59 pages • 1-hour read
The Girl from the Sea: A Graphic Novel
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Themes
Content Warning: This section of the guide feature depictions of anti-gay bias, bullying, and emotional abuse.
The Burdens and Consequences of Secrets
The Girl from the Sea reveals how secrets, whether kept from others or from oneself, shape relationships and identities. Nearly every central character carries a private burden: Morgan hides her sexuality and her longing for escape; Keltie hides her selkie nature and the real reason she seeks Morgan’s kiss; Serena hides the pressure she feels from parents who treat her birthday like a marketing opportunity; Lizzie hides her crush on “Gorgeous Josh”; Aiden hides his fear and grief over his father’s departure; and Min hides her own sorrow as she tries to keep the household functioning. These overlapping secrets form an intricate web of emotional distance, showing how secrecy creates barriers that isolate the very people who want to stay connected.
Morgan’s secrecy forms the emotional center of the novel. After her parents’ separation, Morgan takes it upon herself to hold her family together. She sees the emotional burden her mother is carrying and fears that her coming out would add to that burden. Morgan builds emotional “boxes” to separate her past, present, friendships, and future, believing that compartmentalization will keep her safe. Instead, it prevents her from being fully known by the people she cares about. When she comes out to her friends, she explains, “I didn’t want to be different from you guys” (189). Serena’s hurt response, “So you cut us out instead?” (189), shows the consequences of silence: Morgan never gave her friends the chance to understand or support her. The burden of secrecy becomes heavier than the truth itself. When Morgan’s mother learns the truth about her sexuality, she expresses surprise that Morgan would have felt the need to keep this from her, given that she has always made clear that she is an ally to LGBTQ+ people. When Morgan explains that she didn’t want to burden her mother with any more worries, Min replies, “Who you love is a good thing, Morgan. It’s never a burden on other people” (148). This reconciliation is only possible because the obstacle of secrecy has been removed.
Keltie’s secret operates differently. Despite her habitual candor, she hides the real reason for her presence on land. She needs Morgan’s kiss to assume human form so she can help the seals, but she allows Morgan to believe that she simply wants to be with her. For Keltie, the problem is that both of these motivations are real, though one appears to contradict the other. She does love Morgan, but she fears that if Morgan becomes aware of her ulterior motive, her love will look like a deception. By keeping it a secret, however, she only makes it harder for Morgan to trust her. When her deception collapses, she must take responsibility for its ripple effects. Her attempt to “fix” everything by steering the boat toward the reef reveals how secrets can lead to reckless, desperate action. However, when her mistake endangers Serena, Keltie accepts full accountability by putting on her seal-skin and returning to the sea for seven years, a sacrifice that demonstrates the high cost of hiding the whole truth.
Min’s secrecy stems from her sense of responsibility as a parent. She believes she must stay strong for her children, but her silence only compounds the sense of instability Morgan and Aiden feel. They can see that their mother is grieving, but they can’t help her because she won’t talk about it. When Min finally does speak openly with Morgan about her feelings, she stresses that although the divorce is painful, it does not negate all the happiness that preceded it: “Things didn’t work out, but we had happy years, too” (149). This insight changes Morgan’s outlook on relationships, as she recognizes that even those that end in heartbreak can be worth having. Min’s candor helps Morgan reevaluate her fear of burdening others and encourages her to reconcile with Keltie and her friends.
By the end of the novel, Morgan embraces a more honest way of living. Though she grieves Keltie’s departure, her posture, expressions, and interactions suggest growing confidence. She no longer hides from her mother, brother, or friends. The novel implies that authenticity, though painful and messy, fosters genuine connection, while secrecy, no matter how protective it feels, narrows a person’s world.
The Girl from the Sea argues that the cost of a secret is not only the truth withheld but the connection lost. Only when the characters step out of their hidden places can they begin to heal, transform, and build relationships founded on honesty rather than fear.
Change as a Catalyst for Personal Growth
Every central character in The Girl from the Sea wrestles with who they are, who they want to be, and how change forces them to rethink their relationships with others and with themselves. These shifts occur dramatically, as in Keltie’s choice to become human, and quietly, as in Morgan’s attempt to understand her sexuality. When change shakes the characters’ stable, settled lives, this upheaval prompts self-reflection and growth.
Keltie undergoes the clearest and most immediate transformation, prompted by an environmental threat. When Serena’s family’s tour boat threatens the seal rookery, Keltie chooses to shed her seal-skin and actively remake her identity, leaving behind the stability of her selkie world for the uncertainty of life as a human. Although she projects confidence, she struggles to define herself within human norms. Her admission, “I can’t do it alone. I don’t understand anything up here,” exposes her internal conflict: She wants to help Morgan and fulfill her duty to the seals, but she has no framework for human emotions, boundaries, or expectations (66). Keltie’s transformation, therefore, becomes a catalyst for self-definition. Her impulsive nature collides with the controlled identity Morgan performs, highlighting the novel’s suggestion that identity is not only something one discovers but something one must consciously build. In this way, Keltie’s transformation forces her to navigate the tension between who she was and who she hopes to become.
