Secret of the Selkies

Lana is looking forward to summer with her grandparents in their cottage on the wild Atlantic coast. It’s a chance to escape her family, in particular annoying little sister Molly and her big brother Eoin, who always seems to be cleverer than her and more confident. An encounter with seals on the beach is a joyful exhilarating experience, but still not enough to shake off her feelings of hurt and exclusion. Then Lana discovers an extraordinary, magical family secret: she is a selkie, and only has to slip into the old coat that belonged to her great grandmother to join a family of seals as they dive through the ocean. Vulnerable because of her insecurities, she accepts a fairy trial to prove she belongs with the selkies, and as we all know, fairies can never be trusted. The trial puts her in danger of losing both her families. The adventure that follows is full of magic, tension and jeopardy, while being founded in a domestic world we will all recognise, where family is still the most important thing, despite how much they irritate you. This is Laura Keohane’s debut and she does a fine job, placing a thoroughly credible young girl in a magical world, and showing the contrasting pull of those two different worlds, both tempting her with the same things: love and belonging. Bravo too for the seashore scenes which are full of brine and brio!