The Emerald Sea by Richelle Mead - ADVISABLE

The Emerald Sea (Glittering Court #3) by Richelle Mead, 479 pages  Razorbill (Penguin), 2018.  $20.  

Language: PG (9 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG (some steam); Violence: PG

BUYING ADVISORY:  MS, HS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Tamsin has pinned all of her hopes on going to the New World as the star of the Glittering Court and finding a rich husband who can also bring over her daughter Merry.  First though, she is betrayed when her roommate Adelaide wins the position of Diamond.  Then on the journey over the ship she is in is wrecked and it will take more than three months for the girls to make it to overland to Cape Triumph. Tamsin seems to be the only girl willing and able to organize things in their favor.  In order to succeed, however, she must make nice with the trader Jago, whose only interest is profit.  When things between them start to heat up, she will have decide how much of her dream she is willing to sacrifice.  Who actually holds the key to her heart.

While Mead’s Glittering Court world is entirely fictitious, its odd having a fantasy book without any sort of magic.  For your students who love The Selection series, however, this is a next great choice. Tamsin is resourceful, clever, and ore than willing to defy man or woman in order to do what is right – not just what is expected.  It does drag a bit in some places, but the action in other parts more than makes up for it.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian