LITTORAL MAGIC

A teenager grieving the loss of her father discovers a mysterious connection with two young otters from rival tribes in Mason and Moore’s YA fantasy novel, the first in a series.

Thirteen-year-old Ayana Outerbridge is headed north with her mother for another summer at her grandparents’ isolated homestead on the Pacific Northwest coast. Once these trips were times of joy—now, the experience feels hollow (“One minute, Ayana had a father. The next ― POOF! ― she didn’t”). At the same time, in the waters just offshore, a young river otter named Sleek violates tribal law by entering a sacred cave to retrieve a magical gift for Gloss, the headstrong daughter of the sea otter king. The cave—once part of a luminous, mind-awakening realm known as Liminal—has been overrun by a monstrous predator, and Sleek’s trespass could reignite the war between the river and sea otters. Gloss chafes under the strict rules that forbid females from hunting or wielding weapons. Her clandestine efforts to prove herself collide with Sleek’s mission. Unbeknownst to both of them, Ayana’s fate may be linked to theirs. The story effectively blends naturalism with high fantasy. The authors construct a dense but coherent mythos that frames the ocean as both a literal and symbolic frontier, rendering underwater societies with distinct hierarchies, dialects, and beliefs. Gloss, in particular, emerges as a standout character—a female warrior determined to break caste and gender restrictions (“I will defend my Raft just as you do. Better than you do.”) Ayana’s arc is more introspective, centering around her grief and alienation. Her skin condition (vitiligo) and conversations with her late father’s memory add emotional depth, though her connection to the fantasy plotline remains mostly suggestive in this first volume in Mason and Moore’s series. While the novel’s early chapters can be dense with exposition, especially in the undersea scenes, the pacing soon quickens, and readers are rewarded with richly imagined action, interpersonal tension, and a final act that sets the stage for an expansive saga.

An ambitious and imaginative series opener that mixes ecological allegory with character-driven fantasy.