I expected good things from Sea Change (Amulet Books, 2025) by Susan Fletcher, as I’ve read the author’s middle grade novels, and wasn’t disappointed. Besides a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid” is intriguing in itself. And that cover!
Here’s the first line of the brief prologue: “Sixteen years after the first Mer baby was born, scientists tried to put the genie back in the bottle.”
In a world where illegal gene manipulation produced Mer people, Turtle saves a Normal from drowning. Despite their differences–she has working gills as well as lungs–Turtle is attracted to Kai and spends time on land with him. Now Turtle has a chance to be cured and become Normal. Not only can she then be with Kai, but it will mean she can spend time with the birth family she was taken from. But that will mean leaving her Mer family and friends. What will she choose?
You can see all of the author’s books here and read about Susan here. If interested, read my post about one of her other books.
