The Girl Who Never Was

Gr 9 Up—Selkie Stewart lives with her great-aunts in the Beacon Hill section of Boston. She has just turned 17 on the autumnal equinox and is determined to find the birth mother who dropped her off on her father's doorstep when she was an infant. Selkie learns that she was born because her father saved her mother's life and asked for a child in return. She then discovers that her great-aunts and her father are ogres. Selkie's mother is a faerie queen who rules Otherworld at Seelie Court, and ruthlessly kills nonfaeries. Selkie has been protected by Ben, who appears to be a merchant on Boston Common but is actually a faerie who has created an enchantment for her and takes her traveling across time, space, and realms; she is in love with him. One of four faeries born on the seasonal equinox who are prophesied to take power away from Seelie Court and bring peace to the Otherworld, Selkie is in great danger; her faerie queen mother is determined to kill her. The protagonist takes many risks to become acquainted with her mother, and bravely overcomes evil enchantments, growing in confidence throughout the story. She lives dual roles as a changeling and a public high school student. This action-packed story is rich in snappy dialogue and descriptions of Boston. An additional purchase for middle school collections.—Laura Scott, Farmington Community Library, MI