Author: Liz Kessler
Illustrator: Sarah Gibb
© Date: 2003
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Pages: 209
Chapters: Yes
Illustrations: Yes, a small illustration at the beginning of each chapter along with some small ocean themed illustrations throughout
Publisher Recommended Age: 8-12 years
Bonus Activities at End of Book: No
Summary from Book: Everybody has a secret.
Mine’s a little different, though. I didn’t even know about it until the first day of swim class in seventh grade. You see, I’d never been allowed to go in the water before. As it turns out, swimming comes naturally to me. Very naturally. In fact, so naturally that you might even say. . . well, it’s ture. Here’s my secret:
I figured out that I’m a mermaid.
Note: This review is done from memory. I originally read this awhile ago.
Page Pig Thoughts: A tale of taking a stand for love. For the most part, I found this to be an enjoyable story. I liked Emily taking a stand for what she believed in, which was that love between two creatures (human and mermaid) is not a crime. But I could have lived without her going back to her old school to show everyone her mermaid tail before having their memories of the incident erased. I appreciate that Emily was showing confidence in herself and her differences, but it felt like an odd and somewhat unnecessary addition to the story.
Millie the Mystic was also an interesting part of the story. She was present for certain bits or the drama at the end of the story, but would abruptly walk off for a nap or whatever and then disappear until she popped back into the story again.
Overall, this was a decent read. I’m not sure that Page Pup would have an interest in it, and I can live without reading the next one in the series.
Use caution with younger or sensitive readers. The scene with Emily, Mary, and Millie being whisked away to Neptune’s court could be a little frightening. Also probably verify that they are ready for the love and laws themes. Also, the mermaids purposely wreck human ships and such, so that may not sit well for all readers.
Family Unit: Emily lives on a houseboat with her mother, Mary Penelope Windsnap. Her father, Jake Windsnap, disappeared when she was a baby.
Conflict/Social Issues:
- Emily tries to hide her mermaid tail from everyone.
- Neptune banned relationships between merfolk and humans.
- Emily learns that mermaids sink sailor ships purposely.
Positive Items:
- Showing that sometimes our fears are sometimes worse in our heads. Jake and Emily thought that Mary would think them weird because of their mermaid tails. Mary only seemed to love them more.
- Showing that love is an emotion that does not go away just because someone tells you. Love is a powerful force.
- Showing that we cannot help who we love.
Items of Interest:
- For years, Emily desperately wanted to swim, but her mother would never allow her in the water. When Emily started seventh grade, her mother finally signed her up for swim class. She got in the water for the first time and could swim amazingly well, but then had reason for panic. After swimming under the water for a bit, her legs went numb and stuck together. She started sinking under the water. Her teacher rescued her and had her rest saying it was a cramp. When she got out of the water, her legs felt fine again. Emily saw her mermaid tail for the first time that day, but no one else seemed to see it.
- After finding out about her mermaid tail, Emily had a fear of being caught in a net and put in a tank for everyone to stare at.
- Emily no longer wanted to go to swim class. She attempted forging a parents note and anything else that she could think of to get out of it. Her mother was not happy that after all that time of begging, Emily no longer wanted to swim.
- Instead of sleeping, Emily snuck out a few nights to go for a swim. She met a mermaid her age named Shona. They became best friends.
- One Saturday, Emily stood up her human friend to sneak off for a day of mermaid school with Shona. Emily is appalled to hear the mermaids telling the wonderful, brave, daring tales of mermaids that caused human boats to wreck. The sirens would distract sailors to meeting their doom. If the sailors survived, then their memories of seeing mermaids would be wiped.
- There were stories of a few merfolk and humans that had secret relationships. But if Neptune discovered them, the relationships were stopped and prison happened.
- Mr. Beeston ran the lighthouse. Turns out his mother was a mermaid and his father was a human. Despite his parents, he did not think that relationships between humans and merfolk were natural.
- Mr. Beeston was a faithful servant to Neptune. He was keeping an eye on Mary and Emily. To prevent her from remembering her interactions with merfolk, he would have coffee with Mary weekly and give her a memory wipe drug in her donuts. He was keeping an eye on Emily to see if she presented any mermaid tendencies.
- Mary was very afraid of water and didn’t want to get into it. That was likely connected to the whole memory wipe of her memories of Jake because he said that she was an amazing swimmer.
- Mary feels terrible that she just couldn’t remember anything about Emily’s father. Mr. Beeston had been giving her memory wipe drugs weekly to keep her from remembering anything about merfolk.
- Shona and Emily snuck around to research Emily’s family name to learn the story of her father.
- Neptune, God of the seas, banned relationships be between humans and merfolk. When Jake and Mary’s relationship was discovered, Jake was whisked away to mermaid prison for the rest of his life.
- Emily is then determined to see her father. Emily sneaks off in her houseboat when Millie fell asleep babysitting her. She then runs out of gas in a storm. Her mother and Mr. Beeston come up alongside her in a different boat. Things were looking rather dismal and like they would die in the storm at sea, but Shona turns up and pulls the houseboat through the water.
- When Mary sees Mermer Reef, all the memories of her past start coming back.
- Jake saved Mary and a friend when they were having a boat issue in the water. Mary admits that seeing his merman tail for the first time may have been when she fell in love with him.
- Mary’s parents thought that she was a bit crazy when she said that she was in love with a merman. They suggested that she see a psychiatrist. They gave Mary an ultimatum, that she could move away from the water with them or they didn’t want to know anything more about her.They had had enough of the sea for a lifetime.
- Emily and her mother tie up Mr. Beeston to a chair. He eventually squirms away and swims off.
- Emily swims off with Shona and manages to get into the prison to see her father. Prisoners have chips embedded in their skin that invoke pain if they try to escape, so their doors are only locked at bedtime. Jake writes poetry and makes jewelry. He sends Emily off with some of both.
- A short time after Emily gets back to the houseboat and tells her mom about her father, guards show up to take everyone on the houseboat. They wind up in Neptune’s court.
- Emily winds up on the witness stand. She calls out Neptune for banning something that should not be banned. Emily was forced to grow up with out a father because of his rules. Neptune is angry that some should defy him and his rules. But he acknowledges that emotions, like love, are beyond laws. Neptune says that he is a compassionate ruler and will no longer punish people for love.
- Neptune says that Jake can be released. The Windsnaps can all go free if they stay on a secret island for the rest of their lives. Shona and Millie are allowed to go with them.
- Emily decides that she will forgive Mr. Beeston on one condition. She goes back to her school and jumps into the pool at swim class. She shows off her tail to everyone, even the mean girl. After the event, Mr. Beeston turns up with donuts to wipe everyone’s memories. Emily quietly says goodbye to her school as she walks away. She is excited to be going off to an island with her parents.
- Upon seeing Mermer reef and merfolk, Millie thinks that it is the tea that she was drinking. She goes to get another cup. Then sees more unexplained things, so she drinks Mary’s cup of tea. She is along for being taken to the court of Neptune and looks at tarot cards with a merman, but she is not really much of a part of the overall story.
- Seems like there was also a point of “if you were my best friend, then you would do this.” I don’t think the character felt good about it, and I am clearly fuzzy on the details. But felt like a parental mention.
Other Books in Series (At Time of Posting):
- Book 2 – Emily Windsnap and the Monster from the Deep
- Book 3 – Emily Windsnap and the Castle in the Mist
- Book 4 – Emily Windsnap and the Siren’s Secret