Lorali (Lorali)

by Laura Dockrill

Colourful, raw, brave, rich and fantastical - this mermaid tale is not for the faint-hearted.

Looking after a naked girl he found washed up under Hastings pier isn't exactly how Rory had imagined spending his sixteenth birthday. But more surprising than finding her in the first place is discovering where she has come from.

Lorali is running not just from the sea, not just from her position as princess, but her entire destiny. Lorali has rejected life as a mermaid, and become human.

But along with Lorali's arrival, and the freak weather suddenly battering the coast, more strange visitors begin appearing in Rory's bemused Sussex town. With beautifully coiffed hair, sharp-collared shirts and a pirate ship shaped like a Tudor house, the Abelgare boys are a mystery all of their own. What are they really up to? Can Rory protect Lorali? And who from? And where does she really belong, anyway?

• ISBN10: 1471404226
• ISBN13: 9781471404221
• Publish Date: 2 July 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Hot Key Books
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Kelly]

http://www.divabooknerd.com/2015/07/lorali-by-laura-dockrill.html
I haven't had much luck with Mermaid themed young adult reads, they tend to be underwhelming and not the magical, whimsical storylines most readers are probably expecting. Not only does Lorali break that mould, but it's a much darker storyline than I'd imagined. Told from three points of view, Rory, Lorali and The Sea, it tells the story of Princess Lorali who has surfaced among humans and those who are on the hunt to capture her.

It was deliciously bizarre, the inclusion of pirates, the sirens they tame and the world between the underwater kingdom and Walkers was simplistic, yet incredibly engaging once the hunt for Lorali begins. Rory's character is the average, knockabout lad but cares deeply for his single mother who seems on the verge of falling apart. Along with best friends Flynn and Elvis, they plan on celebrating Rory's sixteenth birthday when the weather turns nasty and Lorali washes up on shore. Her transformation from mermaid to human is incredibly charming.

But lorali is by no means safe, and Rory is about to find out how deadly betrayal can be. As much as I enjoyed the storyline overall, I found the world building lacking. Lorali's underwater kingdom was underdeveloped and I found it hard to imagine. Seeing a point of view from The Sea was bizarre, and it felt as though it used the narrative as a way to explain the pirates and the politics of Lorali's world. Inventive, but personally I would rather have seen a point of view from the pirate Abelgare brothers, who added a dose of intrigue throughout the storyline.

Lorali is a unique storyline of mermaids, sirens and pirates within the human world. Slow to begin, but the action soon heats up as the battle is on to capture and return Lorali home... Or otherwise. With points of view from The Sea, it is a unique read and one of the more engaging mermaid themed books in young adult.