Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen - ADVISABLE

Skin of the Sea (Skin of the Sea #1) by Natasha Bowen, 325 pages. Random House, 2021. $13.

Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG13

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

Chosen to help gather the souls of those who die in the sea, Simi is supposed to let the ocean take the memories of her life on land. But she holds onto the image of brown eyes. Eyes she is reminded of when she finds a boy in the sea, and, instead of just saving the human boy’s soul, she also saves his body.

While there are elements of Simi’s story reminiscent of The Little Mermaid, her story is more fully occupied with telling the African mythology version of mermaids, fairies, pantheon of gods, and more. The language Bowen uses to paint Simi’s story is resplendent, making the pages pass quickly despite the feeling that there wasn’t much going on in the first half of the book. An abrupt ending draws readers into needing the sequel right away.

Simi is described as having “dark brown” skin, and Kola and his siblings are described as having “reddish dark brown” skin. The òyìnbó are White and everyone else who isn’t explicitly described in shades of tan, brown, and onyx are implied Black. The mature content rating is for alcohol use and kidnapping for enslavement. The violence rating is for corpses, assault, gun use, blood and gore, fantasy violence, and suicide.

Reviewer: Carolina Johnson