Review: A Merpeople tale
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 3, 2014
A girl from Australia. A guy with amnesia. Twilight references and a royal lineage. It kind of sounds like Melanie's Evanescent Journey until the guy returns to the sea. This is the first book I've ever read where mythical sea creatures were the main characters and I learned a lot I didn't know.Mya is a high school senior trying to make it through to graduation. When she finds a drowning boy in the bay and administers CPR, her peaceful life is upended. When he awakes, the boy has no memory. He is drawn to Mya and she feels responsible for him. The boy's biological parents show up. He learns his name is Daniel and his father owns a huge oil company. His parents tell him he was dying from a skin condition. He has been missing for two years. His parents feel indebted to Mya, and soon Mya's parents and his become good friends.Miranda, leader of the popular crowd and alpha mean girl, wants to get close to him. But Daniel rebuffs her. There is a lot of mean girl drama/conflict and it seems kind of overdone until you read the ending and realize it was put there for a reason.Once Cordulla, Daniel's sea mom shows up, the plot plows forward at a rapid clip. Now Daniel knows where he's been for the past two years. He won't give up Mya. He is convinced she is to be his queen.Many secrets come out and Mya learns she has a different heritage than she thought. Once Daniel goes back to the sea, everyone around him develops amnesia. Except Miranda. It's like he never went to high school.I liked that Mya's parents were present in her life, but Mya's mother was an enigma to me. She is portrayed as a compassionate, selfless, tree-hugger, but when Miranda hurts Mya she is out for revenge and even wants Miranda's dad to lose his job. She has always been one to preach forgiveness but not now. When Mya and Daniel are on a mission to save five lives she gets upset that they desecrate a grave and try to retrieve an ancient artifact. She lectures Mya on respecting people's property until Mya reminds her she is doing it to save five lives that are worth more than a piece of rock. There was a disconnect between word and deeds, but maybe Mya's mom is just a hypocrite like the rest of us.Being a native Texan, it was fun to read about Australia and learning a bit of the lingo like op-shops, pop peeps, and pash. Can't wait to see what happens in book two.