ARC Review: The Summer of Chasing Mermaids

Title: The Summer of Chasing Mermaids

Author: Sarah Ockler

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Publication Date: June 2, 2015

Source: Printed ARC from Simon Pulse

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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…

My Review

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler is a book that readers soon won't forget. It's beautiful, gritty, magical, and realistic. It's also a story of self-discovery that will have readers cheering for so many different characters during the book. In my opinion, it's a great contemporary fairy tale retelling, and this is a book that should be on everyone's radar this summer.

The first amazing this about Ockler's latest book is the diversity! Seriously... there's so much of it. Our main character, Elyse, is from the twin island nation of Trinidad and Tobago, and she's spent pretty much all of her life on and in the waters surrounding Tobago. There's just so much diversity going on with her from her cultural background to her personal history, and readers of all backgrounds will love and adore her. The book is also domestically diverse, meaning that people from all over the United States come together in the summers when they stay in the small coastal town of Atargatis Cove. All of these differences keep readers on their toes, and it makes for one hell of a reading experience.

Ockler tackles many controversial issues in her books, and this novel is no exception. She takes on gender inequality from both sides by including a sexist mayor who doesn't think Elyse should be a first mate in the town's annual Pirate Regatta, and a father who is ashamed of his son who would rather do things that many people would constitute as "girly." It's refreshing and unexpected to see an author address both sides of gender inequality, and my love for Sarah Ockler grew so much more because of it. (And I was already a huge Sarah Ockler fangirl.)

Earlier, I stated that this new novel is a fairy tale retelling, and Ockler breathes new life into the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale by alluding to it and even parts of the Disney film that so many people have come to love over the years. Even though this is a contemporary YA novel, the retelling aspect gives the book a magical realism feel, and she weaves together a beautiful story of self-discovery.

Ockler's writing comes to life in this book. The book is full of magical and lyrical prose that just screams perfection. Within minutes, I was hooked because Ockler just has a way with words that grabs and captivates readers. Her metaphors are continuous, and she often revisits them throughout the book. Those everlasting metaphors make for a book that feels whole because she is able to relate so many different events in the books to the same series of words.

I would recommend this book to fans of Sarah's debut, Twenty Boy Summer because it has a more mature feel to it that will keep older teens and adults entertained. I'd also recommend this novel as a starting book for readers who have never read Sarah Ockler before because it's simply sensational and satisfying. Readers will really get a feel for how great of an author Ockler is, and why I think she's one of the Queens of Contemporary YA. 

Sarah Ockler is the bestselling author of young adult novels, including #scandal, The Book of Broken Hearts, Bittersweet, Fixing Delilah, and the critically acclaimed Twenty Boy Summer, a YALSA Teens' Top Ten nominee and IndieNext List pick. Her latest, The Summer of Chasing Mermaids, hits the shelves in June 2015.

Sarah is a champion cupcake eater, coffee drinker, night person, and bookworm. When she's not writing or reading at home in Washington, she enjoys taking pictures, hugging trees, and road-tripping through the country with her husband, Alex.