The Changeling Sea

What I'm impressed about McKillip is how she can keep her stories short but entertaining, deep but simple, descriptive but appropriate. The Changeling Sea is such a book and while it's barely more than a hundred pages, she makes full use of the pages she's allotted. McKillip's focus are usually her characters and this isn't any different as they have the right mix of virtues and hubris. As most McKillip novels, The Changeling Sea can be passed off for a young adult book because she uses simple words and short sentences, but they're quite enthralling and vivid. The book's a bit more straightforward than others and less winded but that's not necessarily bad. It has this fairy tale type of feel that only the best writers can successfully pull off. The Changeling Sea is a good introduction to McKillip's writing style and with little investment in time.