Saturday, May 31, 2014

Review: Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly


Deep Blue (Waterfire Saga #1) by Jennifer Donnelly
Publishers: Disney Press
Published: May 6th, 2014
Pages: 320
The first in a series of four epic tales set in the depths of the ocean, where six mermaids seek to protect and save their hidden world.

Deep in the ocean, in a world not so different from our own, live the merpeople. Their communities are spread throughout the oceans, seas, and freshwaters all over the globe.

When Serafina, a mermaid of the Mediterranean Sea, awakens on the morning of her betrothal, her biggest worry should be winning the love of handsome Prince Mahdi. And yet Sera finds herself haunted by strange dreams that foretell the return of an ancient evil. Her dark premonitions are confirmed when an assassin's arrow poisons Sera's mother. Now, Serafina must embark on a quest to find the assassin's master and prevent a war between the Mer nations. Led only by her shadowy dreams, Sera searches for five other mermaid heroines who are scattered across the six seas. Together, they will form an unbreakable bond of sisterhood and uncover a conspiracy that threatens their world's very existence.


The cover is pretty. I like it very much - it perfectly captures Sera and the burning of Cerulea.

This book reeled me in (sorry, bad pun) and I didn't put it down for very long. I don't even think I was able to update goodreads before I was done with it. I bought it one day and was done the next.

In the beginning I admit I got a little confused with all the new lingo, but I guess that's to be expected since is leagues (again, bad pun) apart from our world. I was fascinated with the strong feminine vibe. The main characters are all very diverse girls, which is good for the younger audience that I believe it calls out to. I had a little bit of an...attitude? when I noted that Disney published it. I had a feeling it would be kind of...fluffy. It was, but that's not a bad thing. I'm just a little confused as to why it's categorized as Young Adult. I think it should be more Middle Grade, but what do I know?

The only thing that could maybe have bumped this up to the older age group was the use of "wrasses" instead of "asses" and the slight, and I mean slight romance that takes place. The older, sex crazed girl in me was so upset at the lack of anything romantic. Sigh.

Anyway, this was a really good book and I got my copy at Target - so it came with a free song download, which isn't too bad, very Disney-pop, and it was 20% off. Not too bad, not sure if I'll go back for the sequel or not. 4 Triquetras for a strong female entourage and good lit for younger girls to read.



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