Celia Reynolds is the youngest in a set of triplets and the one with the least valuable power. Anne can see the future, and Jane can see the present, but all Celia can see is the past. And the past seems so insignificant -- until Celia meets Lo.
Lo doesn't know who she is. Or who she was. Once a human, she is now almost entirely a creature of the sea -- a nymph, an ocean girl, a mermaid -- all terms too pretty for the soulless monster she knows she's becoming. Lo clings to shreds of her former self, fighting to remember her past, even as she's tempted to embrace her dark immortality.
When a handsome boy named Jude falls off a pier and into the ocean, Celia and Lo work together to rescue him from the waves. The two form a friendship, but soon they find themselves competing for Jude's affection. Lo wants more than that, though. According to the ocean girls, there's only one way for Lo to earn back her humanity. She must persuade a mortal to love her... and steal his soul.Mermaid story? Oh yea, you know I wanted to read this one. In this book the mermaids were once human children. Something happened to them and they were suddenly able to exist under water. The sea as calming as it is fierce tends to strip away their memories. With those memories goes the last of humanity they try to cling. When at last they give up, they become something else. How, what and why are the questions that lead to the adventure in this book. It is a search for Lo and Nadia both who exist in the same body.
Yes, like her other stories, this one is also based on a faerie tale, this one is based on the original Little Mermaid story. Admittedly I haven't read that one, but I am familiar with the tale. There are distinct differences and she introduces other elements as well. We see hints of the 3 fates in the sisters that occupy the land half of this tale. We also get a bit of a bard in the love interest, Jude. Although I enjoyed these elements, I wanted more information. Why did the 3 sisters have powers? What was the mythology she was exploring? It's not all absent, but I wanted more. It wasn't enough for me to touch upon these tales but I admit it did preserve the mystery. Others would not have the same yearning I did after reading this story.
The ending has a twist I didn't see coming and the book does feel complete. I give this book 3 1/2 stars. I just wanted to know more of the world in which they inhabit. However, you are given no more information than the characters. I do have to say that in one way it is perfect that she does that. The darkness is preserved that way... but for those of us who like to shed light on that dark, it can be frustrating. :)
I received this book from Little, Brown Books and no compensation for my review was given.
I would probably be on the fence about this one too. I would want to know more but can understand the "mystery" too.
ReplyDeleteIt was still pretty interesting and different. I really enjoyed that.
DeleteI think this is sometimes the problem when books are based on other books. Mind you they do say that there are really very very few truly original stories (some put it as low as 7) and that the rest are just rehashes of these few.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't the retelling. I actually enjoy those, it was the lack of information on the other characters and some of the mythology I just wanted. :)
DeleteI really enjoyed this book. Despite not being able to get into the back round, I still loved watching all the characters fight against their instincts. Nice review :)
ReplyDeleteI agree. That was the most interesting as well as the mystery surrounding it.
DeleteI feel like I'll probably want to know more about this world as well, I'm that reader that's always asking "why" as they go along:) Still, I do love Jackson's fairy tale retellings, and I'm excited about this twist you mention at the end so I think I'll go ahead and give this book a try!
ReplyDeleteI think you'd be like me and want to know more about those mysteries but I also do think there is a reason (to preserve the mystery). I do think you'd enjoy this one.
DeleteI never knew the real Little Mermaid story and then I heard it and cried when she died, not nice at all
ReplyDeleteOh I'm always really anxious when the stories are based on tales because I'm always disappointed. It's never as good ad what we loved. But well it's a book of mermaid so it's a really good point!
ReplyDeleteI actually met Jackson Pearce a couple weeks ago and in her presentation she talks about her inspiration for this book from the original story (which sounds incredibly depressing!). Because I haven't read this or the original (and I was working as a volunteer) I don't recall everything she spoke about, but I do remember it was really interesting. It got me more interested in this book because before I really had no interest in reading it. Finding out the differences in the original story, the Disney story and her story was very interesting! I think that if I see this at the library I'll give it a shot. I'm glad you mostly enjoyed this one!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a nice read.
ReplyDeleteOo, I like twists I don't see coming. :) And I think I need more mermaid in my diet. :D Thank yoU!
ReplyDeleteThe original book is so incredibly sad and dark! Definitely not a comfy book. I'm curious about this one and I'm surprised not to see any Ferris running around like in Sweetly, which threw me for a loop since I hadn't read Sister Red at the moment. I'm going to see if I can find this one in my library.
ReplyDelete