Seal Child

Author: Sylvia Peck.

Pages: 190.

Price: $3.50.

Publisher: Bantam Skylark.

The novel Seal Child successfully combines fantasy and reality. Every year, Molly and her family go to Ambrose Island, off the coast of Maine, for the summer, but this year, they decide to go to the island for Christmas vacation. It's during the Christmas vacation when Molly meets Meara, a young girl about her age. The last few days of Molly's trip, she and Meara become best friends.

Their friendship grows stronger when Molly returns in the summer. When Molly finds out Meara's secret, she is even more eager for them to stay friends forever. But in one dreadful incident, Meara is lost forever.

I found this book to be very suspenseful. As you read, you pick up small clues that lead to a surprise ending. The following excerpt shows how the author reveals one of these clues:

"There was something different about Meara. She wasn't your ordinary girl. `A terrible thing happened,' I began. `Clyde and I found two seals.

" `It was horrible _ the baby one was crying, and the other one was dead. Somebody had killed it.'

"Meara did more than look. She dropped her oatmeal the way you drop a lid of a pan when the steam reaches your fingers. It broke when it hit the floor.

"Meara held her hands out in front of her as if they were burned. She took two tottering steps, and then Ruby grabbed for her and knelt beside her on the floor. Meara's eyes glittered with tears even though she was staring straight ahead."

I really enjoyed this book. It was like momentarily being disconnected from reality. The fantasy makes this a fun book for all ages; the reader will find him or herself discovering clues throughout the book.

The author, Sylvia Peck, grew up in the Midwest, far from the coast of Maine where the story takes place. She graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law. Seal Child, her first novel for children, was written in Cape Cod.

SHARLENE TONEY, 15