Changing Tide, a thrilling new science fiction story written by Robert Joncas, is an excellent example of a witty, riveting, romantic, sometimes terrifying, and always suspenseful book where the characters are involved in a battle to save life on planet Earth. This book combines all the best elements of science fiction and fantasy writing and is definitely worth the time for any reader partial to these genres.
In Changing Tide, we follow Skye Connor on an exciting and at times very frightening journey in her life. At the beginning of the book, after suffering the horrible loss of her father, Skye and her mother head out to visit her grandmother on the California coast. Skye has still not come to grips with her own feelings over her father’s death and Skye’s mother is completely buried in her own grief and taking pills in order to feel nothing at all. Enter Skye’s Nana, in this reader’s opinion, one of the greatest characters in a book that I have ever met. Nana is very smart, very spirited, and does not believe in mincing words or playing nice when she does not feel like it. She is also an amazing woman with a heart of gold who just wants to support Skye and help her get through everything that is happening.
In California, Skye meets up with an old acquaintance named Paul, a boy who bullied her all the time when she was younger, and now becomes her first real relationship. At the same time, on a late-night walk on the beach near her grandmother’s home, Skye finds a mysterious seashell that speaks to her. It is because of this shell that Skye’s life is about to change forever as she ends up meeting an alien who is trapped inside and is on a quest to save Earth. As our heroine suffers through two more very big losses, our new favorite alien takes
a prominent role in the story. Together he, Skye, and Nana embark on a frightening but very necessary journey to save the world. Along the way, a rather unlikely love interest develops and the romance in the story ends up being one of the best parts of the whole thing.
Changing Tide is a fascinating and fun tale told to the reader through Skye’s perspective. The author has presented readers with a very well-written book that is quite different from so many science fiction stories out there. We are allowed to watch as a frightened and emotionally scarred girl transforms into a strong and courageous young woman whose goal becomes to save what is left of her family and her new love from a horrendous fate. It is an incredible journey to be a part of and Robert Joncas has presented it in all the best ways. Watching Skye transform is amazing and watching our new alien friend try to adjust to the way things are done on Earth gives the reader some of the most humorous moments in the entire book. In addition, I cannot say enough about the character of Nana and watching her progress through the book with so much character, attitude, and wit makes the whole story so much more enjoyable.
Changing Tide is simply excellent, from the plotline to the characters to the action to the humor, and everything in between, and it should not be missed. I think it is a story for anyone, young adult or adult, who enjoys a good science fiction novel with some romance thrown in. I would recommend the book to everyone.
Quill says: Changing Tide is an engrossing and very original science fiction novel that is a departure from the same old thing. This is a story that you will honestly love to read and you will then find yourself anxiously awaiting the second installment to see where our heroes go from here.
