The Girl from the Sea: A Graphic Novel

The Girl from the Sea (2021) is a contemporary young-adult graphic novel by American cartoonist Lee Knox Ostertag (formerly known as Molly Ostertag). It tells the story of 15-year-old Morgan, who feels trapped on a small island and hides a secret desire to escape and to love freely. One night, a mysterious girl named Keltie rescues her from drowning, and that encounter sets off a summer of discovery, revelation, and romance, as Keltie reveals that she is a selkie, a magical being who can shift between human and seal forms. The Girl from the Sea uses the folklore of the selkie alongside Morgan’s coming-out journey and shifting family relationships to explore themes such as The Burdens and Consequences of Secrets, Change as a Catalyst for Personal Growth, and Family and Friends as Sources of Support.

This guide references the 2021 Graphix eBook edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of anti-gay bias, outing, and bullying.

Plot Summary

The images show a group chat between Morgan Kwon and her friends: Serena Boisseau, Lizzie, and Jules. While they make plans, Morgan slips on the wet cliffs, hits her head, and falls into the ocean. As she sinks, she thinks about how she keeps her life in “boxes”: happy childhood memories with her parents and younger brother Aiden, her school life where she hides her honest opinions, and her tense home life after her parents’ separation, when her father moves away and Aiden starts lashing out. She also has a box for her future, where she imagines leaving the island, going to college, and living openly as gay.

Just as she begins to drown, a mysterious blonde girl pulls her to the surface. On the rocks, the girl, Keltie, appears partially naked, blue-tinged, and strangely familiar. They talk awkwardly, and Morgan jokes that if this is a dream, it might as well be romantic. They share a sudden kiss. Later, shaken and wet, Morgan sneaks home and convinces herself she imagined everything.

A flashback shows that seven years earlier, when Morgan was nine, she met a strange blonde girl in the water who pulled her under the sea and let her breathe in a glowing blue world full of fish. The girl then turned into a seal. Later, her father dove in, afraid Morgan was drowning. He insisted she was alone in the water.

The next morning, Morgan goes outside and finds Keltie waiting in a yellow raincoat. Keltie explains that she is a selkie and calls Morgan her true love. She says Morgan’s kiss allowed her to take human form and walk on land. Morgan refuses to accept this and demands that Keltie act “normal.” Keltie bargains for a day together as payment for saving Morgan’s life.

They spend the day in town. Keltie struggles to follow Morgan’s guidelines for acting normal. Morgan makes up a cover story for Kelti’s family and tries to teach Keltie how to blend in, including buying her clothes. When they run into Morgan’s friends, Morgan panics and pretends Keltie is just a random new girl. Serena treats Keltie coldly, and Morgan sends Keltie away, calling her “crazy” once the friends question her.

Hurt, Keltie returns to the rocks with the seals. Morgan follows and apologizes, but she still insists on secrecy. Keltie explains selkie rules: Every seven years, she can shed her seal-skin and become briefly human. Morgan’s kiss has tied her more firmly to land, allowing Keltie to remain human permanently. Morgan decides to keep Keltie’s seal-skin so Keltie cannot go back to the sea. They agree to keep seeing each other in secret.

Over the next few days, Morgan and Keltie grow closer. They visit the seal rookery by kayak, where Morgan feels peaceful and happy. Morgan admits she hides parts of herself to survive high school and plans to come out only after she leaves the island. Keltie says she is always herself, in any form, and calls Morgan the real shapeshifter. They begin a secret romance. Morgan skips plans with her friends and ignores messages from Serena and Lizzie. Her mother worries as Morgan spends more and more time away from home.

At the beach, Lizzie sees Keltie in the water and warns Morgan to hide. Morgan rushes to Keltie, and they kiss behind a rock, not realizing that Aiden sees them from the cliff. Later, Lizzie messages Serena and Jules privately, worrying that the strange girl may be stalking Morgan.

During dinner with neighbors Earl and Val, Aiden blurts out that Morgan has a girlfriend. Morgan runs from the house in tears. Serena messages her to ask what is going on, but Morgan pushes her away, saying Serena would not understand.

Morgan goes to Keltie, who reveals her real mission. Keltie says that as a selkie, she must protect the seals. The Boisseau family’s new tour boat, La Reine de la Mer, will drive the seals from their rookery with noise and pollution. Keltie needs Morgan’s help to change the boat’s route. Morgan feels betrayed and asks if Keltie only became human for this reason. Keltie insists her feelings are real, but Morgan breaks up with her and refuses to help.

When Morgan returns home, Min “comes out of the closet” literally to make a joke and to show support. Morgan finally comes out as gay and admits she felt she would be one more burden on the family after the divorce. Min reassures her that who she loves is never a burden and that she loves and accepts her. Morgan feels guilty for how she ended things with Keltie.

Morgan and Aiden reconcile. Aiden apologizes for outing her, saying he just wanted her attention. Morgan invites him to help her sew a dress, using Keltie’s dolphin shirt as the bodice. At the same time, Keltie searches unsuccessfully for ways to stop the boat.

Morgan brings the finished dress to Keltie. They apologize to each other and decide to go to Serena’s birthday party on the tour boat together, both to be honest and to try to help the seals.

At the party, Morgan introduces Keltie as her girlfriend. Serena is shocked and hurt that Morgan never told her. Serena feels overwhelmed by the strangers at her party and angry at Morgan’s distance. Morgan tries to explain about the seals and Keltie’s mission. Serena agrees to talk to her parents and reroute the boat, though she believes the selkie story is only a metaphor.

Meanwhile, Keltie secretly convinces the captain to let her steer, then aims the boat toward a reef, hoping to stage a small shipwreck that will end the boat tours. When she realizes Serena plans to help, she rushes to correct her mistake. She swings the wheel sharply, nearly causing a disaster, but avoiding the reef. In the chaos, Serena falls overboard.

The seals tell Keltie that Serena fell in the water. Morgan throws out a life buoy, but Serena struggles to reach it. Keltie decides to put on her seal-skin and return to the sea to save her, though it means she must spend seven more years as a seal. She kisses Morgan goodbye, transforms fully into a seal, and drags Serena to the buoy. The others pull Serena back on board.

Keltie surfaces briefly. She and Morgan share a final, painful goodbye. Keltie says she must stay in the ocean for seven years and urges Morgan to live fully, follow her plans, and become more, promising they will share their stories when they meet again. Then she disappears beneath the waves.

After the party, Serena, Morgan, Jules, and Lizzie quietly reconnect over cake and a bad movie, returning to the comfort of their friendship. Morgan works at the kayak rental, calls her father, flirts shyly with a girl who notices her, and spends less time hiding on the cliffs.

In the final scenes, Morgan talks with Earl and Val on the hill above the sea. They speak about selkies and love, and Earl reveals eyes that look just like Keltie’s, hinting that he is a selkie too. Morgan looks out over the seals in the water.