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Mermaid Moon de Susann Cokal
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Mermaid Moon (2020 original; edició 2020)

de Susann Cokal (Autor)

MembresRessenyesPopularitatValoració mitjanaMencions
13912195,287 (4.03)1
Blood calls to blood; charm calls to charm. It is the way of the world. Come close and tell us your dreams. Sanna is a mermaid -- but she is only half seavish. The night of her birth, a sea-witch cast a spell that made Sanna's people, including her landish mother, forget how and where she was born. Now Sanna is sixteen and an outsider in the seavish matriarchy, and she is determined to find her mother and learn who she is. She apprentices herself to the witch to learn the magic of making and unmaking, and with a new pair of legs and a quest to complete for her teacher, she follows a clue that leads her ashore on the Thirty-Seven Dark Islands. There, as her fellow mermaids wait in the sea, Sanna stumbles into a wall of white roses thirsty for blood, a hardscrabble people hungry for miracles, and a baroness who will do anything to live forever.… (més)
Membre:ToriaD
Títol:Mermaid Moon
Autors:Susann Cokal (Autor)
Informació:Candlewick (2020), 496 pages
Col·leccions:La teva biblioteca
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Mermaid Moon de Susann Cokal (2020)

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Ressenya escrita per a Crítics Matiners de LibraryThing .
I received this book from Candlewick Press in exchange for an honest review.

Sanna is an oddity among her matriarchal mermaid 'flok'; she has been raised by her father and nobody can remember her mother. A spell has been cast to make everyone forget her birth - because her mother is human. Sanna begins to work with her flok's seawitch to learn magic, specifically to learn to walk on land to find her mother.

She stumbles into a town's feast for a saint and accidentally turns bushes of white roses into red roses in front of the whole town and the imperious Baroness Thyrla. Before she knows it, Sanna is engaged to marry Thyrla's thick son, worshiped as a saint by the townfolk, and engaged in a subtle battle of magic with Thyrla, all while searching for her mother.

Sanna is a decent main character. She's thoughtful, intelligent, and driven, with a kind heart. Though she was an outsider amongst her flok, and an outsider among the humans, her empathy for others isn't damaged.

Mermaid Moon felt a little bit different than a lot of current YA, the style reminded me more of Patricia McKillip or Anne McCaffrey than most 21st century YA. I liked that there was little to no romance and that the resolution of the story was not what I expected.

I do think Sanna's driving force - locating her mother - was a little too neglected and left me mildly unsatisfied as different plot threads took precedence.
( )
  xaverie | Jul 24, 2023 |
Ressenya escrita per a Crítics Matiners de LibraryThing .
I recieved an advance reading copy of this book & thoroughly enjoyed it. I haven't read any of the author's other work, but love a fairy tale so was curious to read this one. The story feels like a classic tale, but incorporates modern feminist sensibilities in a way that I thoroughly enjoyed. The beginning is a bit slow, but once I adapted to the writing, I became immersed in the unique characters and setting of this tale.
  Loisthelion | Apr 26, 2022 |
Literary Merit: Excellent
Characterization: Excellent
Recommended: Yes
Level: High School

I picked this book up for ROYAL because I love fantasy, and especially all things mermaid or siren. I've noticed that mermaids seem to be a huge trend at the moment, which I think is awesome (because, you know, mermaids are cool). I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, as I'd only seen the cover, but what I got was a fantastic feminist mermaid tale that felt like it belonged in a collection of Grimm's fairy tales. While the author does not boast anywhere that this is a feminist fairy tale, I would say this story does a much better job of conveying feminism than even The Surface Breaks, which was deliberately written as a feminist retelling of The Little Mermaid. I enjoyed the story, writing style, and characters, and would love to read more from this author in the future.

Mermaid Moon begins on the night of an extremely unusual birth. A young woman named Lisabet, who has found herself pregnant with the child of a merman named Bjarl, rushes to the sea to give birth to her daughter Sanna, who then becomes the very first seavish/landish hybrid. Sixteen years later, young Sanna knows nothing of her mother and her landish side, having grown up amongst her father and the merfolk. Desperate to find answers about her mother, Sanna seeks help from the elder witch Sjældent, who teaches her the magic necessary to gain a landish form and walk on land. While her family and flok anxiously await news, Sanna embarks on a journey to find her mother. In the process, she meets the wicked and cunning Baroness Thyrla, her air-headed son Peder, and a host of landish folks who believe her to be a miracle sent from God. In this tale of hope, despair, and miracles, Sanna must pave her way and decide where she truly belongs: on the land with her mother's people, or in the sea with her father and her flok.

Where do I begin with this book? For the first time in a very long time, I was able to read an entire book in one day. Granted, this was primarily because I'm behind in my reading for ROYAL (Reviewers of Young Adult Literature, for the uninitiated), but I think it also had something to do with the fact that this book gripped me from the very first chapter. Cokal does an excellent job setting the scene, pulling the reader in almost as if she herself is a siren luring in sailors. The entire novel is surrounded by an air of mystery, and it throws the reader in headfirst and calls him or her to slowly piece together how this world works.

