Book Review: The Mermaid's Mirror by L.K. Madigan

The Mermaid's Mirror by L.K. Madigan
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Publication date: October 2010
ISBN: 9780547194912
Source: e-book provided by NetGalley

Lena has always been fascinated with the sea.  Growing up living right by it, she tends to end up there, walking along the beaches and dipping her toes in the waves.  But she's never been surfing, because her father has forbidden it.  Like an obedient daughter, she's followed his wishes.  Until her sixteenth birthday, when she can't hold back any longer.  And especially after she sees a mysterious woman out in the ocean - one who is definitely not an ordinary woman.

Things I Liked:
I liked the ending the most of the whole book.  I thought it was the most interesting part.  Instead of going with something like a happily ever after, Madigan takes the harder road and has her characters make difficult decisions.  It was a good choice for the book and made it much more enjoyable as a whole.  Lena was an interesting character, though sometimes I wasn't entirely sure what she was really like.  Sometimes I thought she was a little too much like every other "regular" teen with a secret that fantasy/paranormal books flaunt.  Other times, she was unique.  Here are some favorite parts:

Lena was used to women ogling her dad.  Her mom called him a computer nerd trapped in the body of a hot guy. p 11 of ARC

"Man.  They're such, like, good parents.  Why can't they be all wrapped up in their own problems?"
"I know, right?" laughed Lena.  "I'm practically grown.  They should just leave me to my own devices." p 22 of ARC

Things I Didn't Like:
I thought it was very slow reading.  The action didn't pick up until quite far into the book (at least half way).  And while there were clues to what would happen, they didn't make the details of Lena's daily life more enjoyable to read about.  I didn't particularly care for any of the characters until things got more interesting.  It was fairly predictable in many ways, though in others (like the ending) it was not.  *slightly spoilery* The main problem I had was the development of the romance for Lena with Nix.  It seemed very fast, very rushed, and very incomprehensible.  Why exactly did they fall in love?  And when?  It made her choices somewhat less believable in the end.  There should have been more time spent on that and less time spent in the first part of the book.*end slight spoiler* 

Read-alikes:
Sea Change by Aimee Friedman
Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
a few

mrg-factor: X
not detailed, mostly mentioned in passing

v-factor: none
some possibly frightening stuff involving surfing

Overall rating: ***

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