Title: Between the Sea and SkyAuthor: Jaclyn Dolamore
Release Date: October 25, 2011
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Publishing
For as long as Esmerine can remember, she's longed to join her older sister as a siren, the highest calling a mermaid can have. But when Dosia runs away to the mainland, Esmerine goes after her, searching for her. Using magic to turn her tail into a pair of legs, she unsteadily makes her way into the capital city. There, she finds an old childhood friend, Alandare, a young man who belongs to a race of winged people. As the two band together to search for her sister, they rekindle their friendship, and ignite emotions for a love so great, it cannot be bound by sea, land, or air.
A sweet and magical story, a tale of young love and fantasy, of discovering our purpose, who we are meant to be and the journey to discover that truth. The characters were interesting, the plot moved along smoothly, and nothing was ever easy for a mermaid longing to return to the sea, with her sister, without her old friend.
There's something about this book that calls to the hopeless romantic in me, the part of me that adores love stories and magic and mermaids and winged people (not angels, people with wings). It reminds me of legends and fairy tales and magical possibilities.
Esmerine thinks she'll be happy as a siren, with her sister, but when her sister disappears, there's nothing to keep her grounded, no one who understands her. She doesn't run to Alandare, but she needs his help, his knowledge of the human world. Maybe a little of the friendship they had years ago.
They're not necessarily star-crossed, but they were close, separated by her mermaid's tail and his wings. Her new legs are unsteady, her feet filled with pain, and the human world is something that confuses and bothers her. Going from a world filled with water to one filled with dust and stairs and chamber pots can be rather dramatic.
An intriguing journey of a young mermaid searching for something, this book is bound to delight fans of fairy tales and fantasy, readers of the author's first book Magic Under Glass and Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken.
(I borrowed an advance copy of this book from a friend.)
I really wish I could have liked this one, and I think I would have had Alander and Esermine not be so boring to me. I loved the worldbuilding, though. SO mesmerizing! I'm glad you liked it!
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