The Summer of Chasing Mermaids

by Sarah Ockler

After a boating accident takes her voice, Elyse d'Abreau leaves her home in Tobago to stay in an Oregon seaside town, where Christian Kane, a notorious playboy, challenges her to express herself and to overcome her fear of the sea.

• ISBN10: 1481401270
• ISBN13: 9781481401272
• Publish Date: 2 June 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Simon Pulse
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 416
• Language: English

Reviews

[Katie King]

I've read a lot of reviews that loved this book. I wonder if maybe I completely missed the point or got a bad copy, because I didn't think there was anything special about it.

A girl loses her voice, is sent away to her aunt for the summer, falls in love with the troubled rich guy, they band together to win a competition, and she regains her voice. It's like the OC or any teen romance drama mixed with a dash of Little Mermaid. I didn't like the glimpses back to Tobago because they felt so forced, like the author was saying "SHE'S NOT WHITE! SHE'S AN ETHNICALLY DIVERSE CHARACTER - SEE? SEE????"

I didn't get attached to Elyse at all, nor her situation or her relationship. In fact, the part I liked the most was the stuff about her sisters. I want a book detailing the events before and including the accident on Tobago. Now that's a story I would enjoy.

[Bianca]

I'm sorry. And I was. Not just for Christian and the way his father treated him. But for me, too. For all of us. Sorry for all the little ways that the people who were supposed to love us most could hurt us so deeply.

[Sam@WLABB]

This book was such a wonderful experience for me. From page one, I was captivated and in love with the writing. Ockler does such a wonderful job of painting Elyse's world and conveying her emotions. There were so many moments when I felt like I was right there with Elyse, right in that moment and I shared the entire experience with her. I also loved the characters. This book is filled with so many strong female characters, but they are strong without being in your face. They assert themselves, for the most part, subtly. From Lemon to Granna, Elyse had so many women who were there to lift her up and help her deal with her loss and find her way again. Then there are the Kane boys. Sebastian with his wide eyed curiosity and equally wide open heart was such a treat. And Christian. Christian turned out to be so much more than expected. He was complicated and as he helped Elyse find her way, he found his. This is a story of loss and healing and finding your voice. It's about accepting the support of people who are willing to help you get back up and move towards a new future. It's about following your plan B or C and that being ok.

[Leah]

I've had The Summer of Chasing Mermaids on my Kindle for a few months now - thanks to the lovely folks over at Simon Pulse & Edelweiss for allowing me to review, but it was only when I read Shannelle @ The Art of Escapism's review that I knew I HAD to read this book IMMEDIATELY. It sounded right up my alley, and I couldn't wait to read it! Shannelle's review was so enthusiastic, so delightful, that I went into the book with way high expectations, expectations that Sarah Ockler completely shattered. This is one of the best books I've ever read, period.

I had no clue that this book was about a girl who can no longer speak, or sing, or make any kind of noises. I was expecting actual mermaids, in fact. Instead, it's about a girl called Elyse, who has moved from her home of Tobago to Oregon for the summer after an awful tragedy that took away her ability to speak. She can't stand to be around her family any more, especially her still-speaking twin sister, Natalie, and a summer in Oregon is her escape.

This book just blew my mind. Everything about this book made me love it even more. I loved the fact Elyse couldn't speak; yes it was an absolute tragedy but it was something so unique to this book, something I will remember long after reading, because anyone else would have just given up. When your whole life is about being able to sing, and to then not be able to do that must be the most devastating thing in the world, but Elyse is so much stronger than that. Yes, she flees her home and refuses to speak to her family but the way she builds up a new life in Oregon is amazing. She very much had me from the start, I loved her.

Readers, I'm not going to lie, I adored BOTH of the Kane brothers. BOTH OF THEM. In fact, I wanted to steal Sebastian all for myself and let him be a mermaid ANY TIME HE WANTED. He was just so cute. His desire to see mermaids, the simple fact he accepted the fact Elyse couldn't speak as if that was entirely natural and his infectious enthusiasm made him the little brother anybody could wish for. And Christian, sigh. He was amazing. I was worried, at first, that he was a bit of a playboy, but he actually wasn't and he was actually so sweet. The sparks between him and Elyse were immense and amazing, and I loved how he just accepted her as she was, no judgement or anything. I loved the way he was happy to let Elyse talk (or write) and not rush her or anything, how he was just there, all that time, when it mattered. And seeing them renovate The Queen was super sweet, too.

