July 2012, Scholastic
344 pages, Paperback
Review copy
Themes:
selkie myths, island life, life of rich girls, boy & fashion
centric girls, finding yourself, mother-daughter friction, occasional
moderate peril, strong teen romance
Summary from Scholastic
The truth lies beneath the surface…
Sixteen-year-old Miranda Merchant is great at science… but not so great with boys. After a major drama with her boyfriend and ex-best friend, she’s secretly relieved to spend the summer on tiny Selkie Island, helping her mother sort out her late grandmother’s estate. But when she steps off the ferry from New York City, she discovers an island rife with legend and lore, steeped in a past her logical mind can’t make sense of. She doesn’t expect to feel such a connection to this mystical place, so filled with languorous charm and strange history. And when she meets Leo, a mysterious local boy, he challenges everything she thought she knew about boys, friendship, reality… and love.
Sixteen-year-old Miranda Merchant is great at science… but not so great with boys. After a major drama with her boyfriend and ex-best friend, she’s secretly relieved to spend the summer on tiny Selkie Island, helping her mother sort out her late grandmother’s estate. But when she steps off the ferry from New York City, she discovers an island rife with legend and lore, steeped in a past her logical mind can’t make sense of. She doesn’t expect to feel such a connection to this mystical place, so filled with languorous charm and strange history. And when she meets Leo, a mysterious local boy, he challenges everything she thought she knew about boys, friendship, reality… and love.
Nayuleska's thoughts
This
book and I didn't gel. I was all excited as I'm into mermaids at the
moment. I understand Selkies are a little different as they are more
like seals. I felt there was the promise of Selkie action, but it never
really happened.
Don't get me wrong, I did like a bit of the
mystery, with the sense that it would reveal a great secret. But I was
disappointed how everything was revealed at the end, rather than a
little here and there. There were some revelations, I think I'd wanted
there to be a more obvious mention of who Leo was before the end. It
felt like there was a major element missing from the story - I only kept
reading to find out what happened. The revelations at the end were
important, but they seemed better suited to be mini revelations earlier
in the book then have a huge one at the end.
Although I've given
this 5/10, I think the style is one I normally avoid as there isn't a
lot of major action events. You can find a more positive review by Sophie of the review blog So Many Books, So Little Time.
You can find out more on Aimee's website.
Suggested read
If it's mystery of the sea you're after try the rather awesome Slack Tide by Vanessa Barger.
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