Stefanie's Thoughts: Sea Change by Aimee Friedman

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?

Hi everyone, 

On my quest to get as many books off my TBR, I finally read the first book I added to the TBR back in 2013 when I first signed up for Goodreads; Sea Change by Aimee Friedman. I felt like I had actually accomplished something by finally getting the satisfaction of checking it off as currently reading. 

I loved the book right from the opening quote. “The Cure For Everything Is Salt Water – Sweat, Tears, Or The Sea” Isak Dinesen. What I didn’t know was how perfect that quote was for the book. The setting was so wonderfully described that I felt I was right there with Miranda and Selkie Island might be one of my new favorite fictional places. The imagery that Friedman has included is honestly so unbelievable. I pictured this lush, green mist filled island the entire time I was reading it.

Miranda was a great main character because she changed so much throughout the book. I felt she really did go through growing pains and realizing who she was before (logical and only believed in science facts) she came to Selkie. I must admit, I loved the captain of the ship when Miranda was in-route to Selkie. I think my favourite part was how Miranda got her information about the island from one of her grandmother’s books than going on the internet.

The plot itself was fun and simple and I don’t mean simple as a negative. It wasn’t one where I felt like I needed to know how to calculate quantum physics to understand and I loved it. For me, some stories are better with simplicity and I can focus on the world around me.

I did have a couple disappointments. The first was the fantasy element wasn’t mapped out or used enough. I wanted it more right in my face than how it was used subtly. I wanted a whole selkie underwater world like Atlantis, but while I was reflecting on the book I realized after that the lack of in-your-face fantasy really does fit with the simplicity of the book overall.

I especially disliked the whole islanders/ visitors quarrel. I don’t know if in real life this happens as much as it does in books, but for once I’d like the year-rounders or the families that have vacationed there for years to just accept the newcomer. I really also didn’t like the girls Miranda meets there; they all just seemed so stuck up and snobby. Also for me the plot dragged when she was with them. I would have rather those pages been filled up with exploring the island’s past more.

The romance seemed a little off to me; I almost felt that it was added in because the reader expected it. It did add to Miranda’s growth, but I don’t know if Leo was a character was fully developed, plus there was some insta-love..so I’ll just leave the romance on that note.

Overall it was a nice read where I fully felt I was transported into another world. That cover really is perfect for the atmosphere of the book and it was the first thing I noticed about it.

3/5 stars

Re-Read Update

Tweet Heart. All I can say is what was I thinking with the 5 stars originally? I gave it three stars this time around but it’s more of a 2.5 star book. The plot itself was so juvenile, but I still enjoyed the format of tweets, blogs and emails.

Next up is Ripple by Mandy Hubbard

 I’m keeping up with the mermaid/ folklore theme I have going on here. I’m actually really impressed with myself for keeping up with the weekly re-reads. I know it’s still only January but I felt for sure I would fail after the first couple weeks.
















Happy Thursday.

Until my next review,

Stefanie