An Ocean Apart: Characters, review, synopsis, tropes & more
An Ocean Apart takes the cake for my favourite YA dystopian of 2025. It’s honestly so nostalgic.
I think if you’ve ever loved the YA Dystopian books of the early 2000’s such as The Hunger Games, The Selection, Divergent etc., you’ll probably enjoy it too.
In this An Ocean Apart book guide and review, I’ll cover everything from the characters, to the synopsis and tropes, mild trigger warnings and finally, go into my thoughts in my book review.
Happy reading friends!
An Ocean Apart synopsis.
An electrifying dystopian novel packed with a tantalizing love triangle, gripping political intrigue, and a Bachelor-style competition from the critically acclaimed author of The Dividing Sky, Jill Tew.
Eden Lowell has plenty to be frustrated about. In the flooded Marshes of former Miami, each day is about survival. Even her feelings for her best friend Henry are more complicated than they should be. Luckily, Eden knows exactly who to blame: the Cruisers, corporate elite who sail the world on massive ships instead of facing the environmental crimes they’ve committed on land.
When Eden learns that a Cruiser family is hosting a dating competition for their heir, Theo Desjardins, she seizes an opportunity. Aided by a political agitator known as the Ringmaster, she’ll infiltrate the competition, break Theo’s heart, and then steal his money for the Marshes. A perfect plan…
Until she gets to know Theo, who’s not only handsome but surprisingly kind…
As Eden drifts deeper down into the Cruisers’ world, the line separating truth and lies becomes murky. Torn between two identities, two loves, and two futures, will she choose the mission, or her heart?
Get An Ocean Apart here.
An Ocean Apart characters.
Character art shared by author @jtewwrites via Instagram.
Main characters.
An Ocean Apart is told in first-person narrative from the perspective of Eden Lowell, who goes undercover as Skye Renault. There is one final chapter narrated by one of the love interests at the end, which I won’t give away, because it may be a spoiler.
Eden Lowell / Skye Renault.
She’s beauty, she’s grace, she will dismantle class disparity. Eden Lowell is our female main character, who goes undercover to infiltrate the cruisers as “Skye Renault”.
Henry Turner.
Henry Turner, Eden’s childhood bestie definitely gives off Gale from The Hunger Games vibes.
Theo Desjardins.
Theo Desjardins is the privileged wealthy cruiser boy who Eden is trying to humiliate on the reality dating show.
Supporting and minor characters.
Dating show contestants.
These are the names of the other contestants on the reality TV dating show.
Carnelia St. James
Vrishri Malhotra
Iris Buckley
Paloma Reyes
Rebekah Hallas
Cherry Li
Winnie Fowler
Other supporting characters.
Remy
Ramon
Blackbeard Dajabon Toussaint (pelican)
Seb
Tunde Adebayo
Natalia (glamorist/stylist)
Miguel
Matile Desjardins
Korsica Jones
Mrs. Turner (Jess)
Mr. Turner (Rob)
Amelia Turner
Serena Tran
Ana
Ada
Luz
Review: An Ocean Apart by Jill Tew.
View my review and follow me on GoodReads here.
An Ocean Apart by Jill Tew is a dystopian YA romance where billionaires are evil & the ocean has risen (so pretty much almost real life), and it's somewhat terrifying and also adorable. It will melt your heart into a puddle of goo while simultaneously giving you climate change anxiety. But before I hear any of you telling me you won’t read dystopia because the world is already depressing enough (and trust me, I feel that in my bones), hear me out.
If you think dystopian + happily ever afters are mutually exclusive, think again.
I was in a squishy happy bubble of joy by the end of this book. Given the current state of the world right now, Jill Tew seems to understand that most of us might just need a bit of catharsis and comfort. So while the premise and worldbuilding in An Ocean Apart may seem like a grim non fiction news documentary about the not too distant future, it’s also hopeful and serotonin inducing and rebellious and delightful, and it was exactly what I/(we) needed.
The premise is a climate-ravaged dystopia where the sea level has risen and the ultra-wealthy now live on floating cruise liners. The wealthy gatekeep food, water and natural resources (where’s the fictional part am I right lol). FMC Eden Lowell partners with a vigilante activist, known as ‘The Ringmaster’ to infiltrate a The Bachelor-adjacent reality dating show, with shades of Mean Girls energy, full of people who could’ve been airlifted straight from the Capitol of Panem.
But Eden doesn’t want to win the dating competition for love. Her goal is to humiliate Theo and do away with the prize money.
The book has some satirical elements and they’re amusingly astute. Influencers, capitalism, class disparity and media propaganda are all there and I’m obsessed with how self-aware it is. Eden, our protagonist, calls out the cringe celebrity worship, complicity and privilege of the reality show contestants chasing fame & clout points while the world literally burns around them.
On top of that, there’s a pelican named Blackbeard who steals shiny things, fashion moments that would make Cinna and Effie Trinket proud, plus slang like “He’s so hydro,” which is both a compliment and a statement about class. (“Stop trying to make hydro happen!” Not a line in the book, but maybe it should be.)
Now yes, there is a love triangle. A balanced, equilateral love triangle. For most of the book, I was rooting for both sides at once, which was confusing but narratively delicious. However, I was SO satisfied with how things turned out, that’s all I can say.
In conclusion, if you want a YA dystopian romance that lets you rage against the machine, laugh at influencer culture + the irony of how fake reality TV is, and still believe in love amid the apocalypse, this one’s the one and it’s incisive and endearing. It’s definitely not as dark as The Hunger Games (I mean, there is no killing children on live-stream broadcast), but it is still all too relevant and critically reflective of very real hopes and fears. Highly highly recommend to everyone, except climate change deniers.
Thanks so much to NetGalley & the publishers for the ARC.
View my review and follow me on GoodReads here. I chat about books a lot.
An Ocean Apart FAQs.
SPOILER ALERT:
⚠️ Some answers may spoil An Ocean Apart if you haven’t read it already. Proceed with caution. ⚠️
Here are the answers to all your common FAQs.
Is An Ocean Apart part of a series or standalone?
An Ocean Apart is a standalone YA dystopian romance book.
What are the tropes?
The tropes in An Ocean Apart are:
Love triangle
Class warfare and political intrigue
2010 YA Dystopian vibes
Enemies to allies to lover AND Childhood friends to lovers (because of the love triangle)
Reality TV dating competition
High tech ballgowns
What are the content and trigger warnings?
Classism
Climate change dystopia
Fire/fire-injury
Violence
What is the age rating for An Ocean Apart?
An Ocean Apart is classified as YA (young adult).
Enjoyed reading An Ocean Apart by Jill Tew? You may also enjoy reading:
The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
Heir by Sabaa Tahir
The Floating World by Axie Oh
A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim
I who have never known men by Jacqueline Harpman
