The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Day, Christine. The Sea in Winter. HarperCollins Children's Books, 2021.

Christine Day's young adult novel The Sea in Winter is set in Seattle, Washington, and written in the present tense. The narrative is told from the main character Maisie's first person point of view. Tracing Maisie's response to and experiences following her knee injury, the novel follows a primarily linear narrative structure. The following summary mimics the structure and form of the novel itself.

A few months after Maisie tears her ACL while dancing, Maisie is still trying to recover. She has had surgery and is seeing a physical therapist. However, Maisie is still unable to return to the dance studio. Because she has been taking ballet lessons since she was a little girl, Maisie is having a hard time finding her balance without the art form. Ballet was not only Maisie's favorite hobby. Rather, ballet gave Maisie a safe space and a community. On the day before the midwinter holiday, Maisie writes about her love for dance for her homeroom teacher Ms. Porter's writing assignment.

Although Maisie's mom, Angie, stepfather, Jack, and stepbrother, Connor are thrilled for their upcoming Olympic Peninsula trip, Maisie is having a hard time feeling positive. When her mom takes her to her physical therapy appointment, however, her therapist Mr. Lawson gives Maisie a bit of hope. Her dance friends Eva and Hattie are in the middle of auditions. Desperate to be included in their world again, Maisie asks Mr. Lawson if she might be able to return to the studio before the end of the school year. He says this seems like a fair goal. Throughout her exercises with Mr. Lawson, Maisie recalls the day of her injury.

After performing a complicated routine, Hattie asked her friends if they wanted to try. Eager to impress Hattie, the most skilled dancer, Maisie attempted to imitate the positions. She fell and injured herself. Ever since, Maisie has had a strained relationship with Hattie.

Maisie and her family head out for the Seattle-Bainbridge Island ferry. Maisie tries to be happy, but feels upset and distant from her family. When they arrive at the motel in Port Angeles, Maisie gets upset when Mom and Jack doubt her ability to walk up the stairs. At dinner later, Maisie tells Jack he is not her real dad, when he scolds her about her low math exam score. Although still upset, Maisie feels guilty.

One night, however, Maisie and Jack end up staying up late together. They watch television and eat popcorn while Maisie ices her knee. Maisie feels close to Jack again. She wishes she could apologize, but does not know how.

On a hike one day, Maisie starts to feel a pain in her knee. However, she says nothing to her family. Suddenly, she trips on a root and falls. Mom and Jack rush to Maisie's aid. Eventually the family makes it back to the car. They race to the emergency room. The doctors report that Maisie has not torn the tendon again.

While in the hospital, Mom realizes that Maisie is still not doing well emotionally. She therefore shares stories from her own difficult past with her daughter. She tells Maisie, for example, how hard it was after her father died when she was just one year old. Mom was traumatized. However, with the help of her therapist, Dr. Estrada, she learned to heal and create a new life for herself. Mom therefore suggests that Maisie start seeing Dr. Estrada, too.

Four months later, Maisie has made significant physical and emotional progress. Her sessions with Dr. Estrada have been particularly helpful. With her help, Maisie has learned how to focus on the present and to create new dreams for herself. She still does not know what her future will hold, but is less afraid of it. Volunteering at the library gives her a new hobby, purpose, and community.