The Secret of White Stone Gate (Order of Black Hollow Lane, Book 2)

Written by Julia Nobel

Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

978-1-7282-2003-1

304 pp.

Ages 8-14

March 2020

After a tumultuous first year at Wellsworth boarding school in England (see my review of The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane), Emmy is both excited and apprehensive about returning after summer holidays. She is glad to be reconnecting with her friends Lola and Jack but she knows that her intention to find her long-missing father may put her and her friends in danger, again, with the mysterious and treacherous secret society known as the Order of Black Hollow Lane.

Several things make this year at Wellsworth a little different. First, twelve-year-old Emmy has been instructed to have her mom’s cousin Lucy, a snarky woman who breeds Chinese crested dogs and aspires for her and husband Harold to be in every posh club in London, including the Thackery Club, act as unofficial guardian.  Secondly, she hides the all-important Order's medallions–though the Order has been told they were all destroyed–in a safety deposit box at the Royal Bank of London. Thirdly, new schoolmates at Wellsworth include Jack's new roommate Sam, for whom Emmy is feeling a little fluttery, and Jack's little brother Oliver who is having a hard time fitting in.

After the funds from the Wellsworth Annual Charity Supper and fundraiser are discovered in Lola's dresser and she is expelled, Emmy learns that the Order has set up Lola and will continue to do harm unless Emmy tells them where her father is. Sadly, Emmy does not know where Thomas Allyn is and worse yet, Lucy is hearing rumours about Emmy and her friends from her club acquaintances that suggest the young people are troublemakers. Sam agrees to go undercover and befriend Brynn, Lola's nasty cousin and Order member, to help Emmy and Jack. But after two violent assaults on her friends, Emmy wonders if she can find her father and save her friends before it's too late.

Before Wellsworth, Emmy may have lived with her mom, a parenting expert, but she lacked family. Her mother is far too wrapped up in her career and purporting to always know what's best for her daughter, including connecting her with a selfish cousin who cares little for Emmy, but who fails to listen to Emmy, particularly in regards to her father. (It's easy not to like Emmy's mom and Lucy.) It's not surprising that Emmy wants to learn more about her father, though when she discovers he is alive, she has mixed feelings about the man who seems to want to protect her at all costs but who chose to leave years ago. Because of the confusing relationships with her parents, Emmy inevitably finds the family she needs with her friends at Wellsworth. And she has mystery upon mystery to solve with her allies.

Julia Nobel's first book in the Order of Black Hollow Lane series, The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane, is a finalist for the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize and a nominee for the Forest of Reading's Silver Birch Fiction award so young readers will be pleased to know that The Secret of White Stone Gate is available to continue Emmy's story. There's a new mystery, new characters, and more nefarious actions perpetrated by the Order but Emmy is getting closer to her father and helping him while making a real life for herself at Wellsworth. Fortunately, the mystery must continue with a third book if we are to learn whether Emmy and her friends will be able to keep the treasures of Black Hollow Lane from falling into the hands of the Order. No news yet on Book 3 but I'm sure it won't be a secret for long.

The Mystery of the Black Hollow Lane (Order of Black Hollow Lane, Book 1)

Written by Julia Nobel

Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

978-1-4926-6464-2

320 pp.

Ages 8-14

2019

For a parenting guru, Emmy Willick’s mom seems to relinquish much of her responsibilities, telling her daughter that she always knows what’s best for her (does she?) when sending her an English boarding school, Wellsworth.  But before Emmy heads out, she uncovers a metal box with 12 medallions with a note from her father, Thomas Allyn, who’d left when Emmy was three. As her parents met in England, Emmy is determined to use the opportunity at Wellsworth to learn as much about him as she can.

At Wellsworth, she meets Lola Boyd, her housemistress’s daughter, and Jack Galt with whom she becomes fast friends. Because she has had no schooling in Latin, she is encouraged by Madam Boyd to join the Latin Society, a club headed by Master Larraby.  When the trio begin to study the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and learn that Wellsworth Hall used to be Blacehol Abbey, Emmy discovers a secret society called the Order of Black Hollow Lane using the same symbol as the Latin Society, a skull with a cross and dagger. But Jack tries to dissuade her against learning about the Order to which his father and older brothers, as well as Lola’s nasty cousin Brynn, belong and which Jack believes is dangerous.

After being slipped several old messages ostensibly from the files of Thomas Allyn, Emmy realizes that her father, the school and the Order of Black Hollow Lane are all tied together. But what Emmy doesn’t know is how and why.

