Title: The Shell Box
Author: Karawynn Long
In: Silver Birch, Blood Moon (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Fae, Fairy tales, Oceans
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Short story
Year: 1999
This was a bit of a sad story if I’m being honest. It definitely plucked at my heart strings and hurt my soul a little. But, ultimately, it as also hopeful and optimistic. The whole light shines the brightest in the dark kind of vibe. Merwen was a ridiculously fun lead character, and I just adored reading this tale.
I love Merwen and Sarina’s friendship. And, I don’t know if I’m reading a bit much into it, but I felt like there was so much potential for something more. Which, I completely loved the idea of and would actually really like a follow up story with Sarina and Merwen riding off into the sunset together. They are just too cute. I mean, Sarina’s brother is there, but still, they work so much better!
The power of the shell box is really quite intense and scarily powerful. I hate how Merwen just gives her voice so freely to her husband. And yet, I understand how so many women daily do this. The box may have had the power to take Merwens’s voice and hold it prisoner. But she had to be the one willing to give it away in the first place.
Earth and Skye 