Chasing Mermaids

Rating

3 stars+ 

Date Read

29/8/15

Age Group

15+

General Thoughts

A touching read about the importance of letting your voice be heard and standing up for yourself. An interesting, melancholic protagonist with a story to tell, poetic words, but no voice. Not in the literal sense, anyway. Much like the well known fairy tale of the little mermaid, this mermaid does not have a voice. No fins either, just a great love for the sea and strong feelings of betrayal directed at the ocean, since it became the reason she lost her melodic voice.

Singing ripped out of her future, deams shredded and voice silenced, Elyse leaves her many sisters behind to come to the States, hoping for a new story, a plan B. There, with the support of her aunt Lemon, her cousin Kirby and Kirby's best friend Vanessa, and another summer occupant of the Cove, Christian, she learns to call the small coastal town she settled on home.

Characters

Elyse 

... might come off selfish at first. A loner, the kind of person that has issues but won't let many too close for comfort. It turns out she is just hurt. She came to the Cove with little hope, mainly to get away from home and her twin sister, still in possession of her beautiful voice, constant reminder of what she could no longer have. Elyse, although confused and lonely, is actually a very smart, compassionate girl who used to be the confident one, the life of the party, the one who laughed the loudest. Her singing brought tears to strangers' eyes. And now she had to learn how to live with no other means of expressing herself other than a black Sharpie and a tattered notebook, her witty remarks unable get past her lips. Slowly, she regains her confidemce, finds her hope and becomes a more mature version of her previous self, a busybody in the best way, opinionated and compassionate with a voice to be listened to.

Christian Kane

A walking flirt. Witty, intelligent, sensitive, attentive. His sweet nature towards his six year old brother is a reason to fall in love with him all on each own, especially considering how neglected the Kane boys were from tgeir parents. "There's a girl writing on my boat" were the first words he ever told Elyse, upon finding her scribbling all over his Vega. Not angry or annoyed. Just a bit amused. Intrigued.

Kirby

Kirby is very compassionate. She takes it upon himself to make her newcomer cousin feel welcome and loved. Which is hard considering how broken Elyse feels after the loss of her voice, the way she no longer cares about people listening and shuts herself off from the world.

Vanessa

Kirby's best best friend ia everyone's favourite, confident voice, with a cute accent, amusing stories and big heart. She is everything Elyse used to be. Everything she no longer is. And she treats Elyse like a long time friend as soon as she shows up, no questions asked.

Sebastian

Either Christian's little brother is impossibly mature or the writer has never met a six year old. That said, I think anyone would like an adorable blond little mermaid-chaser like him for a sibling. He is a smart, curious child with wild imagination, creative ideas and a nice sense of humor.

Aunt Lemon

Elyse's father's childhood friend is loving an big hearted, if a little eccentric. She reads cards, prays to sea goddesses and makes art out of sea glass. She provides a home and a family to her best friend's daughter without an expiration date, giving her the space and support she needs to get over her accident and on with her life.

Granna

Stern and demanding but loving and sharp, she steps in to raise her grandaughters, all six of them -while simultaneously managing the family's cocoa estate- after the death of the girls' mother during the eventful childbirth of Elyse and Natalie - no surprise there, classic Little Mermaid storyline minus the whole mermaid thing. She tests Elyse, even from afar, reminding her of her life before the accident, pushing her to her limits im order to come to terms with her new reality.

Writing and Narrative

The poetic undertone of the book was mostly entertaining, when it wasn't to righteous, basically because the writer managed to keep it in check, a nice balance between normal, relaxing writing, poetic lines and creative metaphors. I especially liked the images depicted, the impersonation of Midnight and her lover, Death, the beautiful mermaid Atargatis and all the folklore and fairy tales surrounding her.

All in All

A touching, poetic, at times melancholic story, an uncanny retelling of the popular fairy tale about the mermaid who gave her singing voice in exchange for true love. In this spin off the prince doesn't save his princess but supports her so that she can save herself. Recommemded to anyone.

XOXO

Aggie Pearson