If your kid is currently in that phase where they feel like a total alien in their own friend group, this book is going to hit hard. It captures that specific, itchy brand of teen claustrophobia—the kind where your family is fine and your friends are nice, but you still feel like you’re vibrating at a completely different frequency than everyone else on the map.
The "Small Town" Friction
Morgan’s struggle isn’t that she’s being bullied; it’s that she’s being smothered by expectations. She’s the "responsible" one in a house where her mom is struggling with a divorce and her brother is acting out. For a lot of readers, that "good kid" pressure is more relatable than a traditional villain. The book does a fantastic job of showing how exhausting it is to maintain a curated version of yourself.
When Keltie shows up, she isn't just a love interest—she’s a disruptor. She’s loud, she’s weird, and she doesn't understand the social "rules" of the island. Watching Morgan navigate the terror of being associated with someone "uncool" while simultaneously falling for them is the most authentic part of the story.
Visual Storytelling that Actually Works
The author of The Witch Boy trilogy has a specific talent for using the graphic novel medium to convey things words can't quite catch. There are sequences here—mostly involving the water and the rocky coastline—where the art does all the heavy lifting. If you have a kid who usually breezes through books without absorbing the subtext, the visual cues here make the emotional beats impossible to miss.
It’s an excellent bridge for kids who have outgrown the "magical princess" tropes of younger years but aren't quite ready for the heavy, gritty realism of older YA. If your reader is looking for more graphic novels with strong female characters that prioritize atmosphere over action, this is the gold standard.
Beyond the Mermaid Trope
While the "mysterious girl from the sea" setup might sound like a standard fairy tale, this is much more grounded in reality. The magical elements are used to highlight Morgan’s internal growth rather than to drive a fantasy plot. It’s a romance, yes, but it’s mostly a story about honesty.
If your child grew up on Disney heroines but is now looking for something that feels more "real life," this is a perfect evolution. You can even find it tucked into our ocean-themed reading lists as a more mature alternative to the classic sea-faring adventures they loved as toddlers.
The 4.6 Amazon rating is well-earned here. It’s a quick read, but the "secret-keeping" theme usually sparks some pretty great post-reading conversations about why we hide parts of ourselves from the people we love most. If they finish this and ask for more, looking into the rest of the work from the author of The Witch Boy trilogy is a guaranteed win.
