Monday, January 24, 2011

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday - The Tail of Emily Windsnap

 
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Shannon Whitney Messenger decided it was time to give middle grade stories the attention they deserve, and "Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays" was born. I couldn't resist being a part of such brilliance.


The Tail of Emily Windsnap
by Liz Kessler


Goodreads Blurb:
For as long as she can remember, twelve-year-old Emily Windsnap has lived on a boat. And, oddly enough, for just as long, her mother has seemed anxious to keep her away from the water. But when Mom finally agrees to let her take swimming lessons, Emily makes a startling discovery - about her own identity, the mysterious father she's never met, and the thrilling possibilities and perils shimmering deep below the water's surface. 

With a sure sense of suspense and richly imaginative details, first-time author Liz Kessler lures us into a glorious undersea world where mermaids study shipwrecks at school and Neptune rules with an iron trident - an enchanting fantasy about family secrets, loyal friendship, and the convention-defying power of love.
This is an example of MG lit. truly meant for MG readers. Junior high-aged girls (and younger) love this book.  They love Emily; they love it that she's a mermaid and can go back and forth between worlds if she wants to; they love it that she finds her father . . .   They just plain love it.

Adult readers tend to find it predictable. Emily takes too long to figure things out. We all know what's going on WAY before she does. It's a cute story, though, and perfect for its target audience.

I recommend this series for MG girls who love water and swimming and mermaids . . . oh, my!

Happy Monday!

23 comments:

Melissa said...

This book sounds like it would be a great one to give to my niece!!! She loves stuff like this and is really getting into reading (which I also totally love!). Thanks for the recommendation!

S.A. Larsenッ said...

By its description, it does sound truly MG. Thank you for sharing it!

Tamika: said...

I loved Mermaids growing up, they were mystic and beautifully- such an elegant grace. But I never learned to swim:)

Sounds like a great read!

Stina said...

My daughter's too young for this, and I know this wouldn't be my boys' thing. :(

It does sound great. Too bad there's no room for it on my TBR list . . . unless I decide to write MG instead of YA.

Kelly Polark said...

Ohhh! That sounds fuN! I bet my daughter EMily would love this book!!!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this book recommend, Shannon! I will for sure get it for my book club kids (and the library!).

Liz @ Cleverly Inked said...

I would think this would be good for my niece. Thanks! Isn't the cover pretty

Carolyn V. said...

Woo hoo! I'm passing the info on to my daughter. We love a good mg!

Jennie Englund said...

I'm with Melissa-- this sounds like a great niece read!

Tales of Whimsy said...

I loved this one too!

Heather said...

This sounds so cute! I wish I knew someone young enough to buy it for!

Shannon Messenger said...

Oh, I LOVE these books. Sadly, haven't had a chance to read the newest ones. But I loved the first three. And I love her fairy books too. Have you read those?

Meredith said...

This book looks so cute! And I love the fun cover.

Sherrie Petersen said...

This looks like a fun one to read with my daughter. I've picked it up before. Next time I'll take it to the check-out counter :)

Anonymous said...

This sounds like it will be a fun book to read. I'm adding this one to my TBR book list. Thanks for sharing your review of the book.

BK Mattingly said...

Sounds like a great book. I used to love mermaids :)

TerryLynnJohnson said...

Cute! My step daughter is liking mermaid books right now, (INDIGO was brilliant) and I hadn't heard of this one. Thanks!

Theresa Milstein said...

This is too funny because my daughter and I just finished listening to the audiobook in the car last week. The predictability drove me nuts, but my daughter loved it. She wants to read the other books in the series. I'll get her the paperbacks so I don't have to listen to them.

Jemi Fraser said...

I have a couple of girls in my class who would love this book - I'll have to pick it up! :)

Susan R. Mills said...

I'll keep it in mind for my MG niece. Thanks for the review.

Kelly H-Y said...

I got this one for one of my MG nieces!

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

This book looks smoochy adorable - like the kind who's cheeks you want to pinch! Direct to TBR ... :)

Ms. Yingling said...

This has been popular in my library-- the whole series, really!

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