Sea Change by Aimee Friedman + Contest!

First published in 2009.

When Miranda Merchant, sixteen and levelheaded, escapes her lonely, hot summer in New York City, little does she know what awaits her. She steps off the ferry onto an island rife with legend, lore, and a past her logical mind can't make sense of. She isn't expecting to feel a connection to this unusual place, so filled with languorous charm and strange history.

And when she meets Leo, a mysterious local boy, she finds herself questioning everything she thought she knew about boys, friendships, reality . . . and love.

Is Leo hiding something? Or is he something she never could have imagined? (book flap blurb)

I got this book from Aimee at her signing at BEA last year mainly because Steph from Reviewer X dragged me into her signing line to get it. Otherwise I wouldn't have picked this one up. From the blurb, it doesn't really seem to be my thing, especially since it leans more towards romance. But since it was in my pile I wanted to give it a chance because I'm willing to step outside my safety zone and try new things.

Am I glad I did. I started reading and pretty much swallowed the book whole, to my surprise. I loved Miranda. Just like the blurb says, she's levelheaded and logical, but almost to a fault. It's very hard for her to see beyond logic and science and that's something I can definitely relate to. It takes her a lot to step out of her tunnel vision but, eventually, she does.

This book was about change but I think it went further beyond the fantastical part. It was about Miranda coming out of her shell and realizing who she is, in so many different ways. She's not just this hard-nosed scientific type. As much as she isn't willing to admit it, she's someone that could just maybe, quite possibly, almost believe in the fantastical.

The fantasy aspect in this book was subtle and more implied than in your face. Miranda got her information from a book of lore she found in her grandmother's house. She sees things out of the corners of her eyes that she can't really explain and which we never can an explanation for. I'm pretty sure that was the point. Not everything needs an explanation. Something it helps to just believe.

I liked the romance aspect because it wasn't overwhelming and it was much more realistic than what I've read in a lot of YA lately. I'm a firm believer in summer romances (because I can relate!) and it makes sense for Miranda making the connection that she does. Read the book and you'll find out what I'm talking about! The ending was especially great. It was hopeful without being sappy. It wasn't wholly a happy ending but a satisfying one.

The part I wasn't fond of was the whole rich kids versus townies triangle that was going on. I get that the richies from the mainland summered on the island but I felt that the 'suitable rich boy as a potential boyfriend who only turns out to be raised a prick' is a little tired. Surely not every single kid born into privilege isn't capable of seeing beyond their situation and is willing to break the mould. Needless to say, who Miranda chooses end is pretty obvious but that didn't keep me from silently cheering for her sticking it to the guy that didn't see her for her.

Overall, an excellent read and totally surprising for me. I love it when I decide to take a risk on something by stepping off my safety net and it pays off. I'm glad Steph dragged me into that line and I ended up with this book. It was a great read and now I'm going to seek out more of Aimee's work because her take on the teenage voice and situations were just awesome. Not all books have to be chock full of drama and overly obnoxious to be "fitting" to the YA market. Sea Changes is one of those examples and I'm so happy for its reasonableness.

PS - Did I mention that the cover is gorgeous too? I don't normally talk about covers because they're pretty irrelevant to how I feel about the book but this one just blows me away. It's absolutely beautiful!

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