Mer Book Review: Hannah, Daughters Of The Sea #1 by Kathryn Lasky

Hey everyone! Before I begin my review of this cool book, I want to thank everyone who recently started following the blog and reading these jewls on the Internet :) It means a lot to me and Garrett for each comment and follower, and I know that I for one am thrilled. Don't be shy! I'll be happy to read comments and  be total dorks with you all!

But onto the book review....

Kathryn Lasky (The Owls of Ga'Hoole series most notably, which was turned into a film last year) is writing a great quartet about mermaids called Daughters of the Sea, and I've read all the published volumes, which are Hannah, and May, which I'll review in my next post.

The basic premise is this: Three mermaid (triplets as they're all the same age) sisters seperated at birth and all sent in different directions and walks of life. This book focuses on Hannah. The year is 1899 and Hannah was put in an orphan home, and quickly sent off to a job as a scullery girl in a fine Boston Home. Whacked out stuff starts happening, and by the hands of fate, Hannah finds out she is a mermaid, and that the mysterious cool artist guy currently staying with aforementioned fine Boston family might know more about her than she does herself.

My one big complaint about this book is the pacing. Hannah is super oblivious to the whole mermaid thing, and it's in the last FIFTY pages that she discovers she is a mermaid, which leaves very little time to explore all the concepts and questions that come with that tail of hers. I spent the whole book resisting the urge to just shout " GO TAKE A SWIM!"

But there was a lot of other cooler things about the book.

1. It's a historical mermaid fiction. Not a lot of these out there, except for the occasional Greek Mythology ones (Sirena for example). Not only that, but a turn of the century setting. It makes for an interesting read.

2. Except for a brief moment with the painter I mentioned up there, there is no love interest in the book, which is super refreshing with all of the mer-books that revolve around love. And I'm not dissing those books at all, in fact, I enjoy them as much as the next mer-obssessed girl, but I do get a little tired of them sometimes. That was one of the coolest things about the book. It made me like it a lot more.

3. Hannah wasn't Beatrix Kiddo from Kill Bill, but she wasn't a completely whimpy heroine either. She was a little plucky, but not mouthy. There was something fun about her strongwilled but demure aspects. It was a nice blend. She's like a mix of the headstrong Katniss from the Hunger Games with a  big dose of Alice of Wonderland.

4. This book really sets up the sequel really well, which after reading the sequel, I like this book even  better.

It's aimed at the more tween set, but I know adults who've enjoyed the series as well. You won't find the cheesy processed romance or lots of brain food, but a good period read that's unique from a lot of other mer-books.

Review of the sequel to come soon after I give it another read.

-Randi