Review: Very real
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 17, 2013
This book intrigued me because it is another one of my favorite type of mashups:  romance, young adult and sci-fi with an added twist of adrenaline at the end.I was a little skeptical at first, come on, fish people?  But it is so well written and sounds entirely plausible.This isn’t typical sci-fi fare.  The way the author describes the Swimmer, his abilities, his experiences is extremely scientifically based and entirely believable.  But I still can’t figure out what he eats.Brandi’s adolescent experience is entirely authentic.  As is her family dynamics that were more than disrupted with the death of her sister.The author also paints a vivid picture of a shrinking costal small town.  I have never been to that region of the country.  But throughout the book, I felt like I was actually there.  I can actually picture these places, the sights, the smells.  Amazing.I loved the entire sequence with Brandi trying to teach the Swimmer about her world.  I kept on singing songs from “The Little Mermaid” in my head while I was reading.  Very light, comical, but not too campy.I definitely did not expect the dramatic twist events during the last part of the book.  That is where it turned from an interesting sci-fi romance to a page turner.  Fantastic.The ending is very satisfying and complete.  I don't want to spoil the ending, but I was very grateful for the shot of reality injected at the end, it lends to the plausibility of the entire novel.Overall, this book is extremely fascinating, very well written, with very good plot lines and themes.  I can see most young adult romance lovers liking this even if they usually avoid anything sci-fi.  Well done.