Review - Sea Change by Aimee Friedman

Sea Change by Aimee Friedman
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Paranormal Young Adult

Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 292

Summary: Sixteen-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?

Thoughts: Oh my, this book was so very very lovely. I realised the other day that I hadn't reviewed it and - even though I read it months ago - I knew I had to post something about it. Because, like many standalone novels, I feel like Sea Change doesn't quite get the press it ought to!

Let's start off with the main character, Miranda, who I absolutely adored. She had a thirst for logical answers that I could completely relate to. And, on occasion, she wanted something completely out-of-the-box illogical... which I could also relate to! She is a scientist with an artistic heart. Unlike a lot of YA novels, Miranda's mother plays a key role in this novel, and in Miranda's overall development. While Miranda had a lovely but realistic relationship with her mother before the book - over the course of the novel, her mother begins to act most peculiarly. She begins to seem rather foreign to Miranda... and it is scary, having someone you love seem different. I loved how their whole plot line developed - realistic but beautiful.

While Sea Change is a paranormal novel with real romantic elements in it, it is a coming of age novel above all. That isn't something that usually makes me pick up a book, but in Sea Change it was perfect. While there is a slight paranormal mystery, uncovering the answers to the island is not the most important part of the book. Miranda needed to find the answers to herself (does that sound deep, or what?). And when she does, the book ends.

And, oh, what an ending! I love books that leave you wondering; books that leave you hopeful yet still thinking. Aimee Friedman doesn't answer all the book's questions - and trust me when I say that you will love her for that.

Bottom line? Sea Change is a beautiful, mystical, romantic YA novel that I can easily recommend. Get a copy!