“There is no cure for being who you truly are…”
Did you catch last week’s post about my 2016 Reading Challenge? I’ve decided to set myself a little challenge; to read 50 books from of a diverse range of genres, themes and authors. I’ve made a list of 50 categories to help achieve this which features endless possibilities for both modern and classic fiction. My aim is have read every one by the end of 2016. You can read the whole post here.
So my first book of 2016 is one I got for Christmas: The Mermaid’s Sister by Carrie Anne Noble. The book is set in a fairytale-esque world full of mythical creatures, magic and wicked faeries. In a cottage on Llanfair Mountain Auntie and two orphan sisters, Clara and Maren, live a humble life concocting healing potions to sell to nearby villagers. Auntie, the sister’s guardians, came across both girls in curious circumstances; Clara was delivered by a stork and Maren arrived in a seashell. Maren’s strange origins and love for the water soon start to physically manifest, her hands start to web and iridescent scales start to shimmer under her skin: she is becoming a mermaid and she must return to the sea or she will die.
So Clara, Maren and their childhood friend, O’Neil, set off on their quest to return Maren to her home under the sea but they are soon deceived by an evil troupe of travelling performers that wish to exploit Maren’s weakening beauty for their own selfish ends. During their adventure Clara is always wondering “if my sister is a mermaid, then what am I?”.
At only 231 pages long this book was an easy read that I completed in just a few days. I thought The Mermaid’s Sister was going to be a lot darker, like a twisted fairy tale for adults such as Audrey Niffenegger’s Raven Girl. In fact, I found it rather childish, full of one-dimensional characters and cliches. To be honest, I was disappointed, and I can’t see myself remembering this title in years to come. The quirky plot had so much potential and I found great beauty and intrigue in the world Nobel worked so hard to create, however, I was let down by a predictable storyline and a cold, underdeveloped heroine, that was more concerned with her modesty and purity to actually relate to and find likeable. Perhaps a teenage girl would find this title interesting however I was underwhelmed throughout.
Have you read The Mermaid’s Sister by Carrie Anne Noble?
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