I was compelled to buy this after seeing its beautiful cover art and realizing that it had something to do with mermaids. I've always loved a good mermaid story ("flippin' your fins you don't get too far, legs are required for running, dancing..." sadly I'm being completely non-ironic with these lyrics. I could (and sometimes do) break into a full Part of Your World number at any moment) but even more after having a kindergarten student who was completely obsessed with them. What makes the mermaid craze in this kid even more memorable is that this student is a boy and that he held fast to his love throughout the 2 years that I knew him even though the other kids definitely thought this was a mite strange. He drew mermaids & mermen constantly, brought in mermaid dolls/books/posters for sharing, told me lovely stories about an actual mermaid that he met named Catalina, discussed the finer points of Aquamarine, Splash, and The Little Mermaid with me at the playdoh table, and a million more mer-inspired things (including getting his parents to invest in mermaid art for their home). I miss him and can't help but remember him when I come upon anything to do with mermaids. And I'm dying to know if his obsession has held as he has gotten older.So I was primed to like this story. I was even more inclined to like the story as I started reading and realized that it was taking place at a summer house on an island off the coast of South Carolina (or maybe Georgia?). I have been spending my time since school got out desperately trying to find an idyllic beachy vacation to go on (equal parts inspired by The Summer I Got Pretty and last year's amazing Hawaii trip with Mom). This story fed my beach trip fantasy even more.
With all of my expectations raised I was also slightly ready to be let down. Happily this is a really well written book. I felt the characters were believable and the story was paced just right. I liked the romantic element to the story but also appreciated that things ended a little bit wistfully. I think that is a lot more realistic than finding your one true love at age 16. This book hit the perfect ambiguous blend at the end. Which is really saying a lot about Aimee Friedman's amazing writing because I usually despise endings like this. She definitely sold me on this one. I loved it!
