The Dark Tide by Alicia Jasinska (review)

Every St. Walpurga’s Eve, the Witch Queen selects a young man as the yearly sacrifice to appease the tide that threatens to flood the island of Caldella. Seventeen-year-old Lina is terrified by the prospect of her brother’s becoming the Witch Queen’s next choice, so she seeks help from Thomas Lin, the only boy to survive the selection, who convinced the former Witch Queen to sacrifice herself instead. When Thomas is chosen again by Eva, the nineteen-year-old current Witch Queen, Eva accepts Lina’s offer to trade places with Thomas, and as Eva and Lina grow closer, they develop feelings for each other and work together to find alternatives to human sacrifice, even as other witches plot a coup against Eva. This queer-friendly adaptation of the ballad of Tam Lin invokes a sense of folktale magic, with common tropes of breaking larger-than-life curses and a classic scene in which Thomas Lin transforms into various creatures as Lina holds on to save him. Australian author Jasinska brings the island setting to life with witches that craft spells using sailor knots and with island festivals involving dancing and magical gift exchanges; readers will have a hard time putting this one down and, sacrifice or no sacrifice, will wish they could be part of Caldella’s festivities and magic.