347. Watersong Book 1: Wake by Amanda Hocking

Watersong Book 1: Wake by Amanda Hocking

Published August 2012 Macmillan

From the publisher:

Beautiful. Fearless. Dangerous. They're the kind of girls you envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, Thea, and Lexi have caught everyone's attention, including the eye of practical Harper. But it's her sister, Gemma, they've chosen to be part of their group. Sixteen-year-old Gemma seems to have it all - carefree, pretty, and falling in love with the boy next door. But her greatest passion has always been the water. She craves late night swims under the stars, where she can be alone yet belong to the sea. Lately she's had company. Penn, Thea, and Lexi spend their nights dancing, singing, and partying on the cove - and one night Gemma joins them. When she wakes up groggy on the beach the next morning, she knows something has changed.

Book 2

What prompted me to go back and read this book was actually the second book in the series, Lullaby which was released at the end of November.  I liked it because of it’s cover, but thought I had better start with book one, which was only released in August, so not that long ago. It’s a book about mermaids, but not as we know them.

There’s a creeping dark feeling coming down over this seaside town. It’s summer, which should means no school, fun in the sun and spending time with friends, but there are teenage boys missing and people are beginning to become concerned.  The most noticeable group who have arrived in town are a group of girls, there were four, but now there are three.  What makes them stand out is their outstanding beauty, and many of the townspeople are drawn to them, especially the young men.

Gemma is a swimmer, she trains in the pool, but she loves to swim in the bay at night.  She see’s the girls in the cove dancing and singing, and while she too is drawn to them, she forces herself to stay away…until the day she can’t.

These girls need Gemma, they are the daughters of Zeus, banished to the sea as a result of a curse, destined to live theirs lives as sirens .As I said they are mermaids, but not as we know them as they can live on land, but when they hit the sea, their legs turn in to tails, they have beautiful voices and they attract men.  All of those things pretty much confirm what we know, but one of the big differences is that they need to feed, on the blood of men!

This story is about Gemma who thought that the biggest thing she would do this summer is fall in love with the boy next door, but who finds herself having to make decision that will change her life and affect everyone close to her.

For a book that has the feel of a book like Twilight, it also has a strong theme of family. Gemma  and her sister Harper, live with their Dad, their mother lives in a group home after a car accident left her in a coma for 6 months.  She did wake from the coma, but was never the same again. Harper looks out for her sister like a mother would, and as a result she is basically a middle aged woman living in the body of a teenage girl.  She has to deal with the changes in her sister, and her feelings of leaving home (to go to college) and her feelings for a boy, who makes her want to behave like the teenage girl she is.

I liked this book.  It would be a good choice for those readers that liked Twilight and even Percy Jackson because of the mythology aspect, but who want it grounded firmly in reality, with strong relevant themes.

Who will like this book: Girls age 14+
Read it if you like: Of Poseidon by Anna Banks