“ Sometimes you have to let your life get messy. That’s how you get the good parts.” (Molly Knox Ostertag, The Girl from the Sea)
The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag is a delightful YA graphic novel set on a small island in modern-day Canada. Somehow, Ostertag manages to perfectly blend elements of fantasy (particularly selkie-related mythology magic) with the realism of teenage life and the unyielding pressures of hiding parts of one’s identity. With gorgeous art, relatable characters, and a sapphic romance at its core, The Girl from the Sea is a heartfelt story about discovering love and living life to the fullest, allowing yourself to be all of who you are, especially the messy parts.
Summary:
This story follows Morgan, a fifteen-year-old islander who can’t wait to go to college and get away from her small-town life. Grappling with her parents’ recent divorce, her hot-tempered little brother, and her friends who don’t know she’s gay, Morgan is determined to compartmentalize her life, keeping everything separate, “tucked neatly into boxes”. That is, until one night, when a mysterious girl named Keltie saves Morgan from drowning. As it turns out, Keltie is a selkie, a mythical seal-like creature that can transform into a human and walk on land after experiencing true love’s kiss. As Morgan and Keltie fall in love and spend more time together, Morgan must realize that she can’t keep the different parts of her life– home, friends, and now Keltie– separate any longer.
Review:
In my opinion, The Girl from the Sea’s is an amazing blend between comic-style art, dialogue between characters, a few text message threads, and even a bit of narration by Morgan, the main character. I love Ostertag’s art style, which puts mood and emotion at the forefront of the story through the use of various settings as well as characters’ facial expressions and body language. This felt perfect for a story centered around a teenage romance, as it makes everything feel more dramatic. I’ve read a couple of other graphic novels by Molly Knox Ostertag, and my favorite part of her art style is the way she draws different characters in ways that reflect their personalities. For example, Morgan is drawn with straighter lines and more rigid, tense posture than Keltie, who is drawn using rounder strokes and depicted with a wild hairstyle and big, expressive eyes and body language.
Speaking of Morgan and Keltie, both characters absolutely captured my heart! I found Morgan to be extremely relatable. All the things she faces– dealing with the aftermath of her parents’ divorce, frustration about her little brother, not feeling understood by her friends– are very real struggles that many readers can relate to. Morgan’s need to compartmentalize parts of her identity and fit in makes her feel real and human. I loved watching her growth and journey to embracing her full identity, truly living with no regrets. Keltie was also a fun character– as a magical selkie who doesn’t always understand humans, she sort of gives off a manic pixie dream girl energy. While Morgan is constantly keeping secrets and hiding, Keltie is adventurous and unafraid to be who she is loudly and proudly. The contrast between the two girls makes their romance work wonderfully. Keltie did seem a bit flat at times compared to Morgan, but I think this goes to show that Keltie’s life isn’t as complicated as Morgan’s, and how she is more carefree because of this. Aside from Morgan and Keltie, the side characters (Morgan’s friends, for example) felt a little flat and one-dimensional. However, I can see why this is since The Girl from the Sea is a rather short graphic novel and also because one of the main conflicts is that Morgan’s friends– and people in general, besides Keltie– don’t understand her.
The Girl from the Sea centers around several themes, including love, accepting one’s identity as a whole, and learning to live life to the fullest, embracing even the messy parts. I appreciated how the graphic novel format was able to truly represent these themes without overly detailed descriptions or long, tedious paragraphs of reflection. Instead of feeling too forced or rushed, these messages played out naturally and realistically throughout the story, allowing readers to feel Morgan’s growth in relation to both the people around her and to her own view of herself and the world.
The plot was easy to follow and generally quite simple. I noticed that The Girl from the Sea shares a few parallels to the classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, The Little Mermaid. The main idea of a magical mermaid– or a selkie in this case– becoming human to walk on land and pursue true love is a well-told tale. Still, while some elements were predictable, it’s not every day that you see a sapphic ‘little mermaid’ story. The modern setting and queerness of Morgan and Keltie’s relationship add layers and complications that keep this story from seeming too cliché.
My favorite parts of The Girl from the Sea were definitely 1) the art and 2) Morgan/Keltie’s relationship! I absolutely love all of Molly Knox Ostertag’s graphic novels because of her beautiful art style. Morgan and Keltie also really stood out to me as such a funny, sweet, adorable couple. Their dynamic, especially their early interactions, is golden, and their relationship feels as magical as selkies and as real as the ocean. Another thing I appreciated about The Girl from the Sea was how the book is a pretty short, quick read, while still being packed with humor, magic, and emotional substance.
The only thing I didn’t like was that it wasn’t longer! While I enjoy being able to go through The Girl from the Sea quickly as a lovely little comfort read, I got so invested that I needed it to be longer or to have a sequel! The ending was satisfying, and I really enjoyed the concept designs and early sketches the author included at the back of the book, but I feel like there’s still so much more of Morgan’s (and Keltie’s) story to be told.
Overall, this is one of my favorite graphic novels. While it’s labeled as a YA graphic novel, I think that middle-graders and older elementary schoolers would also enjoy it because of the humor, cute art, and gentle romance between Morgan and Keltie. It’s a must-read for anyone who enjoys magic/mythology, queer romance, and/or graphic novels or comics. If you love The Girl from the Sea as much as I do, I’d also recommend that you check out Molly Knox Ostertag’s other graphic novels, including The Witch Boy, her series for younger readers, and The Deep Dark. The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang is also another graphic novel I’d recommend that features amazing art and queer romance.
I would give this book: 📚📚📚📚📚– a lovely and magical graphic novel featuring an adorable sapphic love story! (5/5)
Happy Reading!
Love, Lili
GFB Ambassador