Mermaid in Chelsea Creek

Gr 8–10—Sophie Swankowski is a poor girl living in the slums of Chelsea, Massachusetts, with her single, overworked mother. The summer before ninth grade, she and her best friend, Ella, spend their days playing the "passing-out game," hyperventilating until they faint and achieve a seconds-long, dreamlike state. But one day, Sophie's blackout lasts almost an hour. She has a vision of a grimy, foreign mermaid who tells her that she is special-in fact, she is the child the old stories spoke of, the one who will save humanity from sadness. With the help of pigeons and a few good witches, Chelsea must learn how to tap into and control her power. She must also figure out how to shield herself from the evil witch, who just happens to be her grandmother. This tale of magic and self-discovery is set in a gritty, urban underbelly. The language contains a fair amount of cussing, and the scenes depict a hardscrabble, demoralized existence, yet the protagonist comes across as a naive character who, despite growing up in such tough surroundings, readily accepts the phenomena that begin to occur in her life. Unfortunately, readers may not be as accepting, and the meandering plot will not encourage them to continue with the narrative. This one will have difficulty finding an audience.—Heather E. Miller Cover, Homewood Public Library, AL