So Your Best Friend is a Kraken

Lilly is the daughter of a rich merchant, but the birthmark on her face marks her as a witch to the townsfolk.  Isolated from other people, she strikes up a friendship with a young kraken that she names Octavius. Yes, you read that right - a kraken. Sea Change, S. M. Wheeler's debut novel, is a dizzying journey through a fantasy world with a cast of strange, mythical characters. When Octavius is kidnapped and sold to the circus, Lilly sets out to rescue him and along the way meets trolls, mermaids, witches, and other mysterious monsters. In order to save her friend, she must make sacrifices that she never knew were possible.

Wheeler's novel is a wildly creative, dark fairy tale in the vein of the original Brothers Grimm stories before they were watered down for Disney. There is gore, blood, horror, and cruelty, but also family, love, and friendship. The novel explores the lengths gone to for friendship and how an unwavering belief, even one with good intentions, will change the person who believes it. One downside to Wheeler's writing style is that the dialogue is somewhat stilted, and I found myself having to read some exchanges multiple times to understand what was going on. However, Wheeler makes up for this with the dark, creative horrors that leap from her mind to the page. Fans of Neil Gaiman's work, especially Neverwhere, will enjoy Wheeler's twisted, visceral fairy tale world.

Shannon Wood, Adult Services Librarian