Book to Share: The Selkie's Daughter, by Linda Cotta Brennan

Happy Marvelous Middle Grade Monday, everyone! I love stories that blend old-world legends with new-world settings, so I was thrilled to read the description of the recently-released The Selkie’s Daughter, by Linda Crotta Brennan:

A richly imagined fantasy set in Nova Scotia where a young girl—part selkie, part human—must save her family...
Brigit knows all the old songs and legends of Neve, the daughter of the sea god; of the warrior Finn MacCool; and of people who are not quite human. But Brigit knows the truth. It’s evident in the webbing between her fingers– webbing that must be cut. She’s the daughter of a selkie. A truth she must keep secret from everyone.
But someone in her village is killing young seals. Angering the king of the selkie clan, who vows revenge. A curse that will bring storm, sickness, and death. To protect those she loves, Brigit must find a way to Sule Skerrie, the land of selkies, to confront the Great Selkie and protect the young seals from harm.
Like sitting by a warm fireplace, The Selkie’s Daughter is an imaginative fantasy, steeped in Celtic mythology and rich with detail. Perfect for fans of mermaids and Studio Ghibli-esque stories.

A few things I especially loved:

—the setting. 
I suppose L. M. Montgomery got me hooked on stories set in Eastern Canada. I also have ancestors from this part of the world, so it holds a special pull for me. Linda Crotta Brennan did a brilliant job of bringing the Nova Scotia coast to life, vividly and intriguingly.

—the characters.
Oh, Brigit was wonderful! Heroic and bold when she needed to be, but also quiet, compassionate, and conflicted. The secondary characters are complex and conflicted as well; Alys and Margaret, Brigit’s aunt and cousin are both caring and kind to Brigit while turning a blind eye to the evil in their immediate family. I loved Peter, the newcomer to the village and Brigit’s faithful friend, as well as his uncle Agnus, the village’s Catholic priest. In a time when books are saturated with Catholic priests turning out to be the bad guys, I was touched to see Father Agnus was a priest like the ones I know: balanced, generous, and possessed of a hearty sense of humor.

—the pacing.
I expected a slow story, to be honest. And while I won’t say that The Selkie’s Daughter was fast-paced and adventure-packed, its perfectly drawn out drama and tension left me wanting to turn page after page. I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next!

All in all, this was a story I will heartily recommend and can’t wait to share with my children. 

For more Marvelous Middle Grade Monday recommendations, be sure to check out Always in the Middle!