Review: For the the younger side of young adult readers.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 9, 2013
Chey, pronounced Shay, lives in an underwater world built from necessity. A war has spread poison across the land forcing the population to take refuge in watery pods. Generations have lived there and people have been implanted with artificial gills and given mermaid tails so they can swim through the waters of the ocean and among the city. Children are paired with dolphins at an early age and learn their language.Chey's world is not a happy place. At fifteen, she has lost her mother, father and best friend. It appears many people do not like living in these sectors and become depressed. Chey's parents have done something called the Unmentionable and she has no idea what that is or where they are.Despite the sadness in her life, she's a free spirit and is determined to learn all she can about the world her people came from by specializing in languages at school. Chey loves to swim in the open waters and meets a boy wearing a wetsuit on one of these swims. They agree to meet again in a week but this plan may be put in jeopardy after the authorities find she left the sector, something that's not allowed.When I began reading Cerulean, it reminded me of Little Mermaid. Boy finds girl in sea, girl wants to live on land, but was relieved there was more to the story than that. Chey's ocean life seemed claustrophobic and I could see why many people grew depressed and wanted out. This part of the story could have been fleshed out more and maybe have more explanations if it wasn't meant to feel like that.Once Chey was on dry land, the story bogged down some. She didn't get the answers she wanted until the end of the book. Still it left more questions than answers which could have been dealt with in this story.This book should appeal to the younger side of young adult readers and especially to those fond of whales, dolphins and other sea creatures.Note: A free review copy was provided by the author.