Lost Children of the Far Islands by Emily Raabe

They aren't lost.  Not really.  Their mother is just trying to keep them safe...

Alfred A Knopf sent me a copy of this book to review (thank you).  It has been published and you can get a copy at your local bookstore.

What originally caught my attention was the fact three siblings were on a quest to save their mother and protect the world.  Tales like that fascinate me.  As I was reading along, I suddenly realized the secret their mother hadn't told them.  They are selkies!  That's another fantasy that intrigues me.  I liked this book!

The twins, brother and sister, have a younger sister who doesn't speak yet.  She also gets easily upset.  They take care of her and think of her as normal.  At least, as normal as Ila gets.  Everything is going along like usual until they find some strange tracks outside their bedroom window.  Leo reads a lot and he says they are wolf prints.  Gus doesn't want to believe him but when she finds a brown fuzzy animal in her room who can talk, she knows something definitely odd is going on.

Their mother has taught them a night poem and they use that power to keep the wolves away.  The problem is that it takes away from their mother's health.  As she gets sicker and ends up in the hospital, the fuzzy brown mink (sea mink to be exact) comes back and tells them they must go with him to save her life.  They figure it's worth a try.  And Ila actually speaks for the first time.  Things are changing...

Everything seems to be a bit of mystery to the children and to the reader, but it's tied together well, uses myth and paranormal attributes to give it a tingle, and I found it great fun to read.  There's lots of action, there are some casualties and you aren't sure who is going to win until the end. This is an adventure you won't forget.