Sarah Porter

Assaulted and left on the cliffs outside of her grim Alaskan fishing village by her abusive, alcoholic uncle, fourteen-year-old Luce expects to die when she tumbles into the icy waters below, but when she instead transforms into a mermaid she is faced with struggles and choices she could never have imagined.

Lost Voices

Kirsten Simkiss

I think this one deserved 3.5 stars personally, but I rounded up to four because it didn't shy away from characters acting their ages.

A lot of the reviews that have a lot of likes seem to be unhappy that the mermaids aren't Ariel from the Little Mermaid. I may be a huge fan of the Little Mermaid, but I also love vicious, man-eating mermaids too. I loved how the story flowed and I loved the mythology that the author created, blending the mermaid and siren stories together to create her own interpretation of mermaids. Some seem to forget that mermaids are known for sinking ships.

My only big complaint was that it just kind of leaves things hanging until the next book and doesn't really resolve anything aside from what happened in Catarina's past, which is a question you wonder about the whole book.

Southern Today Gone Tomorrow

Written by Sarah Porter, this novel follows 14 year old Luce (pronounced loose) as she learns what it means to be a mermaid after she… died?

Very short summary I know, but there isn’t really a whole lot to this novel. It wasn’t bad, and had some interesting ideas as to where mermaids come from (girls who have been abused and turn into this goo when they would otherwise die and then become mermaids) and the descriptions of their singing are beautifully written.

However, it really didn’t hold my attention. If I was 14, maybe. Maybe. But, as I said, there really wasn’t much to this story and it could have been even shorter than it was. I understand, the author wanted to show us the growth the Luce went through as she determined that she would be different than all of the other mermaids and not kill humans. That she was a good person. That, good people don’t have to stand out in everyday life.

The other thing that this book did well is to mimic real life and all the disappointments that people leave us with. Rarely do people seem to recognize the good, quiet people. Oh, they will say they do, but really they don’t give them attention until they are trying to blame them for something. Being quiet can be perceived as being sneaky. As being un-trust worthy.

And teenage girls are monsters. This is true.

Overall, this is a great book for a middle schooler to enjoy and to stimulate them into looking deeper within them selves and those around them, and to maybe make them think about how they act towards those around them.

Yeah, that is correct, this is a good LEARNING book. I wouldn’t be surprised if some hip English teacher tried to use this in her class to bring attention to how her students treat each other and how lying can go deep within the bones. And to analyze why the rules they have exist.

In some ways, this book makes me think of Lord of the Flies. And even though this one actually involves killing a lot of humans, I stand by that Lord of the Flies was far more scaring – when analyzed on a very deep level. Maybe also because I read that book and didn’t just listen to it.

sash.

Scarlett 

Allison Garrett

Fourteen-year-old Luce has had a tough life, but she reaches the depths of despair when she is assaulted and left on the cliffs outside of a grim, gray Alaskan fishing village. She expects to die when she tumbles into the icy waves below, but instead undergoes an astonishing transformation and becomes a mermaid. A tribe of mermaids finds Luce and welcomes her in—all of them, like her, lost girls who surrendered their humanity in the darkest moments of their lives. Luce is thrilled with her new life until she discovers the catch: the mermaids feel an uncontrollable desire to drown seafarers, using their enchanted voices to lure ships into the rocks. Luce possesses an extraordinary singing talent, which makes her important to the tribe—she may even have a shot at becoming their queen. However her struggle to retain her humanity puts her at odds with her new friends. Will Luce be pressured into committing mass murder? The first book in a trilogy, Lost Voices is a captivating and wildly original tale about finding a voice, the healing power of friendship, and the strength it takes to forgive. This book features a teaser chapter from Waking Storms, the sequel to this sensational debut novel.

Lost Voices

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