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S. M. Wheeler
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Sea Change Kindle Edition

by S. M. Wheeler (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 28 ratings

The unhappy child of two powerful parents who despise each other, young Lilly turns to the ocean to find solace, which she finds in the form of the eloquent and intelligent sea monster Octavius, a kraken. In Octavius's many arms, Lilly learns of friendship, loyalty, and family. When Octavius, forbidden by Lilly to harm humans, is captured by seafaring traders and sold to a circus, Lilly becomes his only hope for salvation. Desperate to find him, she strikes a bargain with a witch that carries a shocking price.

Her journey to win Octavius's freedom is difficult. The circus master wants a Coat of Illusions; the Coat tailor wants her undead husband back from a witch; the witch wants her skin back from two bandits; the bandits just want some company, but they might kill her first. Lilly's quest tests her resolve, tries her patience, and leaves her transformed in every way.

A powerfully written debut from a young fantasy author, S.M. Wheeler's Sea Change is an exhilarating tale of adventure, resilience, and selflessness in the name of friendship.


At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

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  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Tor Books
  4. Publication date
    June 18, 2013
  5. File size
    2.1 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Lonely Lilly’s only friend is a talking kraken, whom she has named Octavius. When the kraken is captured and sold to a circus, the teenage Lilly sets out to rescue him. Seeking directions to the place of his captivity, she consults a troll, who demands a dear price for the information, which ultimately leads her to her captive friend. In true fairy-tale fashion, she must then undertake a quest to free him. Soon enough she finds herself a captive, in thrall to a witch who has lost her skin and two bandits who possess that skin and something else that Lilly desperately needs. Also involved are automata, an undead corpse, a magic coat, and a mule that has been transformed into a boy named Horace, who has magic power. Wheeler’s first novel is more often dreary than delightful, and her overinflated language tends to be more grating than grand. That said, plucky Lilly is an engaging character, and her relationships with Octavius and Horace are genuinely heartfelt. Fantasy fans will doubtless overlook its flaws and embrace this well-imagined tale. --Michael Cart

Review

“A harrowing fairy tale of loss, sacrifice, and growth.” ―Max Gladstone, author of Three Parts Dead

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00BQMJXWM
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tor Books; 1st edition (June 18, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 18, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.1 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 28 ratings

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S. M. Wheeler

S. M. Wheeler

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Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
28 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • @Julia_ATUF
    5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous tale of childhood friendship and loss.
    Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy.

    SEA CHANGE takes the alien brutality of Grimm's tales, washes them smooth and small with the hush of the sea, and transmutes the familiar pieces of magic and friendship, villainy and madness, love and happily ever after into something altogether new. Haunting, heart wrenching, and beautiful, SEA CHANGE is a book I won't soon forget... or entirely understand.

    The story opens with a young Lilly and Octavius, human and kraken, each sharing glimpses of their own worlds with their best friend. Just as any young children try to decode the lives and strange rules of the adults around them, they each trade stories about land and sea. Spying on a village at Midsummer Festival or watching merpeople kill and devour their prey, to this young pair it all seems exotic. To a fantasy reader, both sides of the exchange will have their familiar elements, but all of it takes on a new and alien beauty when viewed through the smokey sea glass of Wheeler's prose. Like our own world, SEA CHANGE can be both beautiful and terrible, and the characters around Lilly are as mysterious and nuanced and broken as any true adult.

    I am not a fan of sad endings in books, especially when I feel I've emotionally suffered alongside the characters for no reason. Though SEA CHANGE is dark and realistic, though wounds don't miraculously heal and true sacrifices are made, it also offers a sense of beauty and truth. It hurts when something precious is lost, but the act of loving it in the first place is its own kind of gift. Not a book for children, but rather, a book that reminds adults of the pain and beauty of being a child. Wheeler tempted me to fall in love, to feel once more the youthful, pure passion of a childhood best friend, and that gift is worth all the growing pains in the world.

    Sexual Content: Kissing, references to sex, an attempted rape.
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  • Michelle S
    4.0 out of 5 stars Unique read
    Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2013
    Just like its blurb suggested Sea Change was unlike any fantasy I have ever read. Everything was different: the characters, plot, setting(s), and writing too. Admittedly at times I had to plough through the novel, but overall, Sea Change was a read that I will never forget for it was unique, creative, and adventurous.

    Like other reviewers before me may have mentioned in their reviews, I thought the pacing of Sea Change was really slow. The beginning dragged, took longer than I thought necessary to develop the story, and all the events were stretched out. Also, the writing was very different from what I have ever read before in novels. I don't know if this was just me, but at first, Wheeler's writing style came off as confusing to me, and then for a while after that, I just thought it was odd, and I had to re-read sentences or paragraphs many times as I read. About 100 pages in, I lost interest in the novel and began avoiding it until, finally, I stepped away from it completely to read other review books and books for school. But in the back of my mind, I knew I couldn't leave Sea Change unfinished.

    Although it dragged, I had the sense that Sea Change was going to be unlike any fantasy novel I have ever read before. One hundred pages in and Wheeler's novel introduced a world full of twisted, unexpected magic, taking the forms of killer mermaids, chivalrous talking krakens, larger-than-life serpents, and (some wicked, some kind) people with abnormal talents. I really wanted to find out how Lilly and Octavius' friendship will play out, so about a month after leaving Sea Change, I went back and continued reading right where I left off before and finished it. Now, I am happy to say that it was a great read. Although I still had to plough through some parts, the story itself was fantastic and exciting. Sea Change was my sweet escape from my dull reality as I followed Lilly on her quest to save her friend. Also, by the end of the novel, Wheeler's writing style grew on me; I came to really like how slow, steady, and concise her style was.

    The characters of Sea Change were also fantastic; I loved ALL of them. They each were, again, unlike any I've ever read of before, and I loved how each had a different appeal to them, i.e. each had a different kind of twisted, dark magic about them. Lilly, the main character, left a special impression on me. At first, I was unsure if I would like Lilly because, in the beginning, she came off as an angry, cold character. But then as I read more about her, learned more about her, and saw her with Octavius, I began to really like her and sympathize with her. Lilly was truly a noble heroine. All throughout Sea Change, Lilly showed her loyalty and care for, not only Octavius, but also her other friends whom she met along the way. Even if the people were not particularly kindhearted or ethical, Lilly always found it somewhere in her heart to respect them. But I really liked that, even with all her benevolence, Lilly was resilient and headstrong in her quest to save her dear friend, and she was flawed both physically and socially, balancing out her character and making her more life-like. The fact that Sea Change was just a simple story about a friend saving a friend--no dramatic love story or love triangles; no hot vampires or werewolves or zombies--was very refreshing. I loved seeing how close Lilly and Octavius were, how much they affected each other. The characters of Sea Change will always have a special place in my bookish heart.

    Wheeler's debut novel Sea Change did not disappoint me--yes, I had to put it down for a long while but I wasn't able to forget about it and, overall, it was a unique read. I recommend that others, YA fans or not, to read Sea Change because I believe it can be enjoyed by anyone who loves books. However, I suggest that Sea Change be read slowly and be savored over a longer-than-usual period of time so that it can be better appreciated. Sea Change is not a page-turner--it's not book that you can read in a matter of days but it is a kind of book that requires a re-read because more likely than not you're going to miss some details the first time around. I myself plan to reread it in the future so I can have a better reading experience with it than I did. I will definitely look out for more by S.M. Wheeler; I believe she is a writer with a wild imagination who will give us some much needed fantastical, unique reads.

    P.S., I love the cover, especially now that I've read the book.
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