I am honestly heartbroken that I didn't like this book as much as everybody else, especially because the writing style was wonderful and the plot had so much potential: a girl hexing the sea that killed her father, a boy desperate to come back to the undersea and ready to drown himself to do so, a weird magician, a chain of gold and a mysterious sea dragon...

Unfortunately, the story lacked the depth I was looking for (in terms of insights and plot development) and the relationship between Peri and Kir seemed quite forced.

But, again, the author's writing style is so good that I could give it a try with another book.

McKillip’s prose is just so beautiful and vivid; it works incredibly well for this whimsical tale full of magic and princes and dragons. I need to read more books from her asap.

A little too moony in places, but still enjoyable. I loved Lyo and am very satisfied that Peri was on the road to ending up with him instead of either of the princes. The last scene was so cute.

{3.5 stars}

Patricia McKillip did it again... a consummate storyteller!  A mix of island life and magic... lovely! I really enjoyed it.

An absolutely beautiful tale. I first read it years ago and even now it still entrances me with its ethereal quality. A truly timeless story.

I devoured this little book in the space of a few hours. I enjoyed it so much, I really did wish it had been longer, so that I could have savoured even more of the rich prose.

The story is about Peri, or Periwinkle, whose father has been taken by the sea. In Peri's eyes, the sea has taken everything from her - although her mother still lives, Peri says that she has been enchanted by the sea, as she yearnfully watches it ebb and flow, longing to catch a glimpse of the world beneath the sea, the world that has taken her husband from her. In desperation of losing her father physically and her mother emotionally to the sea, Peri decides to hex it in order to get vengeance. It is from all of this hate and sorrow that the magic of the sea begins to untangle. Peri releases a sa-dragon and so then begins a discovery of what truly lies beneath the waves, and why. . .

But, THE CHANGELING SEA is more than just a book about what lies beneath the sea. Despite its length, it also examines love and loss. It also deals with finding your own identity, the one that is true to you. It is about transitions and learning the lessons of life; that humans are not perfect beings, but they should have the grace to accept and deal with the consequences.

This is a beautiful little book, a true treasure of a story. The perfect place to have read this would have been next to sea, so that you can hear and smell it as well as read about its wonders and mysteries. I also thought it was a breath of fresh air that the heroine of the story is not the typically stunning young woman, who is perfectly at ease with herself. Peri is certainly not the most physically attractive character, nor is she very comfortable in her own skin, yet there is something about her which rings very true.

What I loved about this story was how McKillip manages to make the sea into a character in its own right. Towards the end of the book there is a lovely passage which sums up the essence of the book:-

"Humans say the sea sings to them and traps them, but sometimes it is the human song that traps the sea." (p. 124)

Hunt this book out and read it. I am so glad I stumbled across it. It has made me desperate to read more by this author; and, of course, it has made me long for the sea. . .

This purchase was actually a gift. I have loved the story for a very long time. Patricia A. McKillip and Robin McKinley are two of my favorite young adult fantasy authors. The Changeling Sea is hauntingly beautiful. The descriptions make you taste, see and smell everything that is happening. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a fairytale.

Patricia McKillip can't write a bad book. I've been reading her books for the past 37 years, starting with the Forgotten Beasts of Eld, which made me weep with longing as a teenager, all the way to her current books, which are still heart-rendingly BEAUTIFUL.
The prose is pure gold, poetic and mesmerizing, the characters fantastic yet somehow realistic enough to be relatable, and the plots always move gracefully toward their satisfying conclusions. When I enter one of McKillip's books I feel as if I am entering another world that I am loathe to leave. I am always sad to finish her books because they're so elegant and the fantasies so engaging. Usually I can't put them down. The Changeling Sea is a shorter work, so it's a good starting point for those new to her work. I highly recommend every novel that she's written, though, and I agree with Stephen Donaldson when he said "There are no better writers than Patricia McKillip."

Periwinkle’s father disappeared in his little row boat out to sea, an event which also caused her mother to lose both heart and mind to the sea. Though only a maid at the local inn, Peri decides to try hexing the sea using what she remembers from the elderly witch who abandoned the cottage she now inhabits. But that night Peri is met by a tragic prince who appears with his own wishes. In casting their hex, the two expose a lonely sea monster chained to the bottom of the ocean by giant golden links. While the villagers are obsessed with getting the gold from the sea monster, Peri and a clever magician named Lyo would rather understand the creature itself. Why does it suddenly transform into a young man each night and walk up to Peri’s door, eager to learn the words for the world outside the water and the images he’s seen within it? Filled with the type of magic and beautiful language only this master fantasy-writer could create, The Changeling Sea is a captivating fog of fantasy. For a themed cupcake recipe, similar book recommendations, and discussion questions, visit: http://hub.me/ak0b0

Mckillip is beautiful in her writing and every word in a sentence returns to the underlying themes, the elements and love and belonging. Very sweet !

This was a good read and definitely a classic feel to the folklore tale. My only reason for not giving it 5 stars is that at times it was really slow to develop and conclude. The ending left the reader still wondering a few things and because it is a stand alone book (no sequel) it would have been nice to have some inclination on future events that didn't resolve.

I've read this book several times over the years. I just repurchased it for a teen reader who is just embarking on the the road to a love of reading.  I love Patricia McKillip. Her work ranges from relatively simple stories to complex multi-book sagas. All of them with good characters that lead you to reflect on your own depth and complexity. The stories also have surprises that you see differently with each reading—so it's worth coming back to them later and rereading. Not just to relive an enjoyable fantasy, but to see something entirely new in the events or characters.