Blog tour: Review Emily Windsnap and the Land of the Midnight Sun by Liz Kessler (Children's, 9 years +, 10/10) plus Author Interview

26th September 2012, Orion

272 pages, Paperback

Review copy

Themes: life as a mermaid, secret mission, spies, secrets between friends, family secrets, deceiving family, a narwhal, keeping up appearances, high peril, lots of ice and water, quarrels, saving the world, tough choices, mild teen romance, some humour, lots of scary parts, tissues most definitely needed.

Summary from Orion

King Neptune sends Emily and Aaron on a top secret mission to the Land of the Midnight Sun, in this fifth magical mermaid adventure. 

Emily and Aaron are sent on a top secret mission by King Neptune. The king has been having nightmares he doesn't understand and he knows only that Emily and Aaron must go to the Land of the Midnight Sun to avoid catastrophe. But when the friends arrive in this icy world of mountains and glaciers, they uncover a mystery more dangerous than they ever imagined.
 

With the help of her best friends and a brave heart can Emily survive and fulfil her mission?

Nayuleska's thoughts

As I said to Liz on Twitter, this book & series is beyond squishy! The purpose of Neptune's secret mission for Emily & Aaron is at first ok, but that soon changes when Things Happen.

I kept wishing back to the first book where Emily's troubles were more ordinary. But then she has gained a lot of experience and skills, and is more able to tackle the trials in the land of permanent daytime. No way would she have been ready if this was her first adventure.

I fell in love with the narwhal. I can't say what it does, but it's really sweet and had me crying a lot. I want one! Along with being a mermaid so I could breathe underwater and not be so scared of lakes/rivers.

It'll come as no surprise when I say yet again this reminds me of Winx (Its a great show!) I thought of season 1 where Bloom and her friends go on an icy adventure to Bloom's destroyed home land.

Domino, Bloom's homeland

Like Emily and Aaron's item which keeps them warm in the freezing water, Bloom & the Winx have outfits made for them so they can survive in the hostile environment

 They get trapped in the ice in season 3 by guards, just as Aaron and Emily did. The Winx aren't mermaids....but they do get a mermaid transformation in season 5, debuting this Autumn (although I'll have to wait for the dvd, whenever that's out in French) That's why I'm more into mermaids at the moment, and adore this 10/10 latest installment in the Emily Windsnap series. 

You can find out more on Liz's website.

Suggested read

Check out the rest of the series which includes book 4, Emily Windsnap and the Siren's Secret. (Link to follow)

Question and Answer session with Liz.

Not only is Liz's Emily series amazing, Liz herself is lovely. Here are the questions she kindly answered for today's special blog tour post. (There is one very minor spoiler)

1) What/why did you choose to write about mermaids for the target age group instead of for older readers (which have mermaids paired often with romance & far darker storylines). 

It never crossed my mind to write about mermaids for an older readership. There is a bit of a fashion for mermaids in YA now, but there certainly wasn't when I started writing this series. In fact, I originally began writing Emily's story as a poem which I thought might make a nice picture book - so it would have been for even younger readers! But I'm glad that Emily ended up where she did. I think the Middle Grade readership is perfect for the adventures and the tone of the Emily books, and is the best place for me to have the most fun with my characters.

2) Emily has a lot of problems, yet these are countered with a large dosing of humour. Is that how you intended Emily's life to be? 

I would never be interested in writing a book that is full of problems and issues with no light relief. Equally, I wouldn't really want to write a book that was purely lighthearted humour with no depth whatsoever. I hope that I have managed to mix the two, so I appreciate your saying that I have! In terms of Emily's life being a mix of these things - I guess so, yes. Aren't all of our lives a mix like this?

3) What was the reasoning behind making life easy for mermaids to mix in the human world (with the half-submerged ship so Emily's dad can be with her mum)? 

The bringing together of the human and mer-worlds is a very important part of these books, and Emily herself - together with her family - is central to this happening. So it was important to find ways that they could be brought together in their practical lives. I had fun trying to get round the challenges that this involved! 

4) Already finishing book 5, I'm eager for book 6. Will there be a book 6, and is there anything you can let us know what to expect? 

I don't believe that there will be a book 6. But then I didn't believe that I would write a book 4 or a book 5 either, so who knows? In terms of any possible plot - at this point, there isn't anything in my mind. I'm busy writing some other books right now!

5) What's your favourite food and drink when writing?  

Tea. Lots of. Continually while I'm writing. And unfortunately for my diet - chocolate!

I'd like to thank Liz for writing Emily's life, and I hope to see more of Emily's books!