Book Review: The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler

The youngest of six talented sisters, Elyse d’Abreau was destined for stardom—until a boating accident took everything from her. Now, the most beautiful singer in Tobago can’t sing. She can’t even speak.
Seeking quiet solitude, Elyse accepts a friend’s invitation to Atargatis Cove. Named for the mythical first mermaid, the Oregon seaside town is everything Elyse’s home in the Caribbean isn’t: An ocean too cold for swimming, parties too tame for singing, and people too polite to pry—except for one.
Christian Kane is a notorious playboy—insolent, arrogant, and completely charming. He’s also the only person in Atargatis Cove who doesn’t treat Elyse like a glass statue. He challenges her to express herself, and he admires the way she treats his younger brother Sebastian, who believes Elyse is the legendary mermaid come to life. 
When Christian needs a first mate for the Cove’s high-stakes Pirate Regatta, Elyse reluctantly stows her fear of the sea and climbs aboard. The ocean isn’t the only thing making waves, though—swept up in Christian’s seductive tide and entranced by the Cove’s charms, Elyse begins to wonder if a life of solitude isn’t what she needs. But changing course again means facing her past. It means finding her inner voice. And scariest of all, it means opening her heart to a boy who’s best known for breaking them . . .

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids has been on my radar for awhile now for multiple reasons. Namely because of; diversity, interracial couple and the Pacific Northwest. 

Oh, and mermaids. Sort of. 

If you're looking for a story about actual mermaids, this isn't that. I think it was sort of like a modern re-telling of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen. Either that or just an homage to it. The narrator can't speak, can't sing and her voice was stolen by the sea. She also meets a handsome sailor. So in those details, yes, it's similar to the Disney movie we all know and love.

But that's about where the similarities end. First off, we have a WOC (woman of color) as the narrator. Yay! The book is constantly bringing up parts of her culture without making it stereotypical, like it's "cool" or trying really hard to say that she's different. There was no "I'm [insert culture] so I do [insert thing] because I'm [insert culture]". None of that. It was just the character being herself and it was wonderful. 

The author did a great job with her culture as well as her disability. It was interesting to read from her perspective because while I'm used to constantly hearing the narrator's thoughts, I wasn't used to them not being able to share them easily. It was also interesting to see how others react to her disability. There was a wide range of them and it represented the characters well. It was also a great character development for her to lose her voice only to find it again. You'll see when you read it.

Being a PNW native myself, I was curious to see how the author would represent this rainy wasteland I call home. She did a great job. While the setting was mainly just a backdrop for the story, she captured the essence of it remarkably well. It was nice to see the narrator view it as cold and rainy until she came to realize the ancient power and wisdom it has. If you've been to the PNW, especially the Oregon coast, you'd understand.

Also, I loved the incorporation of the mermaid myth. Atargatis being the first mermaid and the town she lives in being named after her. Unfortunately, the town doesn't actually exist. (Another fictional let down. Why couldn't have Forks not existed instead?) Anyways, mermaids. It was so cool. I don't know what else to say besides read it. Seriously. It's worth it. Also it has a pretty cover. 

Read: August 2015
My Rating: 5 stars / 5 stars

Book Review: Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed

This heart-wrenching novel explores what it is like to be thrust into an unwanted marriage. Has Naila’s fate been written in the stars? Or can she still make her own destiny? 
Naila’s conservative immigrant parents have always said the same thing: She may choose what to study, how to wear her hair, and what to be when she grows up—but they will choose her husband. Following their cultural tradition, they will plan an arranged marriage for her. And until then, dating—even friendship with a boy—is forbidden. When Naila breaks their rule by falling in love with Saif, her parents are livid. Convinced she has forgotten who she truly is, they travel to Pakistan to visit relatives and explore their roots. But Naila’s vacation turns into a nightmare when she learns that plans have changed—her parents have found her a husband and they want her to marry him, now! Despite her greatest efforts, Naila is aghast to find herself cut off from everything and everyone she once knew. Her only hope of escape is Saif . . . if he can find her before it’s too late.

I always get excited when a book with diversity gets good reviews from other people. It's always great to have more books with diversity. 

I think this is a very important story for all types of people need to hear today. The story features a young girl of Pakistani heritage that ends up in an arranged marriage by her family during a "vacation". Of course, in some cases, these marriages go over smoothly and they end up very happy with each other. Other girls aren't so lucky and end up in dangerous situations. This was one of the unlucky ones.

It was difficult to read at times, because the narrator had no idea what was really going on, but as a reader you quickly realize how dire her situation becomes. While she had to face some incredibly heart-breaking things at such a young age, she handled it with as much strength as anyone could. The scariest part of this whole thing was when she began to expect her fate. She stopped fighting because she realized how useless and fetal it was. That was scary and as a reader you want to keep cheering her on. 

With such a real topic in today's society, the author handled everything very well. It was never forced down our throats that we were supposed to feel sad, that we should hate her culture or religion and it was written incredibly well. She described everything so eloquently and with vivid detail in few words so that not one page was unimportant. This book is pretty short, only around 200 pages. Which, if I'm being honest, was good because I didn't know how much more I could've taken. 

While it was a hard book to read, it's still a good one to do so. It's good to have these books with all types of diversity and allows one to understand this culture better. If you've read any of Khaled Hosseini's books, this will be very similar. #WeNeedDiverseBooks

Read: July 2015
My Rating: 4 stars / 5 stars