Morgan’s transformation is less visible but more deeply rooted in identity. She confronts two destabilizing revelations at once: her parents’ separation and her realization that she is gay. These disruptions dismantle the stable self-image she carried as a child. Back then, Morgan “shone […] like the moon,” bright and confident; now, she becomes someone “good at blending in” (91, 5). Her instinct to disappear reflects a belief that hiding protects her from further upheaval. Home, which once grounded her, now makes her feel unsafe, prompting her desire to “escape.” Morgan responds by constructing a tightly controlled identity, insisting on keeping her life “tucked neatly into boxes” (4). These boxes offer the illusion of control, allowing her to avoid to avoid vulnerability at the cost of authenticity, connection, and joy. Only after meeting Keltie, whose impulsive authenticity upends Morgan’s carefully ordered life, does she begin to let others see her whole self. As she learns to be more open, her identity changes, as she finds reserves of courage and compassion she didn’t know she had.
The supporting characters reinforce the novel’s argument that identity transforms through pressure and choice. Aiden’s anger over their father’s departure reshapes his identity from an easygoing sibling into someone prickly and volatile, while his guilt at having outed Morgan prompts a renewal of their relationship as he learns to be honest about his feelings. Serena, who appears confident, privately struggles with parental expectations and the strain of performing the version of herself others admire. Her near-death experience shows her that life is too short to spend it pretending to be someone she’s not. In both cases, their transformations reveal how identity can bend under external forces or stretch to meet unspoken demands.
By the end of the novel, Morgan learns that hiding only deepens her loneliness, while Keltie recognizes that honesty, even when it hurts, defines real connection. Their journeys show that threatening, destabilizing changes can prompt growth precisely because they require courage, honesty, and a willingness to depend on community. Through vulnerability, the characters move closer to becoming who they genuinely want to be.
Family and Friends as Sources of Support
After her parents separate, Morgan’s family home, once her most stable source of comfort, turns into a place where she feels unsettled. Her mother, Min, tries to remain supportive, but Morgan interprets the divorce, her sexuality, and Aiden’s anger as burdens her mother should not have to carry. In her attempt to protect Min, Morgan hides significant parts of her identity, creating emotional distance between them. Min’s gentle responses, however, reveal a family structure capable of compassion even amid conflict. Min provides a steady, patient presence, but Morgan’s fear of adding to her mother’s stress prevents her from accepting that support until much later in the novel. When Min reminds her that “Who you love is a good thing. It is never a burden on other people” (148), she shows Morgan that she will always support her, even when her own circumstances become difficult. In this way, Min models a lesson that Morgan later applies in her own life: She can be a support for others even while dealing honestly with her own challenges.
Morgan’s relationship with Aiden reveals the strain that grief places on siblings. Rather than turning to his family for support, he masks his pain over their father’s absence with anger, directing it outward toward Morgan and the world around him. To Morgan, Aiden becomes unpredictable and hostile, turning their once easy sibling bond into another source of stress. His emotional volatility contributes to Morgan’s belief that she must keep her identity hidden to avoid adding to the family’s problems. However, Aiden’s behavior also reflects his need for support, which he does not know how to ask for. Their strained relationship shows how family members can misinterpret one another’s emotional signals, creating cycles of misunderstanding even when they care deeply for one another. Only after committing a serious betrayal by outing Morgan to their mother does Aiden learn the value of mutual support. Though he and Morgan are both navigating their own emotional challenges, they work together to sew a dress for Keltie and reestablish a bond that provides crucial emotional support for both siblings.
The girls in Morgan’s friend group demonstrate consistent warmth, humor, and loyalty, but their friendships, too, can be strained by secrecy and internal conflict. Serena’s apparent privilege as the pretty, popular child of comparatively wealthy parents means that she often feels pressured to perform perfection, and even her friends sometimes fail to see when she is struggling. The birthday party on the boat—ostensibly in Serena’s honor—is an ordeal for her, and she can see that her parents are using her as a prop for their business venture. These stresses intensify her anger at Morgan and lead her to treat Keltie—a newcomer whom she sees as a threat to her friendships—with cruelty. Meanwhile, Morgan’s reluctance to reveal her sexuality creates a barrier that her friends cannot see. After Morgan comes out, Serena is hurt that she didn’t know sooner: “I thought we talked about everything. […] I thought you would have told me” (187). The moment is a reminder that as these childhood friends grow up, they will sometimes need time to process their developing identities alone before sharing, and that supporting each other can also mean giving each other space.
Amid all these complicated relationships, Keltie enters Morgan’s life as a source of instant affirmation and joy. Her affection feels uncomplicated because she does not carry expectations formed from years of shared history. However, Keltie’s presence eventually brings its own strain. Her impulsive choices, her uncertainty about human emotions, and her secret mission create conflict that challenges Morgan’s attempts to maintain control. Still, Keltie becomes the person who encourages Morgan to seek honesty with herself, her friends, and her family. The support Keltie provides is unconventional, but it ultimately pushes Morgan toward connection rather than away from it.
By the end of the novel, Morgan begins to understand that support requires vulnerability. Her mother offers compassion, Serena and her friends offer acceptance, and Aiden offers a brother’s imperfect but sincere love. These relationships remain complicated, but they form a foundation that helps Morgan begin to live more authentically. Through these fraught but ultimately supportive relationships, the novel argues that family and friends can provide a foundation of support that allows individuals to weather emotional challenges.
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