The Girl From The Sea is, frankly, a short and sweet coming-of-age story, perfect for middle school readers and adults alike. All about the magic of first crushes, navigating friendships, and actual magic— you can read this book in a few hours (and then think about it constantly for the next few weeks).
The art and story that Ostertag created in The Girl From The Sea are real treats to enjoy, and I highly recommend checking this book out!
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The Girl from the Sea
by Molly Ostertag
🌟: 5 / 5
📚: Morgan likes to keep her life compartmentalized— friends, family, her dreams of going away to college— but her big secret, that she thinks she likes girls, makes her afraid that she’ll lose everything that she loves. But when Morgan is saved from drowning by a mysterious girl from the sea, she starts to learn that being her true self is the most magical thing of all.
💭: This book is just pure middle grade/early high school sweetness. It’s the coming-of-age graphic novel that I wish I had growing up. It’s a fast read (or maybe it was only fast because I tore through it), but has so many shining moments. It’s sweet and funny, occasionally heartbreaking and tense, tender and joyful. I would consider this a full family must-read that made me wish I could go back and give a younger version of myself and my siblings this book.
I feel like there isn’t much that I can say in terms of critiquing this story without it feeling weird to me because I’m an adult and this book is written for middle grade readers, but I so wholeheartedly enjoyed reading this that there isn’t much to even critique in the first place.
There’s so many aspects to Morgan’s story that I feel like kids in their early teens can relate to: feeling lost from her parents’ separation, having an annoying brother that won’t leave her alone, and having a first Big Crush. Morgan’s struggle of keeping a secret from her friends and mom that leaves her conflicted because they’re the people she trusts the most is so genuinely realistic, and despite all of the fantasy elements in the story, grounds it the most. The care that Ostertag put into writing Morgan as a complicated character, especially one that not everything goes right for, really makes her stand out for me as an incredible, and specifically not perfect, middle-grade heroine.