The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag
Genre/Category
Graphic novel, Romance, Fantasy, Coming of Age, LGBTQ+. The category I am reviewing for is 7th-12th grade LGBTQ+ (any genre).
Target Age Group
The age group for The Girl from the Sea is 12-18, or 6th - 12th grade. The book contains mild language, discussions of sexuality, and mild kissing.
Summary
The Girl from the Sea follows the story of Morgan and her struggles with coming out of the closet as queer to her friends and family. Morgan embarks on a summer romance with Keltie, a seal-person, who is made human by true love’s kiss. As Morgan reckons with revealing her sexuality, Keltie is determined to find a way, with Morgan’s help, to save her seal family from environmental pollution and interference that is driving fish away from the bay.
Justification
From New York Times bestselling author Molly Knox Ostertag, The Girl from the Sea is a heartfelt journey about the importance of being true to yourself and giving others in your life the opportunity to see and accept the real you. It contains themes of friendship, queer acceptance, family, and even environmentalism.
Evaluation
For my evaluation of The Girl from the Sea, I have chosen to narrow my focus on the illustrations, characterization, and pacing.
IllustrationsI would describe the illustrations of The Girl from the Sea as artistic, emotive, and charming. The art style depicts teenage, sea-side life with bright colors, frequent texting scenes, dialogue bubbles, blushing faces, awkward body language, and more. As Morgan is a character who hides many aspects of herself, the illustrations help the reader understand a bit more about her below the surface by her reactions to different situations. For example, one scene I thought was especially clever is included below. In this scene, Morgan’s friend Lizzie is talking to her about a guy, but Morgan is worried about a situation Keltie has gotten herself into. The friend’s speech bubble is located behind Morgan, whose panicked face is at the forefront, indicating that she is not really listening and her mind is focused on something else. Moments like these are peppered throughout the narrative, and supply for multiple ways of reading and understanding the narrative and characters.
CharacterizationMorgan, the protagonist, undergoes intense character development as she learns the importance of being proud of her identity, and she’s not the only one who demonstrates growth. Throughout the novel, Keltie also learns the importance of being honest and selfless, as she admits her motives for becoming human to Morgan that involve saving her seal family. And she also learns the importance of sacrifice to save others. Morgan’s friends and family learn the importance of accepting your loved ones for who they are, and understanding that letting them process their emotions alone can be the best thing you can do for them. Overall, every character in The Girl from the Sea is well-developed with their own motivations and stories, making for a realistic and engaging narrative.
PacingOne successful aspect of The Girl from the Sea that stuck out to me was the pacing. Throughout the novel, from when Morgan first kisses Keltie and she turns human, there is a presence that something is going to happen to make the narrative take a turn. Morgan becomes less responsive to her friends, as illustrated by texting scenes where her presence is noticabley absent. Morgan’s brother becomes suspicious of how much time she spends with Keltie. Morgan’s friend Serena keeps referencing her birthday party on a huge boat, the same boat Keltie is rallying against due to its negative affects on the bay. All of these events culminate at different points with both negative and positive results (without spoiling what they are!). Ostertag does a masterful job of pacing rising actions, climaxes, and falling actions to the point where the reader eagerly anticipates what the next page may bring.
Reference
Ostertag, M. K. (2021). The Girl from the Sea. Graphix.