Review: Sea Change by Aimee Friedman

Sea Change by Aimee Friedman
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Pub. Date: June 2009
Age Range: Young Adult
304pp

16-year-old Miranda Merchant is great at science...and not so great with boys. After major drama with her boyfriend and (now ex) best friend, she's happy to spend the summer on small, mysterious Selkie Island, helping her mother sort out her late grandmother's estate.

There, Miranda finds new friends and an island with a mysterious, mystical history, presenting her with facts her logical, scientific mind can't make sense of. She also meets Leo, who challenges everything she thought she knew about boys, friendship...and reality.

Is Leo hiding something? Or is he something that she never could have imagined?

First off, I love the cover of Sea Change – Don’t you agree?

I like Friedman's writing style. The pace and flow of the story was effortlessly. I was pulled in little by little and before I knew it I was wrapped up in the mysteries of Selkie Island. Miranda’s curiosity about Selkie Island and the reasons she's drawn to Leo had me reading the pages in the wee hours of the morning.

The plot was totally different from what I expected and that’s a good thing because it only drew me in more. The story dealt with aspects of the past, present and future of Selkie Island. The clues were slowly revealed and came together perfectly. Selkie Island is full of legends and lore and I couldn’t help being intrigued especially when the legends are of merfolk and selkies. I felt like I was reading a beautiful fairy tale. This is a great love story.

The characters in Sea Change are loveable. Miranda is just an ordinary girl on the verge of self-discovery. She’s interesting and I feel readers will be able to connect with her. Leo, a mysterious local boy, who may be a part of Selkie Island’s legends and lore, is so dreamy. “What a great catch!” I love this line from the book – it matches the story perfectly: "Be careful of whom you meet, in and out of the water."
I would love for there to be a sequel to Sea Change. If you have not read my Interview with Aimee, here’s a snippet about a possible sequel:

Do you see yourself writing more books like Sea Change in the fantasy or paranormal genre?
I'd love to! Writing SEA CHANGE was a wonderful, rich challenge, and in an ideal world I'd have the time to write a sequel to it (I can't tell you how many people have already asked me for a sequel!). I also love ghost stories, and yes, ever-popular vampire stories, so paranormal fiction definitely appeals to me.

Please give us a sequel Aimee! I would love to see what the future has in store for Aimee and Leo.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars