corncobwebs's review against another edition
This book is chock-full of sparkly, cheerful, and upbeat stories. It's divided into thirds, with a different teenage mermaid narrating each part. The narrating mermaids are all best friends, so they all factor into each others' stories. Shyanna's story is first, and she tells about her experience in the kingdom's talent show -- with a particular focus on her stage fright & feelings of inadequacy, and how her friends helped her succeed. Rachel's story is next, and the reader learns how she's half-human -- and how she's been ostracized because of this quality. Her friends help her realize that it's okay to be different, and help her devise a plan so that she feels more comfortable in her own skin. Cora's story is last, and details how she wants to be on the kingdom's Spirit Squad. She makes the team, but then has to make the tough decision of whether or not to stay when she discovers that Rachel's been excluded because of her half-human background.
All stories conclude with the right choices being made and lots of happy-smiley feelings. It's a world where everything is sparkly and shiny, and everything works out in the end (well, except for how Shyanna's dad disappeared, and Rachel's mom got eaten by sharks -- but we don't dwell on these unsavory points). I feel like I'm going to sneeze glitter after reading this story, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think pre-teen girls will love it -- it's not emotionally challenging, so it's just light, fun reading. The drawings and descriptions of mermaid life are super-appealing, although I had to stop myself from considering the feasibility of mermaids having cell phones and swing sets -- it's a story about MERMAIDS, for Pete's sake; it doesn't have to be scientifically accurate.
All in all, I'm not sure if this book was worth my time, personally -- I love mermaids, but I think I gravitate more towards the macabre Andersen version of mermaid lore. But that's really just personal taste, and I think lots of girls would enjoy the series.
All stories conclude with the right choices being made and lots of happy-smiley feelings. It's a world where everything is sparkly and shiny, and everything works out in the end (well, except for how Shyanna's dad disappeared, and Rachel's mom got eaten by sharks -- but we don't dwell on these unsavory points). I feel like I'm going to sneeze glitter after reading this story, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think pre-teen girls will love it -- it's not emotionally challenging, so it's just light, fun reading. The drawings and descriptions of mermaid life are super-appealing, although I had to stop myself from considering the feasibility of mermaids having cell phones and swing sets -- it's a story about MERMAIDS, for Pete's sake; it doesn't have to be scientifically accurate.
All in all, I'm not sure if this book was worth my time, personally -- I love mermaids, but I think I gravitate more towards the macabre Andersen version of mermaid lore. But that's really just personal taste, and I think lots of girls would enjoy the series.
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