Title: Daughters of the Sea book 1: HannahAuthor: Kathryn Lasky
Genre: Fantasy
Reading Level: 12 and up
Summary: Hannah, 15 years old, knows she not normal. She feels an undeniable pull toward the sea and when she's not near it she feels sick and sheds crystallized salt. Soon, to keep herself near the sea Hannah becomes a scullery maid for a high class family the Hawley's, with three daughters. There she meets a mysterious painter who seems to know a little too much about Hannah. With only her feelings to guide her, Hannah tries to solve the mystery of her life, and also stay out of the way of Lila Hawley, the deeply disturbed eldest daughter, and her demonic cat Jade.
My Review: I'm actually quite sad. I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. It is the first book in a series and it really shows. There are a lot of things that don't make sense. The plot really takes a long time to develop. You're almost finished the story before anything interesting happens, like Hannah realizing she's a mermaid. The characters also didn't put enough emotion across. I couldn't feel for Hannah, because she just didn't flesh out for me, there was no personality, She just seemed to amble through the story watching everything unfold around her. As for the painter, Hannah's "love interest" I'm still trying to figure out why he was even in the story, besides being someone Hannah and Lila could fight over. Hannah and the painter are the 3rd couple in a YA novel that I've read about who have no chemistry or point to their rushed unbelievable relationship. I enjoyed Lila and Jade a little, but even they did not meet my expectations as the writing was so emotionless sometimes I wasn't sure what was going on. One minute there's a fight, the next minute something completely different is happening. I also actually started feeling compassion for Lila, as it was so obvious she was not mentally stable and needed help desperately. Ettie, Lila's younger sister, added some spark and humor to the story, but she couldn't save it for me. The book ended on a cliffhanger, but I'm not intrigued enough to find out what happens next. On the slight plus side, I liked the historical setting, and learning about how the working class worked back in 1899, and that Kathryn Lasky found a use for the word lugubrious.
Content: Nothing too shocking, some profanity, and kissing, and Hannah likes to sleep and swim in the nude. But heck she's a mermaid.
Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5.
Recommend: No there has to be better mermaid stories out there.
Upcoming Review: So Not Happening by Jenny B. Jones
LOL Your review made me laugh, because its so funny how we can find a million and one things to dislike about books we dislike. Don't get me started on Wuthering Heights by one of the Bronte sisters.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, you do a great job putting your reviews together ;)
Yeah it is funny. (: What didn't you like about Wuthering Heights? Besides all the severely unhealthy relationships everyone had with each other. (;
ReplyDeleteThat, (lol) and they just seem so fake and dysfunctional. There isn't really any good I could cling to. That's my view at least. :) How do you feel about it?
ReplyDeleteI thought it was a very interesting and well written classic. It was fast paced which I enjoyed. Sure I didn't like any of the characters but I still wanted to find out what happened to them so it kept me reading.
ReplyDeleteWell, I like our difference in opinions. ;) I actually didn't read the book, but saw two versions of the movies. Do you think there would be a difference?
ReplyDeleteOh you should definately read the book because I've seen two versions as well, the old black and white one, and the old colored one with famous actors and actresses in it and I think the newer one was more accurate but movies never get books right anyway. I didn't like either of those movies as well.
ReplyDeleteI'll give it a try. Only for the sake of "trying" and "taking your advice". lol
ReplyDeleteSorry, I didn't notice my mom was signed in. lol :)
ReplyDelete