Everything about this book was immense. The plot, the characters, the setting, the minor characters - seriously, there is SUCH a good cast of characters in this book. Vanessa, Lemon, Kirby, Noah, and of course the Kane brothers and Elyse. I have never wanted to move to a place more, to be part of a place more. The Summer of Chasing Mermaids was amazing, Sarah Ockler is a fantastic storyteller, make no mistake and she's written one of the most charming, delightful books I will ever have the pleasure of reading.

[ellieroth]

Original de: El Extraño Gato del Cuento

No sé por donde empezar o qué resaltar sin terminar siendo un bomba de spoilers y fangirleo inentendible. Para mí, es sumamente difícil y casi imposible decir "Recomiendo este libro a todo el mundo", pero esta vez es uno de esos extraños casos que tengo que decir que sí, recomiendo este libro absolutamente a todo el mundo, no importa si al final termina no gustándote o te caen mal los personajes o sientes que algo faltó a la historia; porque sinceramente dudo que alguna de esas sea tu conclusión final. The Summer of Chasing Mermaids puede que tenga algún defecto muy recalcable, la verdad es que yo no lo noté, para mí desde el inicio fue una lectura intrigante, fascinante y seductora.


¿CÓMO RESEÑAR UN LIBRO QUE ABARCA CASI TODO TIPO DE TEMA QUE QUIERO LEER EN UN LIBRO JUVENIL?

Tengo la suerte que desde que entré a Tumblr me he topado con blogs que me han enseñado mucho. Personas que con sus posts me han hecho valorarme y respetarme como mujer, como parte de la comunidad LGBT y sobre todo, aceptar, valorar y respetar a los demás que también lo son.

Tumblr me hace pensar mucho y analizar todo. También me da gifs de gatitos y un montón de memes y post sobre Marvel pero eso es para otro día.

Una de las tantas cosas que me gustaron de The Summer of Chasing Mermaids es la cantidad y diversidad de personajes femeninos que hay, Sarah Ockler nos muestra que se puede ser vulnerable, insegura de otras mujeres y a la vez no ser groseras o crueles con ellas ¿Loco, verdad? Es típico que en novelas Young Adult la protagonista o amigas de la protagonista lancen por aquí y por allá unos cuantos adjetivos bastante crueles para la chica bonita y/o competencia. La escritora utiliza una narrativa en la que me hizo sentir el dolor y vulnerabilidad de Elyse pero también me hizo sentir gran cariño por personajes que de ser cualquier otro libro, habría detestado por "interponerse" entre el romance de los protagonistas. Varias veces he dicho lo insegura y rencorosa que soy. Admiro mucho lo que Sarah Ockler ha hecho con este libro, no puedo elegir un personaje femenino favorito, porque ya sean por sus errores o sus talentos o lo más resaltante de su personalidad, cada uno es importante, por más pequeña que sea su aparición en la historia.

Luego están los hermanos Kane. Sé que la sinopsis da a indicar una historia bad-boy-good-girl-angustia. Como movimiento comercial, asumo que está bien. Pero quiero que tengas en cuenta, kitten, que The Summer of Chasing Mermaids es mucho más que eso.

Vas a sonreír como tonta por Christian Kane pero es sin duda el hermano menor, Sebastian, quién se lleva toda la atención. Será quizá difícil para algunos leer un personaje como él, no voy a edulcorar la historia, para mí lo fue un poco, este libro me hizo darme cuenta que hay algunas cosas en las que todavía tengo que madurar y pensar más. No quiero decir que no me gustó, al contrario, si algo me reta emocional y mentalmente de buena manera como esta, es algo que agradezco, muy pocos libros lo hacen. Además, es imposible no adorar a Sebastian.


¿FANTASÍA? ¿RETELLING?

No estoy segura. Y por reseñas que veo, muchos aún están con esa duda. A mí en lo personal me gustaría creer que este libro es real, que cada cosa que pasa en el libro realmente pasó. Quiero decir realmente todo.

Aunque supongo, que estrictamente hablando, The Summer of Chasing Mermaids tiene pinceladas de fantasía. Unas que yo creeré ciegamente que son reales.

ELYSE D'ABREAU

Qué personaje. No sé que admiro más, si al personaje Elyse o al trabajo que la escritora se tomó al crear un personaje como ella.

