The Girl From the Sea (Book) (2024)

The Girl From the Sea is a graphic novel by Molly Knox Ostertag.

Official Book Description[]

Fifteen-year-old Morgan has a secret: She can't wait to escape the perfect little island where she lives. She's desperate to finish high school and escape her sad divorced mom, her volatile little brother, and worst of all, her great group of friends...who don't understand Morgan at all. Because really, Morgan's biggest secret is that she has a lot of secrets, including the one about wanting to kiss another girl. Then one night, Morgan is saved from drowning by a mysterious girl named Keltie. The two become friends and suddenly life on the island doesn't seem so stifling anymore. But Keltie has some secrets of her own. And as the girls start to fall in love, everything they're each trying to hide will find its way to the surface...whether Morgan is ready or not.

Cover Appearance[]

The cover art depicts two girls, one on dark cyan rocks, the other in the water beneath, reaching their hand towards each other. Their fingers touch, at the surface of the water. The girl in the water has long sun-bleached blond hair which flows over her shoulders and back, and freckles splattered all over her face and arms. Her eyes are wide, rimmed with lush eyelashes, and a small smile turns up the sides of her lips slightly, into a smile. The water around her is filled with aquatic plants. The girl on the rocks above her has shoulder-length black hair and is wearing a yellow T-shirt with jean overalls. Her eyes are black like her hair and her expression is interested and happy, looking into the blonde girl's eyes. The sky behind her is coral with white clouds. Between them are the white swooping letters of the tile. At the bottom of the cover, in a similar font is Molly Knox Ostertag's name.

Plot[]

The story begins with Morgan falling through the sea which she had tripped in from the slippery rocks above. Her life flashes through her mind and she thinks of her parents' divorce and how different she is at school from how she feels on the inside, and how she has a secret-- that she's gay. Then, from below her, someone pushes her to the surface of the water and onto shore where she coughs and catches her breath. Then she turns to see who her savior is, and it's a girl. An almost naked girl, with dark eyes and wet blonde hair.

The girl tells her that it isn't a good night for a swim and uses Morgan's full name to address her. Morgan is surprised and tells her that she wasn't swimming on purpose. The girl then asks her if she remembers her, and Morgan thinks she does-- "like someone from a dream." The girl tells her that she remembers her, but Morgan figures that this is a dream. Then she says, "You know... if this is a dream... it might as well be a romantic one."

"Romantic?" The other girl questions, then Morgan confirms. "So, all of this is in your head, then?" Asks the girl.

"Mh-hm." Says Morgan. "You're way too cute to be real." Then they lean towards each other and kiss.

Later, Morgan goes back inside her house quietly. Her mom is inside and looks up at Morgan from where she sits on the sofa in the room next to the hallway. Morgan hides her injury on her head from hitting it on the rocks. Her mom says she's sorry about tonight and that she knows it is stressful and Aiden is "working through his feelings." Morgan says that she always makes excuses for him, then says goodnight and walks upstairs to bed. When she gets to her room, she changes her wet clothes and picks up her phone to look at the texts her friends, Serena, Jules and Lizzie, had sent her. They had been wondering where she was, and if she wanted to go to "Figgy's" with them tomorrow. Morgan texted back that she would be there and got in bed, thinking about the girl that she must have dreamed about after falling in the water.

She thinks that seeing the girl had reminded her of something and then she looks across her room at a framed picture that is hanging on her wall. It's of her and her brother, younger and wearing swim gear. "I was nine, so it must have been seven years ago..." Suddenly there is a flashback of a sunny day where she, Aiden and her father are by the water. Younger Morgan is swimming in the water and tells her brother it get in, but he is pretending to be a cat and wearing fake cat ears and says that kitties don't like water, so he won't get in. Morgan grabs him and tries to pull him into the water with her, but her father tells her to leave him alone, so Morgan stops and paddles away a little.

Then, a younger version of the girl that saved Morgan from drowning splashes up behind Morgan and she yelps in surprise. "Do you like mussels?" the girl asks. Morgan says that she's allergic to shellfish and the other girl looks slightly disappointed. "Oh... Because I could get you some. If you liked them."

"How?" Moragn asks and the girl tells her that she will show her. She takes off Morgan's inflatable armbands and Morgan seems uncomfortable. "We'll have to dive for 'em." explains the girl. Morgan says she can't dive, but the girl takes her hand, saying "Just trust me." Then, together the girls dive beneath the water. They look at crabs, starfish and other sea creatures, and the girl swims away from her and a seal replaces her. The seal circles her and Morgan smiles in amazement. Then, her father suddenly crashes into the water and grabs Morgan, pulling her to the surface. "Dad! I'm fine!" Morgan exclaims. "You were under water for way too long," says her father, "I thought--" Then Morgan interrupts him and says that she was following this girl, and then there was a seal. The two look out across the water. "There's no one there, Morgan." her dad says.

