Reviews

I saw the movie many years ago and it's one of my favourites but only recently discovered it was based on this novella. It is cute and a homage to friendship. But ultimately, I prefer the movie. 😊

madueoslivros's review

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5.0

Lovely and quick to read coming of age tale, very very different from the movie.

nyxii's review against another edition

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1.0

I had just finished reading [b:Bridge To Teribithia|1946134|Bridge To Teribithia|Katherine Paterson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1190705319s/1946134.jpg|2237401] by [a:Katherine Paterson|1949|Katherine Paterson|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1314929618p2/1949.jpg], and, on a whim/book-induced high, I picked up my copy of [b:Aquamarine|527923|Aquamarine|Alice Hoffman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328869016s/527923.jpg|4030682] that I had bought in 2006 as a young girl. I had never read it before today. Well, that was a mistake. It was, quite honestly, a waste of time.

Things that truly bothered me:
- this book.
- the characters.
- the plot.

Alright, the book as a whole was just plain bad. The plot and the characters made it painful to read. It was just awful. As far as I can tell, there really wasn't much of a plot to begin with, but rather an unoriginal idea. How many books are there about best friends moving away? Hmm.. let's just throw an irritating, conceited Mermaid into that and, BAM, we have a completely new & fresh idea. Gaaah. What is wrong with people? The characters were so unbelievably flat and stupid that I cannot believe this book was published. Claire & Hailey were just stupid, Raymond was a tool [he didn't do anything to make the plot progress, he was just sort of there], and Aquamarine was a bitch. The book may be centered around a mermaid, but, the book isn't really about the mermaid/fantasy whatsoever. Just about two girls who are flatter than a piece of paper. There was no depth at all and I was bored out of my mind while reading it.

There is such a lack of depth with this book that I cannot write a proper review because, well, there's NOTHING to write about.

I think this is the worst book I have read to date. Legit.

gracethesnail's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

msamandalynnreads's review against another edition

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3.0

It's a cute Novella with a story loosely similar to the little merimaid. however, there were points in the writing it was confusing why a few random lines got put in the story

oliviaburley's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This sweet mermaid story is much more melancholic than its movie adaptation. Alice Hoffman really encapsulates the innate sadness of girlhood and the pain moving away, never being able to return to a place you once loved, and growing up.

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