The Waves Are Calling

Published:  September 11th, 2012

The Brides of Rollrock Island

By: Margo Lanagan

Knopf Books for Young Readers

ISBN-13: 9780375989308

On remote Rollrock Island, men go to sea to make their livings—and to catch their wives.

The witch Misskaella knows the way of drawing a girl from the heart of a seal, of luring the beauty out of the beast. And for a price a man may buy himself a lovely sea-wife. He may have and hold and keep her. And he will tell himself that he is her master. But from his first look into those wide, questioning, liquid eyes, he will be just as transformed as she. He will be equally ensnared. And the witch will have her true payment.

Margo Lanagan weaves an extraordinary tale of desire, despair, and transformation. With devastatingly beautiful prose, she reveals characters capable of unspeakable cruelty, but also unspoken love.

Review

     Rollrock Island is a mysterious place, with a long history of magical occurrences and legends that are almost unbelievable.  But then a young girl, Misskaella, who doesn't really belong in the community and shows signs of a long-ago "sea-wife" in her heritage, discovers that she has the power to draw women from the seals on the beach.  They shed their skins and make brides for the men - if they're willing to pay a price.  She is angry at her treatment and over the generations tears the community on Rollrock apart almost completely, until only the men, the sea-wives and their sons are left.  One of the sons, Daniel, begins to realize that his Mother belongs to the sea and needs to be returned - all of the wives do.  But can he do the right thing when the time comes?  And where do the children truly belong - to the land or the sea?  I was interested in the idea of women being made from seals and used as wives to the men on an island.  It was very disturbing to think that these women could be held against their will and forced to be wives, even when they were completely miserable doing it.  The multiple point of views over the generations were wonderful.  It gave some relief from the initial sadness and bitterness of Misskaella's story.  I was never truly sure when this novel was set and where, but that was perfectly okay with me.  The prose flowed beautifully and I had a sad ache through almost the entire book.  Only the best books do that to a reader.  Some of my complaints were the fact that the ending P.O.V. was someone that had not been a very important character in the rest of the book and she was a detraction from the full circle feeling of the ending.  I did not care for the last part and wish it would have ended with Daniel's narrative. Also, I was horrified at the idea that men with wives and families already could take a sea-wife on the side, basically for sex, and not see anything wrong with that.  I was disgusted with and unsympathetic to most of the men on the island until the last generation of them.  But the whole usage of the selkie mythology/legend was very innovative and I give major props for that.  If you would like to read something very different from anything else out there, this is the book for you.

VERDICT:  3.85/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book was published September 11th, 2012.*

Tempest Unleashed On An Unsuspecting World

Expected Publication: June 5th, 2012

Tempest Unleashed (Tempest # 2)

By: Tracy Deebs

Walker Children's

ISBN-13: 9780802728302

Tempest Maguire is happy with her decision to embrace her mermaid nature and live among her mother’s clan within the ocean’s depths. Even though training to one day ascend the throne for the aging mermaid queen is rigorous, she finds refuge in the arms of Kona, the selkie who first opened her up to her mermaid side. But when word comes that one of her brothers has been gravely injured on land, Tempest immediately rushes to his side—which also brings her back to her old flame, Mark. And in her absence, a deadly battle begins raging at the hands of Tempest’s old nemesis, the sea witch Tiamat. As the dangerous war erupts, Tempest’s two loves—Kona and Mark, sea and land—will collide for the first time, both to protect her and to force her to choose.

Review

   Tempest has decided that she owes it to her Mother's people to live with them and one day become Queen of the mermaids.  But she is having trouble letting go of the last vestiges of her human life.  Her romance with Kona, the one thing she was certain she could count on is also suffering.  All because Tempest can't let go of Mark, her human ex-boyfriend, completely either.  Then the sea-witch Tiamat strikes out at her human family, forcing Tempest to rush home once more.  All the while Tiamat is attacking Tempest's people under the ocean while she is distracted by the illness of her youngest brother, Moku.  When Tempest and Kona go back underwater, both of their villages have been severely harmed by Tiamat.  Tempest tries to find Kona upon learning some horrific news about his family and learns that he has been taken by Tiamat and a mer traitor who is helping her in the quest for power.  Now Tempest must swim into a trap and use all of her wits, strength and love to find a way to defeat Tiamat and rescue Kona.  Also, Kona isn't the only one who has been kidnapped.  Can Tempest save herself and both of her loved ones?  Or will one of them be left in the murderous grip of the sea witch?  This book was interesting like the first one, but it had some extremely weak points in my honest opinion.  Tempest began to truly annoy me with her chronic inability to make a choice romantically and let it STICK.  Now that she has chosen to be with Kona, she wants Mark back and dreams about being with him again.  Seriously, after the very selfish and completely absentminded way she treated him in the first book when Kona came onto the scene, NOW she freaking wants to be with him?????  And her complete disregard for her family until there's a major crisis is pretty grating.  I liked the mermaid mythology and prophecy of the first one.  However, the 'muhahaha' mentality and characterization of Tiamat got to be a little bit much for me to handle.  I had to laugh at the devolvement of Tempest and Kona's relationship though.  That is what should happen to all of these fake, YA insta-love relationships.  Insta-lust is a more accurate description.  I didn't care for the way that the plot developed which felt at times too slow and then at others way too fast.  I will not be reading the next book if there is one.  ESPECIALLY not after the horrible way this one ends.  If you want a good mermaid book, find another series to read.  If you love Twilight, this is the series for you.

VERDICT:  2.5/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is June 5th, 2012.*