Sea Change by Aimee Friedman

Miranda Merchant of New York City is a girl of science, fact, and rational thought. So when she’s introduced to the legends and myths of surrounding Selkie Island off Georgia’s coast, her summer destination, she easily dismisses them. Why would a logical girl believe in the kraken and other such made up frivolities? Instead, she tries to focus on cleaning out her deceased grandmother’s familial summer home and navigating the awkwardness of Southern formalities. But meeting Leo changes everything. Leo, the deeply mysterious local boy from the wrong side of the island, challenges all Miranda knows from friendship and love to her very perception of reality. But what happens when this scientist-in-the-making leans that what she dismissed as just stories of Selkie Island might actually be true and closer than she thinks?

Sea Change is a beautifully crafted mystical romance. My interest in this novel was piqued before I so much as read the summary because the cover art for Sea Change is some of the most beautiful and alluring I’ve ever seen. I’d classify this novel as mythological rather than paranormal, but there’s no denying that the story, if not the characters, is magical. Friedman has a way of creating such a believable and likable heroine in Miranda; her affinity for logic, feelings of being the odd one out, and determination not to show her weaknesses make her particularly easy for me to relate to. There is a thick sense of mystery that pervades this story, especially surrounding Leo, which fueled my interest in this story further. The reader, along with Miranda, is kept guessing until the very end, and all the twists and hidden secrets maintain a high level of suspense and excitement. Although all the little clues point in one direction, I can’t help but both love and hate how Friedman never actually states what Leo is; the mythology buff in me squeals over discovering such a cool creature, but my skeptic side writes if off as all coincidence. Unfortunately, I can’t come out with my suspicions because the journey to these is half the story, but I can say that Sea Change will warm your heart, open your eyes to all of life’s possibilities, and make ever the hardest headed person start to believe in true love and myths.

Fans of Friedman’s writing in The Year My Sister Got Lucky will be similarly delighted in this fantastic and romantic tale. Readers will also enjoy this novel is they liked Evermore and Cruel Summer by Alyson Noël and Amor and Summer Secrets by Diana Rodriguez Wallach. I really hope there will be a sequel to Sea Change so I can follow the rest of Miranda and Leo’s relationship and see some of the loose ends tied up.

Rating: 4.5

Review copy from publisher Scholastic