The Turning

by Emily Whitman

Overview

Winner of the Oregon Spirit Book Award

Does he belong to the land or to the sea?

Readers who loved Kelly Barnhill’s The Girl Who Drank the Moon and Pam Muñoz Ryan’s Echo will be transported to the place where the water and land meet in this exquisitely crafted coming-of-age tale about a selkie boy.

Aran has never truly fit in with his selkie clan. He was born in his human form, without a pelt to transform him into a sleek, strong seal. Each day he waits, left behind while his selkie family explores the deep ocean. What if his pelt never comes? Does the Moon even see him? Is he putting his clan at risk?

When his mother undertakes a journey to the far north to seek help, Aran is left in the care of a reclusive human woman on remote Spindle Island. Life on land is full of more wonders—and more dangers—than Aran could have ever imagined. Soon Aran will be forced to decide: will he fight for his place on land, or return to his home in the sea?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538551578
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	07/24/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 5.70(h) x (d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Emily Whitman's first novel, Radiant Darkness, was praised for its "originality and flair" by BCCB and was a #1 IndieBound Pick. The author lives with her family in Portland, Oregon.

Editorial Reviews

Whitman keeps the suspense high and delivers a satisfying conclusion. A wonderful selection for readers ready to dip their toes into variations on myths and legends without the mayhem and adult themes that often accompany the original tales.” — School Library Journal

“Whitman builds a beautiful slow burn with her evocative middle-grade debut. ...the many layers make for a satisfying read. A contemplative tale about the yearning to belong.” — Booklist

“A half-human, half-selkie boy searches for a way to belong. ...Told from Aran’s first-person point of view, the story goes smoothly...[a] well-conceived story.” — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

Whitman builds a beautiful slow burn with her evocative middle-grade debut. ...the many layers make for a satisfying read. A contemplative tale about the yearning to belong.

Booklist

Whitman builds a beautiful slow burn with her evocative middle-grade debut. ...the many layers make for a satisfying read. A contemplative tale about the yearning to belong.

Booklist

A half-human, half-selkie boy searches for a way to belong. ...Told from Aran’s first-person point of view, the story goes smoothly...[a] well-conceived story.

Stephanie Garber

2018-04-25
A half-human, half-selkie boy searches for a way to belong.For his first 11 years, Aran considered himself wholly a selkie pup, living with his mother and a small clan of other adult selkies. Most selkies—seals who can transform into human shape—are born wearing their pelts, but pale-skinned Aran wasn't; his mother assures him it's only a matter of time. Being stuck "in longlimbs" means that Aran can't swim as fast or far as his clan members, which prevents his mother and him from migrating or attending the selkie Moon Day rites with the others. He drinks salt water rather than fresh, but he can't hold his breath underwater for nearly as long as the rest. When he learns that his father was actually a human man, he fears he'll never get his pelt. Finally his clan heads north to seek advice and possibly a pelt from the ancient wise ones, leaving Aran behind. Aran forges a cautious life as a partial human, making friends with a brown-skinned, biracial girl named Nellie and her artist grandfather, a white man. Still, the sea calls him every day, and when violence threatens, Aran flees. Told from Aran's first-person point of view, the story goes smoothly to that point despite some minor flaws in the worldbuilding, only to wreck against the craggy reef of its ending, which rejects his essential duality. A dishonest ending to an otherwise well-conceived story. (Fantasy. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews