From School Library Journal
Gr 9 UpβLena has always been drawn to the sea and has spent her life on the Northern California coast watching her friends surf. As her 16th birthday approaches, she decides she is tired of sitting on the sand and vows to take lessons despite the fact that her father forbids it. The lure of the ocean becomes overwhelming as she starts sleepwalking and waking up at the shore. Then she spots what appears to be a woman's head above the water's surface. Had Lena seen a mermaid? What compelled her father to stop riding the waves and never again set foot in the ocean? Braving the deadly breakers at Magic Crescent Cove so she can see the mysterious figure again, she wipes out and nearly drowns, but the mermaid saves her and slips a small gold key in her hand. Now Lena must find out what it unlocks and try to solve the mystery of her past. What she discovers is an amazing underwater domain seen through a magical mirror. Madigan's exquisite writing results in realistic characters and a compelling plot set in vivid scenery, making this tale extremely palatable. By the time Lena's secret world is revealed, readers are fully committed to her story and, while the culmination may disappoint, this is one fantasy worth reading.βTara Kehoe, Plainsboro Public Library, NJ. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
From Booklist
Starred Review Lena, almost 16 and living in a northern California surfing community, has been forbidden by her father, a former surfer who suffered a terrible accident in the water years ago, from learning her peersβ favorite sport. She is an excellent swimmer, though, and while spending time at the local beach, she begins to think she might be seeing a mermaid out in the waves. Being a practical girl, this of course strikes her as unlikely, but a host of subtle clues that include the discovery of her motherβs true identity and fate lead her to an undersea world of mer-folk. Lena distances herself from her life on land as she takes up residence in her motherβs community below the ocean, but eventually she must choose between her diverging destinies. Madigan does a stellar job of bringing readers inexorably from what at first seems like a realistic problem-novel plot of family issues to an enjoyable fantasy of a girl who finds that she is only half human. The characters, whether teen, child, or adult, are well-rounded and integrated into the plot. In addition to her parents, Lena must also consider the sensibilities of her younger brother and her best friend and figure out how she feels about her two boyfriends, one human and one mer. With highly imagistic descriptions and savvy dialogue, Madigan offers a rewarding and credible story that uses fantasy elements to bare truths about family ties. Grades 8-10. --Francisca Goldsmith