Boarding schools are a favourite location to set mysteries, just as English countryside villages are home to so many cozies. Schools like Wellsworth are ripe with a myriad of characters, good and bad and some misunderstood, from among their student and adult populations. There are roomies, classmates, teachers, administrators, custodians and more in these enclaves of apparent decorum. Their relationships are a tangled web of support, bullying, distrust, affection and malevolence. For Emmy, whose self-absorbed mother loves to dictate but not engage and without a father present in her life, Wellsworth offers her an opportunity to find family. She may be driven to find her father and have him become part of her life, if she can, but with Lola and Jack and a gaggle of other characters who may be of assistance in their own ways, Emmy is able to make a new life and solve a mystery or two.

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Tomorrow I review The Secret of White Stone Gate, Book 2 in the Order of Black Hollow Lane series.

Scientist, Scientist, Who Do You See?

Written and illustrated by Chris Ferrie

Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

978-1-4926-5618-0

32 pp.

Ages 2-8

April 2018

Canadian-born physicist Chris Ferrie, currently a lecturer for Quantum Software and Information at the University of Technology Sydney (Australia) takes his science focus from concepts (he has written multiple Baby University board books including Quantum Physics for Babies and General Relativity for Babies) to parody with this second homage to a well-known children's book. His first parody, Goodnight Lab (honouring Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon) took very young readers into the life of Einstein. In Scientist, Scientist, Who Do You See?, Chris Ferrie follows Bill Martin Jr.'s classic Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? rhyming exploration to familiarize readers to twelve world famous scientists.

From Scientist, Scientist, Who Do You See? by Chris Ferrie

From Albert Einstein to Marie Curie, Ahmed Zewail, Grace Hopper, James Maxwell, Ada Lovelace, George Carver, Chein-Shiung Wu, Alan Turing, Anna Mani, Charles Darwin, and Katherine Johnson, Chris Ferrie acquaints children with distinguished scientists in many fields from different countries and times. It's a light-hearted introduction to many scientists who excelled in their fields but whose names may or may not be known to most adults, much less children. By presenting each scientist with a rhyme that identifies their field and an uncomplicated illustration that details the area of the scientist's expertise, the reader (or listener for those who cannot read yet) will be compelled to ask questions and learn.

From Scientist, Scientist, Who Do You See? by Chris Ferrie

As in the original book it mirrors, Scientist, Scientist, Who Do You See? lets its patterned rhyming text draw readers to the end where all twelve scientists are depicted and short blurbs written about their scientist accomplishments.

Chris Ferrie gets the right balance of fact and fun with his words and art. His artwork of simple shapes and distinct line, vividly coloured for a young reader's appreciation, works to focus the reader's attention to recognizing the scientist's face, courtesy of oversized heads, and few but significant clues to their scientific contributions. 

If Chris Ferrie's intention was to inform while entertaining, then Scientist, Scientist, Who Do You See? has accomplished that. Moreover, for STEM (or STEAM) teachers and parents who want to encourage science in everything and everyone, Chris Ferrie ends his About the Scientists section with a blurb,

And finally, YOU! You can be the next person to change the world. There are so many questions left. What will your answer be?

There are truly scientists every where and every when.

From Scientist, Scientist, Who Do You See? by Chris Ferrie

Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food (and other life lessons)

Written by Jodi Carmichael 

Illustrated by Sarah Ackerley

Little Pickle Press/Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

978-1-939775-03-0

152 pp.

Ages 7-10

2013

Though the number of books with characters with ASD is ever increasing (see my abbreviated book list from 2013 here, revised this week), few books are written from the perspective of protagonists on the spectrum, and very few from a preteen's point of view.  Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food (and other life lessons) fits that niche and provides an enlightening approach to the thoughts and behaviour of a child with Asperger's Syndrome that will both teach and astound.

Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food (and other life lessons) is a story told in 14 lessons (chapters) experienced in one school day by third grader Connor Campbell, a little boy on the spectrum.  Amidst his passion for routines and strict adherence to the rules–except when they go against other rules or his thinking leads him astray–Connor is a boy with much knowledge, insight and perspective, though some students may label him as "weird."  He loves counting and he prefers the blue vinyl chair, not the red one, in the office–sadly he is sent there regularly–and smooth things rather than those with rough or squiggly edges and he adores dogs and dinosaurs and seeing others happy.  Of course, as a child and one with Asperger's, his choices don't always make sense to others, and while he can be rather entertaining, he can be frustrating and frustrated when misunderstood.  Fortunately, Connor gets a chance to show off his knowledge and make things right when a dog gets loose in the school, demonstrating that he has valuable and hidden strengths (even if he does do some silly things like dump spaghetti on his head).

From Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food (and other life lessons) 

by Jodi Carmichael 

illus. by Sarah Ackerley

Jodi Carmichael, whose YA book Forever Julia (Great Plains Teen Fiction, 2015) took on the heavy issues of anxiety, grief and abusive relationships, switches flawlessly to the voice of a young child with Asperger's (though I guess the switch is actually the other way since Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food (and other life lessons) was published in 2013).  Connor's voice is clearly defined, in his head at least, and after a few chapters or lessons, the reader will begin to understand his thought processes and choices.  What Connor's peers and teachers and principal and custodian cannot see or hear is what Jodi Carmichael imparts in his story and it all makes sense.  We might not agree with what he says or does but his lovely resource teacher Mrs. Rosetti helps him and the reader see his day from a different perspective and the path it took and how it could be different the next time.  Connor may be learning that spaghetti is not a finger food but we all learn why he might think it is under certain circumstances and appreciate his unique take on everything from geckos, to library stools and face wrinkles.  Like all of us, Connor is special in his own way and Jodi Carmichael has provided an accessible story about a child with Asperger's Syndrome that will ensure tolerance and compassion in ways that no classroom lesson ever could.

Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean's Most Fearless Scientist

Written by Jess Keating

Illustrated by Marta Álvarez Miguéns

Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

978-1-4926-4204-6

40 pp.

Ages 4+

June 2017

Eugenie Clark was born in 1922 and many, including her university instructors, probably believed she should have become a teacher or a secretary or something else deemed an appropriate occupation for the time.  Thank goodness she followed her heart and applied astounding determination to getting her education and pursuing her interest in sharks, helping her become the scientist she did. And thank goodness for Jess Keating who has brought Eugenie Clark's story to young readers so that they may learn and take example from this impressive role-model of a scientist.

From Shark Lady 

by Jess Keating 

illus. by Marta Álvarez Miguéns

As a child, Eugenie Clark adored going to the aquarium and watching her favourite animals, the sharks.  She was compelled into learning all she could about them through books, though a gift of an aquarium from her mother gave her a chance to create an underwater world of her own, ripe for the study of other aquatic organisms. 

From Shark Lady 

by Jess Keating

 illus. by Marta Álvarez Miguéns 

Eugenie pursued studies at college, and, though many tried to dissuade her, she earned her Bachelor's and Master's degrees as well as her doctorate in zoology, and began her research career.  Through an illustrious career of discovering new species, diving in open oceans to experience her first encounters with sharks and training sharks, Eugenie Clark worked tirelessly to dispel countless myths about sharks and educate and protect the animals she loved so.

Author Jess Keating, a zoologist herself, comes from a place of knowledge, appreciation and empathy, allowing her to create an intelligent biography of Eugenie Clark.  We already know that, whether Jess Keating applies her zoological training and expertise to middle-grade fiction (How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes are Tied; How to Outswim a Shark Without a Snorkel; How to Outfox Your Friends When You Don't Have a Clue) or children's non-fiction (Pink is for Blobfish), she knows what kids want to read about and she gives it to them in her entertaining and insightful writing. Shark Lady is her first illustrated biography, here of a courageous and determined American woman of science, whose story Jess Keating strengthens with two appendices, one about sharks that she calls "Shark Bites" and the other an infographic timeline of Eugenie Clark's life from birth in 1922 to her death in 2015. (My images below are only partial scans of both these components.)

From Shark Lady

by Jess Keating 

illus. by Marta Álvarez Miguéns

Illustrated in the bright, bold artwork of Spanish artist Marta Álvarez Miguéns,  Shark Lady both inspires and entertains with a story, albeit one based in facts, of a young girl's dedication to pursuing her personal interest in sharks and converting that into an extraordinary scientific career, while still cultivating an interest in learning more about Eugenie Clark and sharks.  It's a fabulous read that will have many a child rousing a parent or guardian for a visit to a local aquarium.  Indulge yourselves and go.  There may be another Eugenie Clark just waiting for the opportunity to dive into learning more.

