Calder White may look like your average 18 year old, but appearances can be deceiving. He is a merman, born of a mermaid mother and human father. Calder and his three mermaid sisters live most often in the frigid water around Michigan’s Lake Superior and prey on humans to survive. They have the ability to walk on land and work their “magic” on humans, making them irresistibly charming. The Whites are all searching for Jason Hancock, the man whose long-
dead father was responsible for their mother’s death; they have sworn to avenge her.
The Hancock family owns a house on the banks of the lake and Calder first meets them there. Jason is a college professor, his wife [an artist who is confined to a wheelchair] and daughters Lily and Sophie. Calder’s plan to seduce Lily as a way to get to her father goes awry when he starts to have feelings for the teenager.
The first in a series of three novels, Calder narrates this story. His point of view is particularly interesting because it is so unusual to have a merman as the main character. As the book progresses, we see the transformative powers of love. Calder’s sisters do not approve of Lily. The Hancocks view Calder as a threat to their daughter even though they do not know his true identity.
978-0385742016 316 pages Ages 13 and up
Recommended by: Deborah Cohen, School Librarian, Jefferson Township HS, Oak Ridge, NJ USA
