The Changeling Sea

by Patricia A. McKillip

Overview

World Fantasy Award winner Patricia A. McKillip tells "an enchanting fantasy that is tinged with realism and romance." (School Library Journal)

Since the day her father's fishing boat returned without him, Peri and her mother have mourned his loss. Her mother sinks into a deep depression and spends her days gazing out at the sea. Unable to control her anger and sadness any longer, Peri uses the small magic she knows to hex the sea. And suddenly into her drab life come the King's sons—changelings with strange ties to the underwater kingdom—a young magician, and, finally, love.


"McKillip is a master storyteller; her tale rings true as if it were being told from memory."—Kirkus Reviews, pointer review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780141312620
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	04/14/2003
Series:	Firebird Fantasy
Edition description:	REISSUE
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	687,691
Product dimensions:	4.14(w) x 6.97(h) x 0.37(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Patricia A. McKillip (patriciamckillip.com) is a winner of the World Fantasy Award, and the author of many fantasy novels, including The Riddlemaster of Hed trilogy, Stepping from the Shadows, and The Cygnet and the Firebird. She lives in Oregon.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

McKillip is a master storyteller; her tale rings true as if it were being told from memory. (Kirkus Reviews, pointer review)"

Editorial Reviews

"McKillip is a master storyteller; her tale rings true as if it were being told from memory."—Kirkus Reviews, pointer review

"Beautifully sustained metaphors and an even tone make this fantasy, like McKillip's The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, a pleasure to read. Further, McKillip's deft characterization and smooth, tender resolution result in a memorable, often poignant novel."—Publishers Weekly

"With a touch of romance, Patricia McKillip weaves an enchanting tale that will especially appeal to young ladies, ages ten to thirteen. The author captures a world that lies somewhere between reality and fantasy. She also puts a new twist on the old adage that true love conquers all."—Children's Literature 

"An enchanting fantasy that is tinged with realism and romance . . .  Rewarding and engaging."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

The sea has taken everything away from Periwinkle; it has drowned her fisherman father and left her mother barely able to cope. So Periwinkle, a chambermaid at the inn of a small fishing village, decides to hex the sea. It works surprisingly well, disrupting the sea queen's magic. A chained sea monster appears from the depths, and the king's melancholy son, Kir, nearly drowns trying to get to the country under the sea. With the help of the magician Lyo, Periwinkle uncovers and reverses the sea queen's curse. Beautifully sustained metaphors and an even tone make this fantasy, like McKillip's The Forgotten Beasts of Eld , a pleasure to read. Further, McKillip's deft characterization and smooth, tender resolution result in a memorable, often poignant novel. Ages 10-up. (September)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 6 Up An enchanting fantasy that is tinged with realism and romance, set in an ordinary, pre-industrial fishing village, with a heroine seen by herself and everyone else as even less than ordinaryan unkempt and uncared for child turning woman in spite of herself. Peri's fifteenth year has been a difficult one. First her fisherman father was lost at sea, then her mother became so haunted by the loss that she stopped caring for and communicating with Peri, and finally even the old woman whom Peri relied on for comfort disappeared. Peri spends her days scrubbing floors at the local inn and trying to hex the sea for causing her losses. When the King and his retinue come to the island, unhappy Prince Kir comes to Peri's lonely beach and begs her help in delivering his message to the sea. Strange things begin happening in the sea, including the appearance of a huge sea dragon held captive by a golden chain, and the villagers ask a magician for help. With Peri's help, he unravels the tangle of events and results that began more than 17 years ago, when the king loved a sea-woman but married a human queen. Peri's coming of age and coming to terms with herself and her surroundings are an important part of the story. Lyo, the magician, is a human sort of magician, wise but skeptical, powerful but also vulnerable. What begins with isolated and occasionally jarring events and appearances gradually enfolds the village and the story in a fog of mystery and magic that clears only when the situation is resolved via Lyo's wisdom and Peri's love. Rewarding and engaging. Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, Pa.

School Library Journal