Real Mermaids Don't Need High Heels

Written by Hélène Boudreau

Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
978-1-4022-6458-0
240 pp.
Ages 9+
Release February 2013

The cover of Real Mermaids Don't Need High Heels may suggest a grad or a prom but the story only has Jade and Cori entering their first year of high school so no need to jump ahead too far.  While the transition to high school includes the promise of lockers, going for lunch off school grounds and new freedoms, it is often fraught with any number of worries about responsibilities, relationships and expectations.  Couple those with the recent discovery of your mermaid nature, the return of your mother who all thought had drowned and a budding first love, and you'll know what Jade Baxter is experiencing.  Plus she has to pretend that her mother is her aunt, Tanti Natasha, and the mermaid daughter of jailed mer-people Finalin and Medora is her cousin Serena from Tonganesia (explaining her poor English language skills) which recently experienced a volcanic eruption.  Deception can be so imaginative.

"Every student at Tonganesia High brings a dog to school," I continued.  "Dogs are very sensitive to seismic shifts in the earth's crust.  Since Serena's village was at the base of an active volcano, the dogs act as alarms during the students' mile-long walk to school.  Not to mention, protecting everyone from Komodo dragon attacks through the dangerous rain forest." (pg. 24)

But with deception comes the need for secrecy, and secrecy abounds.  Jade learns that their underwater hockey coach Laurena, who is engaged to marry Daniel, head cook at Bridget's Diner, is a Webbed One, as is Bridget.  Like Serena, Luke and Jade's mom Michaela, they are humans who started out as mer.  Unfortunately, the Mermish Council is ordering the Webbed Ones back to the ocean, intending to enforce Tidal Law at the next supermoon (in nine days!), to help fight a revolt that intends to see all Freshies (like Finalin and Medora) freed from the Talisman Lake jail. 

Everything seems to be folly. In fact, it is.  Keeping their Webbed Ones from returning to the ocean becomes lunacy for Jade and her friends and family, as the pull of Tidal Law is impressively strong. There's the upcoming Fall Folly, the dance where the girls ask the boys, made difficult for Jade's second-guessing of her relationship with Luke.  And there Folly's Passage, the narrow channel that once connected the upper end of Talisman Lake to the Atlantic Ocean, and the cause of the legendary shipwreck of Fortune's Folly.  It too may be folly for those mer who aim to reach the ocean without detection by the Mermish Council so they may provide support for the uprising.

But folly can mask wisdom ("If the fool would persist in his folly he would become wise" wrote poet William Blake) and the actions of Jade and her cohort in Real Mermaids Don't Need High Heels are always grounded in good intentions, even if things do go awry occasionally.  A slip of the tongue, an unexpected reveal of a tail, a misunderstanding.  However, one of the best features of Hélène Boudreau's Real Mermaids books is the weaving together of the multiple and sophisticated subplots into a satisfying and upbeat ending.  We know that life doesn't often have happy endings, but when a book is embedded with mer-people, first-love and the confusion of puberty and transitioning to high school, isn't it refreshing to put aside the expected angst and enjoy the pleasure of a story tied up beautifully in a glittery satin bow of turquoise and pink?

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For new readers to Hélène Boudreau's Real Mermaids series, links to reviews of her earlier books and our interview with her are provided here:

• Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings reviewed here February 21, 2013

• Real Mermaids Don't Hold Their Breath reviewed here February 22, 2013

• interview with author Hélène Boudreau as part of her blog tour, on February 23, 2013

Hélène Boudreau: Blog Tour and Author Interview

Hélène Boudreau

author 

of the recently released

Real Mermaids Don't Need High Heels
(Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2013)

and two previous Real Mermaids books

Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings (2010)

and

Real Mermaids Don't Hold Their Breath (2012)

graciously agreed to answer a few questions
for CanLit for LittleCanadians as part of her
blog tour for Real Mermaids Don't Need High Heels
(which I will review tomorrow)

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CLfLC: What compelled you to take mermaids from the Little Mermaid realm for little girls and move them into the middle grade and teen years of your books?

Hélène Boudreau: My main goal was to write an honest portrayal of what it’s like for a young girl when so many changes are happening in her body. Jade just happens to be a mermaid but she’s not so different from other girls her age. She’s wondering about boys, trying to figure out friendships, and seeing changes in her body. Though, in Jade’s case, make that BIG changes!

My own daughter is almost twelve and is at the precipice of entering those uncertain years of raging hormones and topsy-turvy emotions. I really wanted to write a fun story for her (and girls like her) to ease her into the land of zits, training bras and smelly armpits. The upside being that—no matter how hard puberty might get—at least she doesn’t have a TAIL!

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CLfLC: What kind of research did you do to help develop the mer characteristics and society?

