The Girl From the Sea: A Graphic Novel Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Fifteen-year-old Morgan Kwon is counting down the days until she finishes high school. Once she graduates Morgan will be able to start her real life at college where she won’t have to worry about her divorced mom or her moody younger brother, Aiden.

Best of all, Morgan won’t have to keep any more secrets–like the fact that she’s gay. Even with a supportive family and a great group of friends, Morgan isn’t sure how anyone will take that news. She isn’t sure she wants to find out.

Everything changes one night when Morgan falls into the water. Saved by a mysterious girl named Keltie, Morgan starts to wonder if she doesn’t have to wait for her real life to start after all.

Kelie is pretty and funny. She helps Morgan see Wilneff Island in a new light. She’s also a little strange. But by the time Morgan learns the truth about Keltie, she knows she’ll do whatever it takes to help Keltie. Even if it means revealing some of her own secrets in The Girl From the Sea (2021) by Molly Knox Ostertag.

Find it on Bookshop.

The Girl From the Sea is a summery standalone graphic novel illustrated in full color.

The story closely follows Morgan as she balances summer fun with her friends (including clever pages of texts between the group of girls interspersed throughout the book) alongside getting to know Keltie. This sweet story of first love and embracing yourself is rounded out with hints of environmentalism and selkie folkore that Morgan and Keltie unpack together as Keltie reveals her secrets.

Tight plotting, carefully detailed illustrations, and fully realized characters make The Girl From the Sea a graphic novel that readers will want to revisit again and again.

Possible Pairings: The Lucky List by Rachael Lippincott, Bloom by Kevin Panetta, You Brought Me the Ocean by Alex Sanchez, Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Elyse d’Abreau always knew her future would be bright. Everyone in Tobago knew that Elyse and her twin sister were destined for music stardom–something that seemed within reach before a boating accident changed everything.

Now Elyse can’t sing anymore. She can’t even speak.

Haunted by reminders of everything she has lost, Elyse leaves her boisterous family and home in Tobago. She hopes to find solitude and some kind of peace in Atargatis Cove in Oregon.

Instead Elyse is drawn into the cove’s annual Pirate Regatta when she volunteers to serve as first mate to known playboy Christian Kane. Preparing for the high-stakes race Elyse begins to see new sides to Christian and even the cove itself. She also realizes that hiding from her past won’t solve any of her problems.

But before Elyse can map out a new future, she will have to rediscover her voice in The Summer of Chasing Mermaids (2015) by Sarah Ockler.

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As the title suggests, The Summer of Chasing Mermaids is a loose retelling of The Little Mermaid. Ockler includes just enough elements to bring the original source material to mind while also straying far enough from her inspiration to ensure that this novel is entirely original.

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids is narrated by Elyse and imbued with her voice even though she cannot speak. Ockler juxtaposes Elyse’s actions with her inner thoughts to convey how Elyse struggles to understand who she is–who she can ever be–when her voice is gone.

The story centers on Elyse’s own development and her transformation as she understands that speaking up doesn’t always have to mean speaking out loud. This central focus creates a courageous story of empowerment for Elyse as well as the other characters in the novel, most notably Christian’s little brother Sebastian who is fascinated by mermaids. At the same time, The Summer of Chasing Mermaids offers discussions of feminism and equality. And, of course, there are mermaids and romance.

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids is a thoughtful story about all of the ways people can lose their voices whether they are stolen, broken or silenced and how to get them back. It’s a story about creating a new future when your obvious path is lost to you. It’s a story about finding love and partnership and how those should be the same things. Most of all, The Summer of Chasing Mermaids is about forging ahead even when the unknown is scary and what comes next is uncertain. Highly recommended.

Possible Pairings: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo, A Little Wanting Song by Cath Crowley, The Devil You Know by Trish Doller, The Midnight Dress by Karen Foxlee, Undercover by Beth Kephart, Moonglass by Jessi Kirby, The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord, Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta, Don’t Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno, I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson, The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Sea Change: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Many are drawn to Selkie Island. Few know why.

The whirlwind of events that brought sixteen-year-old Miranda Merchant to the island, away from her sensible summer plans in New York City, are unlikely but they make enough sense. Her mother has inherited a house that needs to be gone through and emptied. Logical enough. And so much more realistic than any fairytale happy ending.

But Selkie Island is a messy place that quickly blurs the lines between past and present and, more startling for Miranda, between reality and legend. Lore about mythical creatures and her own family’s past pervade the island filling the dense air with mystery and a charge Miranda’s logical mind can’t grasp. Soon enough everything Miranda thought she knew about her own family, her basic reality, and love is turned upside down when she meets Leo, a local boy with his own breezy, otherworldly charm.

Miranda will have to sort through the facts, and the myths, to find the truth and maybe even her own happy ending in Sea Change (2009) by Aimee Friedman.

Find it on Bookshop.

Sea Change is subtle and exquisite. Thoroughly grounded in Miranda’s scientific, logical head the story practically vibrates with tension as she works to reconcile what her mind knows to be impossible with what her heart might already know to be true. Friedman has already written a lot of great books, some of them bestsellers, but this one might be her best to date.

Friedman seamlessly integrates scientific references, seaside lore, and family to create a clever, romantic book with delightful characters and a setting evocative enough that some readers might finish this book only to find sand between their toes.

On top of all that, Miranda is a smart, grounded heroine who has a strong sense of self even at her lowest. No vampire’s here, but anyone looking for a thinking girl’s answer to Twilight need look no further.

Possible Pairings: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley, Girl at Sea by Maureen Johnson, Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson, Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta, Swoon at Your Own Risk by Sydney Salter, Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt, How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford

Exclusive Bonus Content (where I actually have content): If, like me, you love the cover of this book be sure to stop by the readergirlz blog to hear the awesome story behind the cover from the author herself.