Sea Change by Aimee Friedman

Miranda's summer has been planned out for her: she is to stay in New York City to intern at the Museum of Natural History, something her scientific and logical mind enjoys. But when her estranged grandmother Isadora suddenly dies, she and her mother must travel to Georgia to clean out Isadora's vacation home, the mansion that Miranda's mother has inherited. Selkie Island, the quaint vacation spot, is full of Southern charm and pirate lore, including a mysterious local boy that Miranda finds herself drawn to. Leo is different than other boys and there is something about him that Miranda can't place. Something almost mythical.

When I first started reading Sea Change, I thought it was going to take place up North, like the New England-Cape Cod area. It seemed that a book full of legends and mystery would be more likely to take place up where the weather is cooler and foggy. But no, Selkie Island is in Georgia which seems more tropical and happy to me. I still liked the location, it just didn't seem to fit as well as other places would have.

Besides that, I really enjoyed Sea Change. Miranda was like the antithesis to Selkie Island: she's logical and doesn't believe in legends and mythical creatures, but Selkie Island is clearly full of both. I liked seeing Miranda accept that some things in life are not explained and become more open to things she doesn't understand. Obviously from the summary you know that something's up with Leo, and Aimee Friedman makes it obvious what he is right away. I think I knew what he was before I opened the book. So there is some annoyance as Miranda is trying to figure out what was going on, but it's not too bad. I actually really liked Leo too, he's mysterious and interesting and at the end you never quite know what Leo is, so the book is open for interpretation. And the fact that this book takes place in the summer and on the beach makes it that much better, in my opinion. Sea Change is a good summer read, especially if you like legends and mythical creatures.

8 out of 10.

Release Date: June 1, 2009