Of Poseidon

Gr 9 Up—Eighteen-year-old Emma never believed she was anything special, but after she literally runs into handsome Galen at a Florida beach, her true identity slowly unfolds. Like Galen, she is a Syrena, a mermaidlike being, and Galen believes she is the girl with the gift of Poseidon, the ability to communicate with fish, whom he has been commissioned to find. When Emma and Galen meet, they feel a strong connection, but their relationship gets off to a rocky start that only gets more complicated as he realizes that she is the only one who can save his kingdom from extinction. The story is told from their alternating perspectives. As usual, this literary tactic gives a broader knowledge of what is really going on despite the bias of one character or another. The dual setting of dry land and under the sea is intriguing and different; however, very little time is spent observing the Syrena kingdom or way of life, and readers are left wanting more. Emma and Galen are adequately depicted as angsty teenagers, but the melodrama often overshadows them, reducing the pair to implausible and tiresome characters. While the plot follows a predictable trajectory, the book does end with unanswered questions, which sets up the next volume in the projected series.—Elizabeth C. Johnson, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR