Everblue (Mer Tales, #1)

by Brenda Pandos

[Kim Deister]

I have seen a lot of mermaid books around and generally moved on by, thinking they could only be juvenile. How wrong was I?! This book was highly imaginative with a great plot.

It is told in alternating points of view, from the first person perspectives of Ash and Fin. It is pretty refreshing to read something in YA that has that male perspective, rather than the female voice that you often find. Fin was as strong a presence as Ash and that was nice. I loved Tati, Fin's sister and Ash's BFF. She was desperate for humanity and provided a source of amusement with some of the parts of humanity that she grasped.

The underwater world in this could have easily been glossed over, but the author clearly took the time to really think about what it would be like to live under the sea. The details she included were often those that I would never have thought of and it added a great deal to the story. On land, the story took place in Lake Tahoe and the two settings made for an interesting background.

I loved that the culture of the mer people was so easily blended with those who live on land. There was also a fabulous blending of mythology throughout this book that lent it a bit of authenticity.

Things to love about Everblue...

--The mermaid kiss. In the culture of this book, the kiss was the most intimate act between loved ones and I loved the symbology of that.
--The supporting characters. We meet several from the sea and some we love and some we hate, but they are all interesting.

My recommendation: I loved this book! Good book, great story, and I expect that Evergreen will be just as good!