Generally I talk about books I haven’t read before, but every now and then, especially when the earth that you’ve always relied upon to be solid and, well, reliable, starts being all quaky and shaky and liquefacty—I don’t know about you, but in circumstances like that I definitely feel in need of an old friend or two to keep me company. And for me, books I love and still come back to are very definitely “old friends.”

Patricia McKillip’s novel The Changeling Sea, first published in 1988, is one such old friend and the one I chose to pick up as my latest read.

So what’s it about? I don’t want to give too much away so I’ll give you the back cover teaser:

“The sea has taken everything Peri loved–and she is determined to have her vengeance.”

Basically, Peri—a fisher girl—decides to hex the sea and that impetuous decision brings magic, gold, a sea monster, a prince, a sea witch, a magician and a king into her life, all as part of a puzzle that only she can unravel.

The Changeling Sea is junior fiction and a slender volume of 137 pages, so why do I, an adult reader, love it so much? In many ways it’s a very simple story, but I think that is part of its charm because the simplicity allows the characters—and particularly Peri, the withdrawn, stubborn, yet perceptive fisher girl—to shine through. It also allows the beauty of McKillip’s language, which is poetic and mysterious and magical, to star as well. This is a fairytale (although not a ‘retelling’) and McKillip’s language weaves its spell. The story is full of enchantments, but it’s odd, uncertain, quirky magic, not a dark, grim tale.

The Changeling Sea is a very gentle story, too, full of kindness and humanity and understanding, if (like the magic) these qualities are often seen from odd angles—but it is in no way boring. The tale always draws me in as a reader, spinning its magic around me, and at the end I always feel satisfied and that I want more—both at the same time! I thoroughly recommend it, especially for those who like standalone books, fairytales and fairytale retellings, and life-affirming stories.