THIS WAS SO CUTE!!! I'm love how soft and gentle this slice-of-life fantasy story was. If you love the whimsy and fantasy of Ghibli stories, love witches and water dragons, and a flawed yet relatable heroine, then you absolutely need Tidesong.
- Follows Sophie, a young witch who is sent to her great-aunt's house to learn to become a witch - though it seems that her great-aunt is more interested in making her do chores than teach her actual magic. When a young boy washes up on shore with no memories, Sophie discovers that their fates are intertwined with one another.
- Water dragons!! Water witches! I loved the lore of this; it's simple with enough detail, and it'll inspire wonder in readers of all ages.
- I loved the art in this. It was gorgeous and such a marvel to behold. The colours are gorgeous and I loved how Wendy's art captures the magic and wonder of the ocean.
- Sophie was a wonderful protagonist. She's not perfect - she can be temperamental, impatient, and a little selfish, but her character arc was so gorgeous. I loved how she grows across the story, and how 'negative self-talk' was depicted in a validating way.
- The relationships in this story was lovely. I also liked that the story depicts the actions of adults and how they can hurt young people, and the story portrays the importance of adults apologising and acknowledging that can be wrong.
Content warning: parental abuse (not explicitly depicted, and challenged)
I was provided an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.