Mermaids are in. They’ve been in for awhile now, did you know? I’m telling you, there are mermaids just about everywhere you look.
And no, I honestly don’t think I’m giving much away by revealing that Hannah, the first book in the Daughters of the Sea series, is about mermaids.
I mean, look at that picture. Mermaid alert!
Having said all that, this particular tome is an interesting read. Hannah is an orphan who, at the tender age of fourteen, is turned loose from a Boston orphanage to find her own way in the world. Unfortunately, her own way takes her to Kansas, where she becomes terribly ill.
Because mermaids aren’t supposed to go so far from the sea.
Although, of course, she doesn’t know yet that she is a mermaid. We know it, because of the cover and the fact that normal people don’t shed salt wherever they go. But Hannah doesn’t.
Anyway, she is promptly sent back to Boston, where she becomes a scullery maid for one of the city’s wealthiest families. The situation makes for an interesting plot, mermaid or no. I found myself thinking of Sara Crewe several times while reading the novel: a little princess, reduced to a mere scullery maid.
But it is through Hannah’s work that she’s able to discover certain things about herself. Like her natural ability to play the harp. Or to swim. Or to draw the attentions of a particularly attractive gentleman.
After reading Hannah, I’m quite eager to see what’s in store for us next. My only concern is that the book seems a bit young (perhaps because of the humongous print?), but by young I mean Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, not Golden Books. In other words, Lasky’s work is definitely within the YA realm.
Next time you’re browsing at your local bookshop, do take a peek at Hannah. If you’re like me, you’ll read the entire thing in about forty-five minutes. And then you can come tell us what you think, aye?
PS. No, really. Mermaids. They are the now thing. Agree? Disagree? I want to hear your opinions.
This looks interesting, I’ll have to check it out. Great review, btw.
i adore this book! mermaids may seem immature and silly but this book takes them into a new light! i cannot wait for the next book!
i just finished this book today and abulostly LOVE it!! As Dani said, it really gives mermaids a whole new maturness and beauty. it gives you a detailed look into the the eyes of a mermaid! its fantastic, i suggest any person who loves fanstasy or mermaids, will enjoy every word in the book! Kathryn Lasky is an amazing writer!!!!
i love this book!! you gotta read read this book!!!
I absolutley loved this book. It was written so well and it’s story is so unique and different from all other mermaid books I’ve read. The only thing is the ending. I didn’t quite understand it. Did she leave the humans she loves for the sea? Does she come back? WHEN”S THE NEXT BOOK COMING OUT?!?
if you like the mermaid idea you should try the ingo series, it focus more on the mermaid aspect and how theese children continue to go back and forth between land and sea
I bought this book a while ago. When I first got it from the book store I rushed into it and finished extremely fast. I have to say thought, I hated it. The author tried to smash two extremely different stories together and in the end left the two storys hanging into an abyss of nothingness. Nevertheless, It would have been an exceptable story as a scullery maid minus the mermaid part or vis versa. Im sorry if this has hurt anyones thought of this book, but everyone is entitled to their own opion, correct? Thanks for listening. Keep reading books!