Then the flashback ends and the scene changes to Morgan waking up in the morning to the sound of squawking birds. She comes downstairs where her mom and brother are already awake. Her mom asks her if she wants to go to the beach that day, but Morgan says she's meeting up with her friends, and Aiden says that he doesn't want to go just with just their mom. Their mom is a bit disappointed and suggests that they go soon, then asks Morgan to take out the compost. Morgan takes the bucket and tells her mom that the gulls wouldn't scream all morning id they didn't feed them. But she takes it outside and dumps it on the ground as a flock of seagulls surrounds her, grabbing the remains and swooping around. When they part, Morgan sees a girl waving at her, standing on the small bridge.

"No no no no--" She thinks as she recognizes her as the girl she kissed last night. The girl runs towards her, but then slips on the grass and falls to the ground. Morgan rushes forward to help her up and the girl says "Still not used to these, yet." Gesturing to her legs. "The ground is harder than I thought."

Morgan asks her who she says and the girl says, "It's me, Keltie!" Morgan tells her her name and Keltie says she knows. Then Keltie raises her arms theatrically and proclaims, "Morgan! I am a selkie and you are my true love, and your kiss has allowed me to transform from a seal and walk upon land! Now we can seek our fortunes together!" Morgan blushes and looks shocked and denies Keltie's proposition. Keltie protests that their destinies are intertwined, sealed by a kiss, and Morgan tells her that that was just a near-death-experience hallucination. Then Keltie puts her hands on Morgan's waist and says, "I assure you it was not." Just then, Morgan spots her neighbors, Earl and Val passing by and pushes Keltie away from her, Keltie putting an arm around her shoulder. When the neighbors have gone, Morgan tells Keltie to stop touching her. Then, Morgan's mom calls to her from their house and asks her who her friend is. "Keltie, ma'am!" Keltie responds and Morgan's mom asks her if she wants to come in for breakfast. Keltie says indeed she would and Morgan turns to Keltie.

"What do you want?" she asks. Keltie says that she's here from a true love's kiss, as it's the only thing that can allow her to walk on land. Morgan tells her that none of that stuff is true. Keltie looks determined and says that she sees she needs to convince her. She suggests that they spend the day together, and if Morgan still wishes for Keltie leave by sunset, she will. Morgan reluctantly agrees but tells Keltie not to talk at all about love or kissing at breakfast. "You are my friend from school." Keltie boops Morgan on the nose with a finger. "And you are a very strange girl." Then she walks confidently into Morgan's house.

Later, Keltie tells a story of trying to catch a fish over breakfast and Morgan's mom asks her if she has her own boat or goes out with the fishermen. With prompting from Morgan, Keltie says she has her own boat. When Aiden says that he doesn't recognize her from school and starts asking questions, Morgan says Keltie around and they leave hastily.

When they get to the town, Morgan asks Keltie what she does for fun, and Keltie replies that she sunbathes, hunts for fish and chats with the birds. "You're not really a seal." says Morgan and Keltie agrees. "I'm a selkie, I told you! I do usually look like a seal, but on the inside, I'm me." Then she reaches beneath her rain jacket and pulls out a light blue, glimmering cloth that she explains to be her seal skin. Morgan doesn't recognize the cloth and when Keltie starts to poetically tell her she interrupts her and asks her if she can try to be a little bit normal. Keltie asks her what she does for fun and Morgan says she likes to make clothes, but she hadn't been doing it recently because they end up too weird to wear. Then Morgan spots her friends walking through the town as well and yelps, hurrying Keltie and herself away. They are her best friends, but, she thinks, they are the last people she wants to see. She explains to the reader that they are good friends but they don't know how for about a year she's had a secret that makes her different from them. There is a flashback of Morgan writing "I think I'm gay?" on a piece of notebook paper, then crumpling it up.

Now, Keltie and Morgan walk around the town and Morgan says that they at least need to get Keltie new clothes. "Are you even wearing anything underneath that?" she asks, and when Keltie doesn't respond she says never mind and face palms, blushing. Then Keltie runs across the road, pointing at something that she says she wants. Soon, Keltie is wearing a purple shirt with a design of dolphins on the front, and a pair of shorts. Morgan says it's a little kid's shirt, but Keltie doesn't care. "'Tis the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!" They sit on the side of the dock and look down at seals swimming below. Morgan asks if they are "selkies", too, but Keltie says that they are just seals. She explains that there is only one selkie in a generation and her predecessor left long ago, but the seals are family.

