Scan barcode
A review by katiemoten
Mermaid by Carolyn Turgeon
2.0
2.5/5
Alas, I think my opinion of this book is in part a casualty of my interest in YA fairy tale retellings dipping, as I seem to be liking adult retellings better these days, but, aside from that, I just didn't like this all that much.
It really suffers from relationships not really being built up very well. The relationships between the prince and the mermaid, the prince and the princess, and the mermaid and the princess just seem to happen just like that. Also, I thought there was great potential for a same sex relationship here, but this book was published in 2001, so before same sex relationships were really a thing in teen literature, sadly.
Another thing I didn't really like was the writing. There were a lot of sentence fragments, and those really bug me.
I do think it did do quite well with sticking to the mermaid's desire for a soul, as in the original Andersen story, but, other than that, and the friendship between the mermaid and the princess, this wasn't really for me.
Alas, I think my opinion of this book is in part a casualty of my interest in YA fairy tale retellings dipping, as I seem to be liking adult retellings better these days, but, aside from that, I just didn't like this all that much.
It really suffers from relationships not really being built up very well. The relationships between the prince and the mermaid, the prince and the princess, and the mermaid and the princess just seem to happen just like that. Also, I thought there was great potential for a same sex relationship here, but this book was published in 2001, so before same sex relationships were really a thing in teen literature, sadly.
Another thing I didn't really like was the writing. There were a lot of sentence fragments, and those really bug me.
I do think it did do quite well with sticking to the mermaid's desire for a soul, as in the original Andersen story, but, other than that, and the friendship between the mermaid and the princess, this wasn't really for me.