A Sea of Unspoken Things

Adrienne Young is a best-selling American author of both adult and young adult fiction. She was born and raised in Texas and now lives and works in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge mountains. Young enjoys outdoor activities, and her interest in nature is evident in her novels. She is also dedicated to helping other writers hone their craft and succeed in the publishing world. Young leads writing workshops and maintains a portfolio of resources for aspiring writers who are still in the process of finding their voice. With Isabel Ibañez, the author of young adult books like What the River Knows (2023) and Where the Library Hides (2024), Young authored The Storyteller’s Workbook, an interactive guide to crafting novels. She also created the Fable Grant, an initiative that provides resources and opportunities to women and nonbinary writers. 

Young has written several standalone novels for adults. A Sea of Unspoken Things has many commonalities with Spells for Forgetting. Both novels have a central mystery, with Spells for Forgetting focusing on the tragic, unexplained death of an adolescent whose friends are left reeling from their loss. Additionally, like A Sea of Unspoken Things, it is attuned to the way that remote, wilderness settings shape characters’ identities and their lives. Both novels are set in the Pacific Northwest, which is a key element of their narrative and thematic structures. However, unlike A Sea of Unspoken Things, Spells for Forgetting is a fantasy novel that combines magical realism and fantastical elements along with its mystery. It was Young’s first novel for adults following a string of best-selling young adult titles. 

Although set in the Blue Ridge Mountains rather than northern California, The Unmaking of June Farrow shares the interest of A Sea of Unspoken Things in the experiences of people in remote communities surrounded by forested wilderness. Like all of Young’s work, The Unmaking of June Farrow features strong female characters whose complex, multi-faceted identities are a key part of the novel. It details the impact of a family curse on successive generations of women in the same family and explores themes related to identity, fraught family dynamics, and the insular nature of isolated small towns. 

Young is best known, however, for her YA titles. The World of the Narrows series contains the novels Fable, The Namesake, Last Legacy, and Saint. They are set in a fantastical seafaring world where the sea is both a source of sustenance and danger. It follows protagonist Fable as she navigates intrigue and secrets in order to survive, find connection, and solve a series of mysteries about her family. Like Young’s other novels, it features complex characterization and explores the experiences of strong, female figures. There is also a detailed focus on relationship-building and the way that individual choices impact those relationships. The series explores themes of survival against the odds, complex familial relationships, secrecy, betrayal, and the power of the natural world. 

Young’s other YA series, the Sky and Sea duology, is also a work of fantasy literature. Its central characters, young Viking women, confront loyalty and betrayal as they navigate complex family relationships and fraught community ties during a series of inter-clan battles in their home region. The books combine elements of epic tales as well as the conventions of coming-of-age novels: Its characters engage in a series of dramatic battles in order to prove their mettle, and along the way, they discover their beliefs, values, and developing identities.