Coordinator