No solo tenemos en este libro una protagonista WOC (Woman of Color = Mujer de Color), sino que no es de nacionalidad estadounidense, sino de Trinidad y Tobago, país no muy conocido y soy sincera, nunca le di más de un minuto de mis pensamientos. Ahora no puedo sacarlo de mi cabeza. No sé que tan reales o exactas sean los datos sobre Trinidad que se puede leer en el libro, si las frases son realmente típicas de allá, no lo sé. Pero uno como lector, siente cuando un escritor realmente se esfuerza por darnos un buen producto, lo más realista posible.

Elyse encuentra curiosos varios aspectos que encuentre en un país diferente pero sin caer en la ingenuidad o idealizar el nuevo país en el que se encuentra. Sarah Ockler se lleva muchos puntos por eso, no hay país más vanidoso que USA, la escritora supo presentarme muy bien la narración desde un personaje extranjero, me lo creí todo.

Tengo que cortar esto aquí para no hacer la reseña mucho más larga, lee el libro. Quizá no sea tu género, que lo dudo, si sigues el blog es porque tienes gran cariño por el Young Adult. No sé si los otros libros de Sarah Ockler son igual de buenos como este, espero que sí porque ya la tengo en mi radar.

Elyse nos enseñará a encontrar nuestra voz aunque creamos que nadie nos escucha, aunque sintamos que todos nos ignoran, siento que Brave de Sara Bareille es perfecta para describir a Elyse.

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[bookishzelda]

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids, takes some mermaid lore and mixes it with contemporary. I loved the Cove and all it’s residents knitting together to make the story.

I loved Elyse. She is from Tobago, sister island of Trinidad, in the Caribbean and has come to the cove to escape the aftermath of an accident that caused the loss of her voice. She had dreamed of making it big as a singer with her twin sister Natalie. So losing her voice also meant losing a career for her. She is kind of going through the stages of grief and we don’t really even find out how it happened until the end. She has difficulty reliving it. The thing about Elyse is that she is a very strong woman inside and she doesn’t need a voice to be so. It just takes her some time in the book for her to really understand that.

The romance with Elyse and Christian was swoony and well paced. I liked all of their shared moments because we see them become more of friends first then things develop from there.

A very strong supporting cast. I love a book that takes characters that you would think you would hate but end up loving them. That’s kind of the case with Vanessa. I also loved Elyse cousin Kirby and Christian’s little brother Sebastian (he reminds me of my 5 yr old). There are also the others that breeze in and out like Lemon, Noah and some of the other girls. It made it really feel like a close community.

There are so many things brushed upon in the book. Women rights and the right to be who you are. Family dynamics and summers of no strings attached. Small businesses and keeping original character of a small town. It was great to see these things mixed in.

The mermaid lore was really interesting too because it’s a mix of a bunch of different tales. I loved that Elyse would go with Sebastian on his mermaid hunts.That little boy really knows his stuff.

I liked the plot and I really liked how Elyse finds her true voice and that some things are left appropriately open ended. This a good contemporary and definitely a perfect summer read.

[girlinthepages]

*Actual Rating 3.5 Stars

I love fairytale retellings and adaptations, so when I discovered that The Summer of Chasing Mermaids was a contemporary story influenced by The Little Mermaid, I knew I had to read it. Contemporary novels that take influence from myths and legends are often so creative, and I deeply admire Sarah Ockler's talent at weaving in influences of the famous tale into a beautiful and emotional contemporary novel.

This book had a lot more depth than I was expecting. At first glance it may seem like a fluffy, beach read but there were so many heavy themes going on in this book, especially in regards to diversity. Elyse, the main character, is from Tabago and moves to Oregon, amongst a lot of All-American types. It was so interesting to read a main character who was not only diverse in place of origin, but also in culture; I thoroughly enjoyed Elye's descriptions of her family's cocoa farm in Tobago and her different outlook on life compared to that of the predominantly American cast. Yet Elyse never felt Othered by her differences, rather they added a beautiful layer to the story as glimpses of her culture were explored. The novel also tackles gender issues, as several of the younger characters are discouraged by adults to participate in certain activities because it's "simply not done" or "against the rules" for a certain gender to participate. I wasn't expecting the book to focus so heavily on deconstructing gender roles and it was a really pleasant surprise, and Ockler made me really emotionally engaged with the characters who were struggling against such rigid roles.

I was also surprised by touches of magical realism in this book, which mainly stem from Elyse's relationship with the ocean, and the myths of mermaids in Atargis Cove. The beautiful prose style wove in fantastical scenes with the contemporary narration, illustrating a stunning visual of Elyse's conflict with the ocean and her journey of coming to terms with it. The mermaid imagery was eerie and stunning as well. The only downside was that at time the prose became a bit too lyrical for me and I found the story to start dragging, wanting to exchange such character introspection for a faster paced plot.

