Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Poseidon Blows This One Out of the Water

Of Poseidon
Have you ever felt like there was something different about you? Something that can't easily be explained? In Anna Banks' Of Poseidon, Emma finds out there is more to that feeling than she ever thought possible.

Emma is enjoying her final summer with her best friend, Chloe, on the beach in Florida, but when she crashes into a haunting stranger with the same strange purple eye color as Emma, she can't help but be intrigued. When a freak accident finds Emma fighting with a shark to save Chloe, she doesn't realize the stranger, Galen, witnesses her ability to talk to fish... because as a Syrena (mermaid), Galen has the ability to cloak himself underwater. 

Galen suspects Emma is a Syrena from the Poseidon clan, but some things don't add up. She can hold her breath for an inhuman amount of time, she has tough Syrena skin, but she can't shift into a fin. And the worst part of it all is that if she truly is Syrena, she must marrying Galen's brother Grom, the royal heir, to prevent an all out war between the two clans. Galen knows he owes this to his people and his brother, but he can't help but be distraught about the idea of Emma marrying another man. But before anything can be settled, they have to first get to the bottom of Emma's origins... Is she really Syrena?

You know that feeling you get when a book surpasses your expectations? Well I totally experienced that with this book! Not only was it a fun, intriguing story, but it was also hilarious! I found myself laughing out loud throughout the entire story! Not only were the main characters good fun, but the supporting characters, Torif and Rayna have such a great story line. They are officially married, but Rayna doesn't want to be married. Torif loves her, but can't get her to admit she really wants him. despite her constant rejections, Torif just cheerily plods on with his affections, even when she splits his lip and threatens to kill him! I loved Torif! He was hilarious and endearing. The characters really do drive this story.

I also really appreciated that the love story between Emma and Galen isn't as "I met you two seconds ago but I know we are soul mates and I would end my life for you" like many YA novels these days. They certainly were intrigued by each other at first, and they grew on each other over time, but Emma wasn't afraid to tell him where to go when he deserved it. I loved that about her. This is a good story for any middle school through high school student. It's fairly clean and appropriate for a wide range of ages.  This was a really fun story, but I warn you, there isn't much of an ending. You will find yourself flipping that last page back and forth looking for more chapters that just aren't there! But there has to be another story... there just HAS to be!

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