The Girl from the Sea
by Molly Knox Ostertag
color by Maarta Laiho
Graphix (Scholastic), 2021. 254 pages.
Review written October 16, 2021, from a library book
Starred Review
The Girl from the Sea is a sweet graphic novel about fifteen-year-old Morgan’s summer romance. She lives on an island and her parents recently split up and her brother is always angry, so she was off alone by the cliffs one night but slipped and hit her head. But she was rescued by a girl in the water, a very cute girl, and Morgan, thinking it’s all a hallucination, gives the girl a kiss.
The next day, the girl shows up on the shore just wearing an oversize jacket. She announces that her name is Keltie, and tells Morgan:
I am a selkie, and you are my true love, and your kiss has allowed me to transform from a seal into a human and walk on land.
Now we can find our fortunes together!
[Morgan:] Yeah, no, nope, we’re not doing that.
[Keltie:] But our destinies are intertwined! Sealed by a kiss!
[Morgan:] That was a near-death=experience hallucination!
[Keltie:] I assure you, it was not.
Morgan doesn’t have the heart to send Keltie away, but she still doesn’t want anyone else to know about her. Morgan isn’t out as gay to anyone — she thought she’d get off the island some day and then come out — so she wants to keep this romance hidden. Her friends start wondering why she’s not as quick to hang out with them.
And then it turns out that Keltie also has an agenda, something she promised to do for her seal siblings.
It all adds up to a lovely story of a teen whose neat and tidy plans get completely shaken up in a beautiful way.
mollyostertag.com
scholastic.com
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