From Publishers Weekly
In McCaffrey and Scarborough's action-packed, kid-friendly sequel to 2005's Changelings , Murel and Ronan Shongili, telepathic 10-year-old twins with the ability to change into river seals, rescue the inhabitants of the environmentally degraded planet Halau and bring them to their home world of Petaybee. The sentient planet's adaptation to the refugees provides dangerous adventures for the twins, their friends and their parents, geneticist/selkie Dr. Sean Shongili and former Company officer Yana Maddock-Shongili, coadministrators of Petaybee, who discover an aquatic alien race. Meanwhile, off-planet, the Intergalactic Enterprises Company arrests their friend Marmion, who helped transport the refugees from Halau. A cliffhanger ending, ecological lessons, anthropomorphic animals and simplistic good vs. evil morality will speak to middle-school readers but not adults. (Dec.)
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From School Library Journal
Adult/High SchoolβIn this sequel to Changelings (Del Rey, 2005), twin selkies use their "thought-talk" and shape-shifting powers to help their sentient planet and its inhabitants. Petaybee, the planet, has invited Ke-ola, a sentient sea turtle, and his people to make their home there. The Petaybeans must convince the Federation to allow such a move. The catch is that the Federation is off-world, and people who live on Petaybee for any length of time acquire a symbiotic relationship with the planet. For an adult to leave would mean death. It is therefore up to young Muriel and Ronin Shongili to be the off-world diplomats who can save lives and change worlds. This is the second novel in a planned trilogy that continues the story made popular by the "Powers That Be" trilogy (Del Rey). The story line combines Irish, Hawaiian, and Indian lore to create a rich history that is at once unique and familiar. Teens will identify with the actions and feelings of these shape-shifting river seals as they struggle with their role in Petaybee's transformation.β Dana Cobern-Kullman, Luther Burbank Middle School, Burbank, CA
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