Sea Change

In Sea Change, Friedman takes the traditional story of Merfolk to a whole new level. Miranda Merchant is a girl with a love for all things scientific, and a special drawl to the ocean. Upon the death of her Southern debutant grandmother, Isadora Hawkins, Miranda and her mother are brought to Selkie Island, the families southern home. The Mariner, a large victorian style mansion nestled in a village from the past with old fashioned gentlemen and lavish parties on the boardwalk, was willed to Miranda's mother and teh two of them plan to clean it up and put it on the market. Miranda soon falls in love with the wonder of the island, but on the other side of Selkie, is where the real magic lies. Fisherman's villiage. Miranda meets a mysterious boy (don't we all just love mysterious boys?) on Siren beach. Leo challenges her scientific mind and everything she thought about boys and friendships. But is Leo more then a handsome fisherman? I'm not telling! because you have to get this book. It is a truly fun read of young love, longing and burried family secrets that will leave you begging for more. -L.J. Boldyrev

"Sea Change" was recommended to me by a friend due to my love of underwater mythology. At first I was skeptical - the author's experience tends to be with teen "gossip girl" style writing, and I wasn't sure if I'd find anything worth reading. I was more than pleasantly surprised; indeed, I devoured the novel in one sitting and couldn't put it down. "Sea Change" tells the story of Miranda, a brilliant young girl who loves science, and loves being able to make sense out of the world. Miranda is forced to go to Selkie Island, a small southern strip of land off the coast of Georgia where her mother used to summer when she was a teenager. The island becomes a character in and of itself, and Miranda's blunt point of view allows us to view the seemingly haunted yet beautiful coastal town as something of a magical place, caught in a time of southern belles and gentlemen, when mysterious things weren't explained by science. In short order, Miranda meets Leo, a strange, beautiful young man with secrets of his own. The author shows talent in keeping the dialogue between the teenagers light enough to keep the book flowing while letting Miranda's strong inner voice keep the tone serious enough to keep readers reading. The lore of Selkie Island is well-developed and original, and the tantalizing hints of whether or not the mythology is true or not is handled expertly. "Sea Change" has something in it for many teens - romance, mystery, magic, excitement, and a compellingly written fantasy that will surely have many new readers begging for a return to Selkie Island. 5 out of 5 stars

I absolutly loved this book! scientifically minded miranda joins her mom for a few weeks during the summer on selkie island, to help sell the house her late, estranged grandmother left them. strange things begin to happen, she meets a boy called leo, a selkie island native, who is decidedly different then any other boy she has met. What is leo hiding, and how is she beginning to feel about him? you will soon find out!

The only thing I wish I could have changed was that I should have read this on the beach! The magic of the ocean pulled me in to the world of Miranda & Leo in a special way. I feel the author's writing style is one of my favorites and perfectly set the scene for this story. I absolutely love how A.Friedman pins her stories. This one is a very enjoyable read, and I can't wait for the next one!!!

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 suspicious 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.