The Mers by Ami Blackwelder
Pages: 275
Publication Date: October 31st 2011 by Eloquent Enraptures Publishing
Age Group: YA
Source: blog tour
Series: Mer Chronicles #1
Challenge(s): Ebook challenge,Young adult reading challenge, 150+ reading challenge,YA Mythology challenge
Buy this Book: Amazon Kindle (.99 cents)
Summary(from Goodreads):
What lies beneath the surface? One hundred years from now, the world has changed and brought with it, new forms of life. Who are the Mers? Who is Mira? Mira always knew she was different. Growing up with Mers, she never quite fit in. When Mira breaks the rules and takes Niren across the border that divides Ellis Island and New Jersey, a border that divides two vastly different worlds, she thought the journey to find out who she really is would be an easy one. But as the world in Jersey proves to be a convoluted mix of Aristocrats who hate the Mers, Pirates who want to sell them, and Magi who want to use them…finding her true identity will be a challenge, especially when her best friend Niren is a Mer willing to fight to the death.
This book is so unique. It’s a mermaid story and a dystopian all in one. Plus there are really cool powers involved. This book has it all, but it never seems like too much. The story all fits together really nicely. I read this book in one sitting- I was that absorbed in the book.
Mira was pretty cool. I thought she handled everything so well. If I were that noticeably different than all the people in my community, it would be hard. It probably helped having a friend like Niren though. He is the definition of loyalty, and we all know how much I love my loyal characters! He was so sweet, and cute when he was trying to get Mira’s attention.
I would have liked a little more character development on some of the secondary characters. There were probably close to 10 main players in the book, but only Mira and Niren were really fleshed out. The others were a little flat at times. They were likable though and they played pretty good roles in the story, I just would have liked to get to know them a little better.
The story really picks up when Mira goes into the mainland in search of something. She gets a dose of harsh reality of what the world is really like, and of course, being the kick butt heroine that she is, she just has to try and save the day. The Mers has tons of action and plot twists to keep you on the edge of your seat. And then when some powers start to show up in the book, it gets super cool! I really enjoyed the story. I can’t wait to see what is going to happen next!
 |
| 3.5/5 Gavels. |
If you enjoyed this post, please Subscribe to Book Briefs in a reader
Giselle
Oh this cover is freaky! I haven’t seen it before. It sounds pretty good but I love my characters to be well developed, even the secondary ones so I’D probably have the same rating as you on thi sone.
Giselle
Xpresso Reads
Steph
I haven’t heard of this book until now. Mermaids are a different topic in YA. I’ll have to add this one to my TBR list now! Thanks for the review!!
laura thomas
Mermaids and dystopian, what’s not to like. I do like a character driven story, so not sure how I’ll feel about it, but I have the book and will definitely read it soon.
Thanks for sharing.