Tuesday, December 1, 2015

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler - OPTIONAL



Ockler, Sarah  The Summer of Chasing Mermaids, 399 pgs.  Simon Pulse, 2015.  $17.99 Content: Language: R (52 swears; 10 “F”); Mature Content: R; Violence: PG.   

Elyse has left her family after she experienced a tragedy and is trying to find herself while living at a family friend’s house in Oregon.  Elyse can’t speak and has given up her dreams of becoming a famous singer, but she writes her words on an old abandoned boat at the dock.  One night, Christian Kane, the town’s playboy, comes on the boat and Elyse realizes that it is his boat.  When a bet between Christian’s father and the town’s mayor involves the boat, Elyse finds herself helping Christian.   

The story line was interesting and after getting over the choppy writing style at the beginning I enjoyed reading about Elyse and the little town of Atargatis Cove.  The value of friendship and finding your voice or helping others find their voice was well done.  The content is on page sex and masturbation which makes it hard to recommend.  This book’s content felt more like a new adult novel but the characters had a high school feel, even though they were eighteen and recently graduated.  The cover would attract girls looking for a teen romance, but it’s hard to recommend.   

HS – OPTIONAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.  

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