Lost Voices

A couple of years ago, while on a school trip one of my coworkers looked over at me while he was reading the newspaper and said:
     "Hey, you like vampires don't you?"
     So, of course I replied, "Who doesn't?"
     He grinned a little and said, "Well, they will only be cool a few more minutes because mermaids are the next big thing."

Evidently, that article might be right.  Sarah Porter's mermaid tale (pun intended!) Lost Voices (watch the trailer here) is beautiful in so many ways.  In Lost Voices, Sarah creates a world where girls who are living horrible lives reach a breaking point at which they depart from their human forms and morph into mermaids.  Could you imagine feeling the pain or heartbreak of neglect of abuse only to realize you are not drowning, you have actually changed into a beautiful mermaid?  I've got to tell you, I love this twist on why mermaids exist.  I think this concept is very cool and hope it has provided some momentary mental escape for a girl in need.

I can't help but picture Catarina like this!

This world of mermaids is not all Little Mermaid-like however.  When fourteen year old Luce changes into a mermaid, she joins a tribe of mermaids led by the fierce Catarina.  While she is changing, she hears beautiful music only to learn she is the source of that music.  A mermaid's voice is a powerful weapon.  Powerful enough to sink ships, which is exactly what the tribe uses them to do.

The mermaid way of life is to exact revenge on humans for their cruelty by singing ships into disaster.  As in sinking them.  As in murdering all the people on the ship.  Luce isn't on board with this.  She, unlike the other mermaids, isn't able to separate herself from the kindness in her human past and become a murderer.  This, as you might imagine, does not go over very well within the tribe.  But for a girl like Luce, who has never fit in anywhere, it might be worth finding a real home to change her mind.

As Luce struggles to reconcile her feelings, new mermaids join the tribe.  These new additions change the dynamic of the tribe.  Luce must decide whether she can exist in this changing tribe or strike out on her own. 

Waking Storms, the next book of the trilogy, just became available about two weeks ago.  I look forward to learning how this story continues to unfold.  This is certainly one to check out.