Bibliographic Information

Title: The Girl from the Sea

Author: Molly Knox Ostertag

Artist: Molly Knox Ostertag

Publisher: Graphix

Copyright Date: June 1, 2021

ISBN: 978-1338540574

Genre

Supernatural, Romance, Coming of Age

Format

Graphic Novel

Print Length

256 pages

Reading Level/Interest Level

Grades 7-10 (per Booklist)

Awards or Honors

• Finalist, GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Original Graphic Novel/Anthology (2022)

Plot Summary

Molly Kwon’s home life has been hard since her father left; her mother is stressed, and her brother is always angry. Molly’s friends have tried to be supportive but are also preoccupied with boys, jobs, and summer adventures. But it’s ok because Molly has a plan: put her head down, separate her family and social life into tiny little boxes, and after high school, she can move far away to finally be herself – her whole, gay self. But a chance encounter and tender kiss with the mysterious Keltie puts Molly on a path destined to change all her plans.

Author Background

Molly Knox Ostertag is a web comic illustrator, comics artist and author, and animation designer. She was born and raised in New York and studied illustration and cartooning at School of Visual Arts in New York City. She has a self-admitted “obsession” with Lord of the Rings, and in addition to all of her mainstream work, has created extensive LOTR comic adaptation fanfiction online. She is married to fellow cartoonist Nate “ND” Stevenson and lives in Los Angeles (Molly Knox Ostertag, 2024).

Critical Evaluation

The Girl from the Sea is a charming summer teenage romance full of awkward, funny moments. Ostertag communicates emotion so well through her artwork, from nerves to determination and embarrassment to attraction. The mythology is a fun element, paired with genuine teenage issues of negotiating social dynamics and troubles at home. I actually cried at the scene between Megan and her mom after Megan’s brother outed her. It was so real and relatable to me as a mom of queer daughters and my sometimes messy attempts at support and allyship. (I cackled when the mom mentioned her relief at a lowered risk of teenage pregnancy.) The Girl from the Sea has a tender innocence while still managing to tackle what it takes to be brave and vulnerable in sharing our whole selves with the world.

Creative Use for a Library Program

Keltie is a selkie, a shape-shifting human-seal creature of Celtic myth. A library could put on a program for teens teaching them about other creatures of Celtic myth, like banshee, fairies, and kelpie.

Speed-Round Talk

Meeting Keltie, falling in love, and coming out to her friends and family was not in Molly’s plan. But sometimes plans change, and Molly will soon learn what those changes mean for herself and the people she loves.

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation

The Girl from the Sea was pulled for review from Clay County, Florida schools, after a resident complained about the book “because students are ‘not in school to learn how to be better lesbians’” (Legum & Crosby, 2022). Ostertag’s books have been challenged before, and she has joined other authors in protesting against regional bans (PEN America, 2024). She has publicly criticized her publisher, Scholastic, for allowing book fair participants to opt out of offering diverse books (Henehan, 2023).

In addition to authors defending their works, book advocates could lobby to create specific policies aimed at mitigating or avoiding book challenges. The Corvallis-Benton County Public Library in Oregon requires that those who wish to file a challenge be eligible for a library card there, so they must live, work, go to school, or own property in the district. They must also file the challenge in person, providing more opportunities to talk through concerns face-to-face with staff (Wang, 2024). Though these kinds of policies are not guaranteed to stop book challenges, they could help avoid the blanket challenges often filed by outside interests at many libraries.

Reason for Inclusion

I think many teens can relate to the fears of coming out as gay to family and friends, the desire to be fully themselves, and also the tentative excitement of first love. The Girl from the Sea fills an important role in offering a gentle entry into these themes in a contemporary collection for teens.

This visual introduction to Molly Knox Ostertag and her work is a few years old, but comes from Ostertag’s wonderful Substack newsletter: