Monday, December 14, 2009

Sea Change, by Aimee Friedman


Miranda hasn't had a lot of luck or experience with boys, but when she joins her mother on Selkie Island to help clean up her grandmother's house so it can be sold, that looks set to change. Most of the boys on the Island are rich trust fund types, but Leo is different: intelligent, sensitive, local townie...and maybe something else. As Miranda gets to know him better, she becomes convinced that he is actually a merman.

For the most part, this book is fairly standard teen romance material, but the hint of the supernatural spices things up nicely. Is Leo just different because he's the right sort of boy for Miranda? Or is he actually a merman? For that matter, what of Miranda's bloodline? Does it make her susceptible to the charms of the sea? In the end, most of these questions turn out to be unimportant, but they add a nice metaphorical layer to the budding romance.

I was a bit annoyed by the ending, though, which not only wrapped things up too conveniently but resorted to adding information that should have been added (or hinted at) earlier in the story. My sense was that the ending was rushed. Aside from that, this is an above-average romance.

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