Hélène Boudreau: The setting for my story is based on a small town near where I grew up in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. There is a boat canal, which connects the Atlantic Ocean to an inland fresh water lake, separated by a boat lock. I spent a lot of time researching the mechanism of the boat lock, water height, tides and salinity to really try to grasp how these varying conditions might affect the mers in my story.

I also researched a lot of theories on primordial development and the concepts of human evolution. My main focus was to make the magic as ‘believable’ as possible by basing it on scientific explanations (which I extrapolated on, of course).

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CLfLC: Why did you choose to make Jade a plus-size character?

Hélène Boudreau: I don’t think it was a conscious decision on my part but, when I started writing about Jade and getting to know her, her size just became part of her character, just like the color of her hair or her love of flip-flops.

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CLfLC: The voices of your early teen characters resonate well with thirteen- and fourteen-year-old girls. How do you manage to make Jade and her friends' voices sound so authentic?

Hélène Boudreau: Thank you! It thrills me to bits to hear you think so. As far as authenticity, it helps that I have young daughters and nieces, I suppose. I think for any type of character an author needs to immerse themselves in that role just like an actor researching a part. Reading lots of books, listening to popular music and watching movies for that age range, plus observing kids in that age group in real life all help but I think each character has their own emotional truth and staying true to that is key to writing authentic characters.

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CLfLC: Was it harder to write the first Real Mermaids book, with establishing the characters, the backgrounds, history and setting, or writing your newest Real Mermaids book, and having to find new ways to plot for your Real Mermaids and mers?

Hélène Boudreau: They are all hard! LOL Honestly, though, the first one was difficult for me because as you say, there is a lot of world-building and character development when you first delve into a story. I wrote and rewrote that first book many, many times trying to get it right because I knew I wanted it to develop into a series so it was important to lay the groundwork. That being said, each subsequent book is a little bit harder for me because I need to work within the confines of the previous books while growing the story in new, fresh directions. It’s all fun, though!

For more information about her books and news,
connect with Hélène Boudreau
through Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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Many thanks to Hélène Boudreau for allowing
CanLit for LittleCanadians to participate in her
Real Mermaids Don't Need High Heels blog tour

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Look for my review of Real Mermaids Don't Need High Heels posting tomorrow here on CanLit for LittleCanadians

Real Mermaids Don't Hold Their Breath

Written by Hélène Boudreau

Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

978-1-4022-6446-7

234 pp.

Ages 9+

2012

If you're reading this review before the one I wrote yesterday for Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings, stop.  Now.  Go read my review and details about Hélène Boudreau's first book in her Real Mermaids series, Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings, here. Come back only after you've read that review.

Back already? Alright. Now onto Real Mermaids Book 2: Real Mermaids Don't Hold Their Breath.

Jade's mom, Michaela, is safe from Finalin and Medora for now but she still is a mermaid until she can transform back into a human by accessing a special tidal pool. This was the information that the Freshies had hoped to squeeze out of Michaela.  The mer-people had heard tales of the Webbed Ones, humans who originated as mer, and the partial webbing between Michaela's third and fourth toes marks her as one.  By keeping her prisoner, Finalin and Medora had hoped to discover the means to break out of their freshwater prison, Talisman Lake. 

Back on land, school is out and Jade is working at Bridget's Ice Cream Parlour with best friend Cori and Chelse Becker, a sixteen-year-old cellphone aficionado, whose family has a cottage across the lake from Jade's Gran.  While waiting for Mom to get approval from the Mermish Council to use the tidal pool, whose location Michaela sadly cannot recall, Jade and her dad have enlisted the help of Jade's friend (or is it boyfriend?) Luke, and his grandfather Eddie, to speed things along.  Dad and Eddie have created the Merlin 3000, a mer-to-human synthesizer that is essentially a fake tidal pool that would allow the transformation from mer to human to take place over several days.  And Luke introduces Jade to a couple of mers, Reese and Renata, in the hopes of finding the elusive tidal pool. Unfortunately, when Cori and Jade find the tidal pool, it is on the guarded property which Lainey Chamberlain's dad is developing for the new wing of the mall.

The effortless storylines that keep you reading and wondering and laughing come together when: 

• they learn the tidal pool site is also a known habitat of the Monarch butterfly;

• Chelse Becker decides to get even with an ex-boyfriend by posting a video, and helps the tidal pool cause by setting up a Facebook page dedicated to Butterflies vs. Boutique;

• an Environmental Assessment comes under question;

• Finalin and Medora's daughter Serena takes a liking to Lainey's dog Cedric;

• the Mermish Council plans on imprisoning those who broke the Mermaid Code of Silence; and

• it becomes evident that not everyone is who they seem to be, good or bad.

