Secrets of Selkie Bay by Shelley Moore Thomas (review)

The sudden disappearance of the Sullivan sisters’ mother has left the three girls bereft. Grief won’t make them money, though, so Cordie, the oldest at eleven, takes a job with cranky Mr. Doyle to help ease the financial strain on her beloved father. Ione, meanwhile, has become obsessed with the selkies that are rumored to swim in the waters around Selkie Bay, an Irish tourist trap that exploits the legend to bring in much-needed revenue. Ione insists that the gray seal she has seen off shore is the girls’ mother, and she manages to wrangle her sisters onto a boat; the three set off and find a mysterious island filled with what appear to be selkies. Mr. Doyle has found the island too, though, and he’s intent on getting vengeance on the creatures he believes to have wronged him in the past. Thomas gives the usual charming seaside locale a bit of grit here, depicting people whose financial stability depends on the fickle sea or even more fickle tourists. The girls themselves have a similarly rough edge about them, particularly Cordie, who is resentful of her mother’s absence and about the fact that role of head caretaker has fallen to her. The book carefully walks the balance between realism and fantasy, never quite dismissing the legend of the selkie but still remaining grounded in the very unmagical elements of the girls’ daily lives. While the truth behind her mother’s disappearance is implausible, fans of realism will ponder whether Cordie’s mom and dad made the right choice, while fantasy buffs will want to take a trip to the folklore section after reading.