Morgan asks that, say she hypothetically believes her, how does it work? Keltie thanks her and tells that every seven years her seal-skin becomes loose and she can look a bit more human. but she can't walk on land, to do that, she needs something or someone to tie her to land. As she says this, she touches Morgan's hand with her's and Morgan thinks that this would all be easier if she weren't so cute. Keltie pulls her hand away, remembering that Morgan doesn't want her to touch her and, "No it's--" Morgan starts to explain, but then hears her friends walking up behind her and stands up quickly. Her friends are talking about a boat-- Serena's boat, La Riene de la Mer-- which can be seen as a large boat in the harbor. Her friends greet Morgan happily and Serena asks her what she thinks of the boat. Keltie says angrily that it is too big. Serena questions Morgan who is her friend and Morgan starts to say that she isn't.

Then the girls talk and walk off, Morgan saying "Hey why don't you, uh, go back to the island. I'll meet you there later." to Keltie.

At sunset, Keltie is waiting by the sea. She is talking to the seals and then looks up to see Morgan. Morgan says she's sorry about before and Keltie says she doesn't understand why she would kiss her and then wish her gone, but humans are complicated and she is simply a selkie. She says that she can't stay where she is not wanted and begins to put on her seal-skin. Morgan asks if she can visit, but Keltie she that she will be the sea's for the next seven years once she puts the skin on. "That's... very arbitrary." says Morgan and Keltie tells her that she doesn't know where these laws come from but she could sooner halt the tide than change them. Morgan then walks over to Keltie and takes the seal-skin from her, saying "You, um. Can't stay at my house tonight." Keltie happily asserts that that isn't a problem and Morgan hastily says good night and walks away with the seal-skin.

In her bedroom that night, Morgan thinks that she shouldn't have let Keltie go. As she puts her sealskin in her drawer, though, she knows she doesn't regret it. In the morning, she bypasses her brother's offer to play a video game with her and perkily grabs a snack from her kitchen, saying "Got plans!" to her mom on the way out the door. She finds Keltie on the small island, by the sea and gives her half of a pop-tart. Morgan says to Keltie that she wants a second chance on their day together and Keltie joyfully agrees and tells her she wants to show her something. Soon they are kayaking through the sea, watching the seals swim beneath them, and come to an island. Keltie explains that the island is a rookery for the seals and Morgan is entranced by the baby seals.

Later, on the rookery island, the two talk while they pet the juvenile seals. Keltie notes that Morgan seems calmer than she did the day before, and Morgan says that in town if people saw them together it would mean something. Keltie doesn't understand why Morgan should act so different with her alone, then in the town. She tells her that, in the sea, you're always who you are on the inside.

"But you..." Ketie says, " The girl I saved from the water was different from the girl with her friends. You are the true shapeshifter."

Morgan says that she's just trying to get through high school and that after she graduates, she plans to move away from her family and friends and then be exactly herself. Keltie steps close to Morgan and tells her that she doesn't understand, though Morgan protests that it is an airtight plan. Keltie asks what if something unexpected happens, and Morgan blushes, looking into Keltie's eyes. "Well... I guess... I'd have to figure it out."

And then they kiss.

Later, the two sit together in the grass, still on the rookery island, Morgan leaning on Keltie. Morgan asks Keltie why she likes her, and Keltie explains that she has been watching Morgan from the water for many years, wishing she could talk to her and get to know her better. When Morgan started coming to the cliffs at night, crying, she wished more than anything to be able to help her. But couldn't because she didn't know Morgan well enough to know the words to say. Morgan is embarrassed but seems to appreciate Keltie's sweetness. She tells Keltie that she really wants to be with her, but it has to be a secret. Keltie agrees with slight reluctance, and they kiss again.

When they kayak back and Morgan is out of earshot, Keltie tells the seals swimming around her that she's sure Morgan will help them when the time comes, before the scene changes.

Over the next few days, Morgan and Keltie hang out together, going to the movies, picnicking, shopping, and having fun being together. But the whole time Morgan is ignoring texts and invites from her friends, using excuses that she's got family things or that she's busy, instead of telling them the truth.

But one day, when Keltie and Morgan meet up at the beach, and Morgan rushes away from one of her friends, Lizzie, things start to become too suspicious. Lizzie suspects that Keltie might be stalking Morgan, and that's why Morgan ran away when she saw her. She texts their other friends to share the theory. Meanwhile, Morgan's little brother, Aiden is curious and discretely follows her an Keltie. When he glances down the side of a small cliff and sees them kissing in the shallow water bellow, he is surprised but smugly forms a plan.

That evening, The Kwons' neighbors, Earl and Val, come over for dinner. As their mother remarks, both Morgan and Aiden seem to be in an unusually good mood.

[Unfinished. Please add to this article.]