The Little Mermaid elements were very fun to spot and subtle so that they didn't overwhelm the story. (For instance, there's a character named Sebastian, Elyse has a natural affinity for music and has many sisters, etc.)

Unfortunately though, not all of the elements of the story worked for me. While I loved the setting and beautiful prose, the plot sometimes dragged. I felt like I never fully connected with Elyse, and I started to lose interest as the book went on, especially in regards to fixing up the boat for the pirate regatta and Elyse's angst over returning to the water. There were elements of magic in the story that I wish were more fully explained, such as Lemon's coven that practiced magic (I would've loved to know more about her practitice, aside from just reading tarot). I was pretty shocked at the end when the full story behind the accident that robbed Elyse of her voice was finally revealed, but I wish I had received more closure about the future of Atargis cove.

Overall: The Summer of Chasing Mermaids is a beautifully written novel that is very creatively influenced by The Little Mermaid. The imagery and setting were breathtaking, the touches of magical realism were unexpected yet stunning, and the secondary characters felt warm, relateable, and well-rounded (I particularly loved Christian and Vanessa). However, the plot at times was slow and my interest ebbed at certain parts, and I found myself at times preferring the secondary characters over Elyse. This is a solid novel with progressive themes and beautiful writing, and fans of The Little Mermaid and heavier contemporaries will definitely appreciate it.

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[Angie]

I received an ARC through Edelweiss.

Of course I was super excited for The Summer of Chasing Mermaids. I mean, it's a contemporary retelling of The Little Mermaid, with an interracial romance! Elyse has left her home in Tobago because it holds too many painful memories of what she lost. She just can't breathe there, so she heads to Atargatis Cove, Oregon to stay with her aunt and cousin. While there she gets caught up in a plan to save the cove from commercial development, finds her voice, and finds true love.

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids was definitely unique and interesting. I don't think I've read a book that focused so heavily on sailing and seaside tourism before. Christian's (the love interest) father and the mayor make a bet for the upcoming pirate regatta. If Christian wins, he gets the mayor's boat. If he loses, Christian's father must sell the houses to the development project. Well, no one wants to give up their summer homes. The cove is full of happy memories, so Christian is determined to win. Elyse has the sea in her blood, so she becomes his first mate and helps him get his boat race ready. While this was a unique plot, I can't say that I full cared. This whole bet business seemed silly, and I didn't believe for a second that Christian's father would stick to his word, so it was kind of a waste of their time.

What I did really love about The Summer of Chasing Mermaids was the challenging of gender roles! Of course, Christian's father takes issue with Elyse being first mate. He thinks she should stick to the mermaid parade because she's a woman. Well, Elyse is having none of that! She knows the sea and she knows boats; she's racing! Then there's the matter of Christian's little brother, Sebastian. He wants to march in the mermaid parade, but his father says no because he's suppose to be a man! And the parade coordinators say no because he's suppose to be with the boys in the pirate parade! I was actually quite surprised that my favorite part would be centered around a child, but Sebastian is wise beyond his years. He's six, so he doesn't know that he's making a statement about gender roles. He just knows that he's the only one who believes in mermaids, so he should be allowed to participate!

I also really enjoyed the romance. It's not insta-love at all. Elyse and Christian work side-by-side for weeks. There's definitely an attraction there and some kissing. They get to know each other super well over the course of the story. Even though Elyse can't speak, she opens up to him in ways she hasn't with anyone since the accident. Christian is just as open with her. Then things get sexy!

I did really enjoy The Summer of Chasing Mermaids. It did feel long at times, since I wasn't fully invested in this community project to save the Cove. I wanted to see more of Elyse rediscovering herself and of course, the romance! I am curious about what comes after the ending though. It just kind of ends. I assume things work out for the better, but maybe they don't and plans change? I don't know. It felt hopeful to me though.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Rowena]

Parts of the book was slow but for the most part, I really liked this book. Christian was a good love interest and Elyse was an interesting main character. Having a main protagonist that couldn't speak made for an interesting read. Full review to come soon.

[KitsuneBae]

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

Had Elyse been a real mermaid, I would have given this book a glorious 5-star rating. Heh. Kidding aside, I am totally inlove with this book. Seriously, that gorgeous cover justified the content. Heartfelt and moving, the Summer of Chasing Mermaids is my favorite read this 2015.