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esorharas 's review for:
The Mermaid
by Christina Henry
I really enjoyed this book. I expected to not love it as much as the other two I enjoyed from this author (Lost Boy and Girl in Red), and that much is true, but I still really enjoyed this one.
Amelia is a mermaid who gets caught in a fisherman's net one day. He lets her go, but she returns, seeing something in him that makes her want to return. She makes a life with the fisherman, until he dies and she is left facing the rest of her long existence alone, unwilling to return to the ocean, but unable to find her place in the world she has come to live in.
This is a story about a woman finding her place in a world, but it is also a commentary on women's place in society, and how Amelia fights against the restrictions that men want to put on her. I liked these comments, and how they were woven into the story being told. I also liked Amelia as a character. She's interesting and compelling to read about because of her strength and her unwillingness to be what others want her to be - she is herself, always.
In some ways, this story didn't subvert any expectations I had. Nothing really surprised me about this, and it was not quite as compelling a read as Lost Boy and Girl in Red were, but the writing was still very good, and the characterisation was done well.
I think if you are familiar with the story of P.T. Barnum you may not like this, as he does not come across very well in this story. But if you have no expectations on that front, you may enjoy this book for what it is: a historical fantasy about a mermaid who finds her place in the world (and falls in love along the way).
Amelia is a mermaid who gets caught in a fisherman's net one day. He lets her go, but she returns, seeing something in him that makes her want to return. She makes a life with the fisherman, until he dies and she is left facing the rest of her long existence alone, unwilling to return to the ocean, but unable to find her place in the world she has come to live in.
This is a story about a woman finding her place in a world, but it is also a commentary on women's place in society, and how Amelia fights against the restrictions that men want to put on her. I liked these comments, and how they were woven into the story being told. I also liked Amelia as a character. She's interesting and compelling to read about because of her strength and her unwillingness to be what others want her to be - she is herself, always.
In some ways, this story didn't subvert any expectations I had. Nothing really surprised me about this, and it was not quite as compelling a read as Lost Boy and Girl in Red were, but the writing was still very good, and the characterisation was done well.
I think if you are familiar with the story of P.T. Barnum you may not like this, as he does not come across very well in this story. But if you have no expectations on that front, you may enjoy this book for what it is: a historical fantasy about a mermaid who finds her place in the world (and falls in love along the way).