Review: Very sweet YA story
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 09 15, 2011
Marina has always lived a life on the road with her scientist father. When he decides she should spend her last year of high school with her aunt in "regular school", Marina is not happy. But shortly after she arrives in the pretty beach town strange things start happening. Marina almost drowns twice, and comes face-to-face with a mermaid. Maybe this year won't be so boring after all.This is a very sweet story. There is surprisingly a lot of action, mixed in with very unique characters. Marina's cousin Cruz is definitely quirky and lovable. He is a fashion designer in training, and is delightful to meet. His exuberance and energy leap off the page and left me smiling everytime he entered the scene.I found Marina's closed nature and difficulty in opening up to and accepting help from her family and friends very frustrating. It made sense based on her lifestyle and experiences growing up with her father, but it was still very frustrating.I was confused about the family structures present. There were no two parent families, only single parent families, with the missing parent either dead or run off. Everyone was in this situation, and it just seemed a little extreme. I was also concerned with the cluelessness and absense of the existing parents. Marina's father was easy to accept since he was on the other side of the world, but the rest of them? You would think that all those single parents would be a little more tuned into the happenings in their children's lives.Overall, this was sweet and unique story. The mermaids were not quite what I expected, in a good way, and the storyline itself was different and fresh. This is a story that will appeal to a variety of ages.