The Selkie’s Daughter

In this multilayered middle grade debut, Brennan (the Fact Files series) evocatively establishes the hardships of a tween living as an incognito selkie in the sea-blasted chill of Nova Scotia. Though Brigit Finn habitually cuts back the webbing between her fingers to facilitate her masquerade as human, she and her mother—who are shape-shifting magical seals from nearby Sule Skerrie—are still the topic of persistent gossip throughout her financially struggling rural fishing village. Brigit endures persistent bullying from classmates, but with the support of her family, which also includes her Scots-descended father and precocious five-year-old brother, she forms buoying friendships with her cousin and a newcomer, the Manitoban nephew of the local priest. When the village’s fortunes shift for the worse, the fishermen—blaming selkies—target Brigit and her family, who are already suffering their own profound tragedies: someone has been killing young seals, angering the king of the selkies. At times shockingly dark and unflinching in its portrayal of the harsh realities Brigit and her family face, this fresh and evocative tale, rendered in Brigit’s clear voice, is propelled by a resilient protagonist toward a satisfyingly complex resolution. The human cast is white. Ages 8–12. Agent: Karyn Fischer, BookStop Literary. (Jan.)