And I can't even share with you the little secrets about Eddie, Luke, Reese, Renata, Serena, accusations of murder, the men in the dark sedan, and how Jade and Luke's young romance is progressing!  However, I can tell you that Hélène Boudreau has a magnificent way of intertwining the plot lines with such fluency, like seaweed rippling together and apart, extending into new waters.  As a reader, you never know where the plant could take hold but you know it'll be spectacular when it does.  And no angst or trepidation to hound you until the next book!

Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings

Written by Hélène Boudreau
Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
978-1-4022-4412-4
208 pp.
Ages 9+
2010

With the third book, Real Mermaids Don't Need High Heels, in Hélène Boudreau's Real Mermaids series scheduled for release this month and after meeting the lovely Hélène Boudreau at the TD Canadian Children's Book Awards in November, I realized it was time to explore this series of books. Shamefully, I must confess to "mermaid" prejudices which, like all prejudices, were completely unfounded. As a teacher-librarian who has a multitude of little girls asking me for princess and mermaid books, I expected Hélène Boudreau's books to be weakly plotted stories with pretty covers in pink and purple, perfect for ages 3-5. Nah uh. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Instead what I discovered is a series of perfect middle-grade reads with complex plotting and lots of "Aha!" moments as connections and revelations twist and enhance storylines. The covers may have beautiful shimmering tones of turquoise, green and pink but these are hardly Disney's mermaid books. And Hélène Boudreau always ends her Real Mermaids books with a recipe courtesy of one of the characters. (The chocolately treat in Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings has become a regular after-dinner dessert in our household.)

Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings introduces almost-fourteen-year-old Jade Baxter, a plus-size teen who lives with her engineer father in Port Toulouse, a town on the Atlantic Ocean. Jade's mother, Michaela, drowned at her Gran's cottage on Talisman Lake less than a year ago. Even though she has the support of her dad and her fashionista best friend, Cori, Jade is finding that going through puberty without a mom is awkward, if not farcical. Imagine getting your period (horrors) while trying on a bathing suit (least favourite shopping for most women) but being unable to tell your best friend because you'd lied about getting it two years earlier (peer pressure, you know) and having to meet your dad at the drug store to pick out an assortment of feminine hygiene products while the boy you've always crushed on, Luke Martin, is trying to chat you up. Oh wait, did I mention that when you get home to take a warm bath with some soothing Epsom salts, you fall asleep and have your legs morph into a tail? They may always tell tweenies that "it's wonderful being a girl" but let's face it: puberty sucks, and even more so for Jade.

      Rubbing my eyes, blinking away the sting, trying to get out, shocked by what I saw breaking through the surface of the water.
     Then, I was yelling for Dad, he was crashing through the door.
     And I had a tail. A shimmering, scale-covered, slimy, wet tail.
     Freak-of-nature suddenly took on a whole new meaning. (pg. 40)

Luckily Dad is working very hard to be both parents to Jade and is there for her, even having to share the startling news with her that Mom had been a mermaid too. The big question - how could her mom have drowned if she was a mermaid? - sadly has no answer. Sadder still is the fact that Jade cannot share any of this with Cori (who is currently very busy hanging out with snooty Lainey Chamberlain in the hopes of getting Mrs. Chamberlain to mentor her in fashion design) or Gran or Luke who surprisingly seems to be chattier to her than before he and his family had gone on a lengthy boating trip.

While taking a break by the canal and lock that link the lake with the ocean, a scuffle in the water has Jade connecting with her mother who tells Jade, in the strange language of sharp ringing sounds, that she is being held by Freshies, mer-people who have been jailed in freshwater Talisman Lake by the Mermish Council. Desperate to free her mother from the clutches of the Freshie leaders, Finalin and his wife Medora, Jade and her father learn everything and anything they can about mer-people in the hopes of bringing Michaela home.

I won't give too much away here, as I'll be reviewing Real Mermaids Don't Hold Their Breath and this month's new release, Real Mermaids Don't Need High Heels, in the next few days. Suffice it to say, the humour, the storylines, Jade's pure 14-year-old voice and a startling ending to Book 1 will have you reading the second book asap, just as I did. So do yourself a favour and order Books 1, 2 and 3 at the same time. It'll be worth it.