Book Type: YA Novel
Author: Vanessa Barger
Pages: 187
At a time when most girls are worried about prom dresses, Lorelei Stamper is worried about losing her skin -- literally. Receiving a sealskin from her Aunt, her world is changed. Not only is she a selkie, but she holds the key to breaking a curse affecting all selkie.
Now monsters are stalking her, forcing her to decide if she will end the curse before she even really understands what’s happening. When Declan, one of two bodyguards sent to protect her, wakes her sleeping heart, she must try to balance love, surviving her senior year, and deciding whether she wants to be human or not. No matter what she chooses, the fact remains that breaking the curse demands blood. Hers.
My Review:
The premise of this selkie novel was great! It's rare to see authors step outside of traditional folklore and utilize new fantasy elements to create a different story. While this selkie novel had some interesting ideas, there were some flaws in execution.
What I Enjoyed: To start, the dialogue and characterization techniques were excellent! Lorelei and her best friend, Colleen, are really close, and the author created authentic dialogue between 2 teenage girls without it sounding too cheesy or cliché.
I also enjoyed the character interactions and how Lorelei reacted to her selkie heritage. But there were major issues within this novel that made the story feel rushed and underdeveloped.
What Needed Improvement:
Upon reading the first few chapters, I was wondering what Lorelei looked like. She barely had any physical character description, and I wish there was more setting description. As a reader, I kept asking, what makes this household unique besides the selkie background? What does the house look like and how about the characters? This also applied to the underwater city where the selkie live. This was an opportunity to show selkie civilization, something rarely discussed, but aside from a few sunken ships, it was a bit unclear.
It's common to see a conflict between a mother and her teenage daughter. But the mother in this novel was absolutely horrible! When Lorelei brings home a selkie boyfriend, she calls her a whore?! I understand part of her was under the influence of a malevolent creature, but even before this, she was a very cold and unforgiving character. I also questioned the family dynamic. If the mother and rest of the family are selkies, why is the aunt a mermaid? How did she become a different creature?
There was also some insta-love, with the characters saying I love you within a few days. But the most critical issue was the plot pacing. I believe this would've been better suited as a series. Halfway through the novel, the reader is still left in the dark about this prophecy and the importance of Lorelei to the selkie community. She must choose between being a selkie or a human, but the consequences just didn't seem threatening enough. The lore had a promise of being rich but was sparse in detail.
Lorelei was supposed to be the true heroine and savior of the selkies, but there wasn't enough major conflict to be considered threatening and set up a high stakes situation. I give this book 2 stars.
-Sirenita The Selkie