Review: Fun, fast-paced read.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 7, 2014
I love a good mermaid tale, and Into the Deep was a fun, fast-paced read.  I liked Zoey right from the start of the story.  She is 16 and has a prosthetic leg due to a shark attack when she was six.  Zoey is an upbeat, tough girl who handles her disability with grace and aplomb.Zoey discovers that something is going on with her when her school visits an aquarium on a field trip and the fish literally dance for her and follow her around. The scariest part, though, is that the sharks try to bust out of their aquariums to attack her again!Zoey finally gets brave enough to venture into the ocean: she feels drawn to it but at the same time is terrified of another attack.  What happens when she's submerged in salt water blows her mind: her legs turn into a mermaid's tail.  Zoey has to decide what to do: try out the mermaid life (the only time she's ever felt healthy, whole, and pain free) or remain on land with her mother.I liked the conflict in this book, and the decisions Zoey makes.  I loved the imagery---it was outstanding.  Zoey's powers were unique and not entirely unexpected---it seems like heroines in paranormal YA stories always have some kind of special power.  But, I like the way Fleming created Zoey's power, and the way she grew into her strengths.Into the Deep is the first book in a series and I'm looking forward to book two.  Fleming ended the story with anticipation, but not a total cliffhanger---I love it when authors do that---I hate cliffhangers!  I'd recommend this book to fans of paranormal YA and especially fans of mermaid stories.