Mermaid's Mirror (fiction)

Happy Independence Day on this Metaphysical Monday!

Poor Lena - drawn to the Pacific Ocean's waves, forbidden by her father to learn to surf, longing for her own independence. How often she finds herself walking on the beach at night, sleepwalking to the shore...

And drawn to find something at her home, something left by her dead mother? Lena's searching is more than just the normal separation-of-self experienced by most teenagers - this is primal and frightening to her and her dad and her stepmother.

What does a mermaid want with Lena? What does a mermaid's mirror show? More than usual teen vs. parent fireworks in this one!
**kmm

Book info: Mermaid's Mirror / L.K. Madigan. Houghton Mifflin, 2010. [author's website] [author interview] [publisher site] [book trailer]

Recommendation: Ever drawn to the ocean, Lena wants to learn to surf with her friends. But her father forbids it, reminding her of his near-drowning as a championship surfer years ago, and her stepmom agrees with him. If only her mother were still alive to take Lena’s side in this argument…

Walking on the beach is comforting, something Lena does every day, sometimes every night, watching for otters and seals in the waves. Hmm… that’s not a seal – it’s a woman, far out in the cove, but she’s swimming just fine (at midnight?).

As her sixteenth birthday approaches, Lena is sure that she’s strong enough to master the board and begins surfing lessons in secret. And again in the waves she sees the woman, the mermaid, and the lure of the sea becomes irresistible to Lena, who must be in the saltwater more and more each day.

Is the mermaid calling to Lena? What’s Dad hiding about his surfing accident? Why is Gran suddenly worried about getting Lena’s blood tested? Why does Lena feel compelled to surf the monster waves at Magic Crescent Cove, where Dad crashed and Mom disappeared?

A fascinating tale of the everyday and the paranormal, of the unbreakable bonds between sea and shore, of discovering who you are. 308 pages (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy courtesy of the publisher.