In the first chapter, I wanted to know who this girl was and how she came to be pregnant with a mermaid. Later, I wanted to know why everyone had forgotten Sanna's mother, and then I wanted to know which human she encountered would be revealed as Lisabet later in the story. I also wondered about Thyrla's identity, and what her master plan was in marrying her son to Sanna. I even wanted to know more about poor Tomas, treated as Peder's lowly slave and never having the ability to express his own desires. Every character Cokal introduces is intriguing, and each puzzle piece offered up only adds more to the sweeping mystery this novel skillfully develops. The author is a master of suspense, as it was hard for me to put this book down to do other tasks as I was reading (even important tasks like eating and sleeping). It can be hard for anything to keep my attention this raptly, so Cokal earned a lot of points for that right off the bat.

As I mentioned earlier, I also have to talk about the feminist slant of this book. Where The Surface Breaks did not seem feminist in the slightest until the very end, this book establishes the seavish folk as being inherently matriarchal. The mermaids generally fall in love with and mate with one another, while males are mostly seen as being of lesser importance. Sanna's father, for example, is an important member of the flok, but rarely speaks out against the females who hold the power in their society. Nobody is cruel to him, but it's also clear that his opinion isn't as valued as the opinions of the female leaders.

Similarly, the only two characters who have power on land are Baroness Thyrla and Father Abel, the priest. Though the women on land are generally seen as being nothing more than incubators for male children, Thyrla has subverted expectations by becoming the most powerful human on the Dark Islands, where this story takes place. The difference between the seavish and landish, however, lies in the amount of power one possesses. In seavish culture, all but one of the female leaders of the flok possess no magic. On land, however, it is implied that Thyrla's magic is what has allowed her to hold such power over others, as powerless women are often taken advantage of by men. In fact, landish men are so dangerous (kidnapping and raping any seavish girl they manage to snag in their nets) that mermaids are forced to lure them to their deaths to protect themselves from a cruel fate.

From the very beginning, the matriarchal nature of the seavish is apparent, and Sanna finds herself bewildered by the bizarre behavior of landish men, who seem to view women as objects to be conquered and owned. While this message never felt forced or over the top, I definitely got the idea that Cokal was trying to subvert traditional fairy tales by giving women all of the magic and power instead of men. In this story, the reader will not find a damsel in distress seeking help from a man, but rather a strong magical female looking to reconnect with her mother. I know that YA is generally full of strong female characters, but it was awesome to see a stylistically written traditional fairy tale subvert fairy tale tropes.

As much as I love romance, another thing I appreciated about this book is that it focused more on the characters as individuals than it did romantic subplots. While the book does mention Sanna's friend La and her lover Ishi (top scores for the casual lesbian representation, by the way), Sanna herself does not fall in love with anyone. If anything, the most she feels towards Peder and Tomas is pity and friendship, but she chooses to return to the sea without either of them in the end. While I thought the little hints of romance I saw were great (Sanna's parents, Ishi and La, etc.), it was refreshing to focus on the mystery and the non-romantic relationships between these extremely interesting characters instead.

There are enough positive things to discuss in this book that I could literally talk about it all day, but I will wrap up my thoughts here. Because the writing style is so unique, I have a feeling this book will not speak to everyone who attempts to read it. As I said before, the language is very dense and descriptive, making it feel like a contemporary to the original Grimm fairy tales. Because of this, reluctant readers might find it challenging to get through. I think this book would be far more suited to those who love fantasy and mermaids, but have read everything mainstream and are looking for something unique and different.

This book feels closest in tone to The Surface Breaks, but follows through much more strongly with the feminist theme. None of the women and girls in this book are mousy or subservient, and all are strong in their own ways. In a world where women are still making less money on average than men, I think it's important to see this kind of empowerment, even in fantasy stories. Girls need to know how much power they can hold, and I think this book does a great job using magical elements to push that very real message.

I would love to see a sequel exploring some of the minor characters (Tomas, La and Ishi, or even Kett), but if this is all we get then I will be more than happy. My only complaint is that I wanted to see more of the reunion between Lisabet, Bjarl, and Sanna in the end, but it is a minor complaint: I still thoroughly enjoyed this novel from beginning to end. It was unique, suspenseful, and truly breath-taking, and I would gladly read more YA like it in the future. ( )
  SWONroyal | Aug 21, 2020 |
Ressenya escrita per a Crítics Matiners de LibraryThing .
I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program.
Mermaid Moon was not at all what I was expecting to be, which is – I think – one of the biggest reasons I loved it the way that I did.
I want to start this by saying that there is an afterword at the end of the book in which Susann Cokal goes into the history and the inspirations behind her story. I would personally recommend reading this before the rest of the book. It adds a certain depth to the story.
The buildup was a little slow (after you read the prologue and have gotten into the beginning of the story, the prologue isn’t even close to slow); and trying to pull myself from a reading slump was probably not the best time to pick up something that started quite as slowly as it did. I must admit that it was a little hard to get into. It starts when Sanna is already on land in search of her mother, and then goes back to describe the process of how this was decided. While I typically love stories written in this way, I needed a bit more to break up the massive chunk of history that came along with this. Don’t get me wrong, it was well-written and interesting… It was just a lot.
About a quarter of the way in, however, my reading slump was broken. I just couldn’t put the book down. It’s the first novel I’ve read that was told from the perspective of a mermaid. Actually, it was my first novel about mermaids since my childhood. I love mermaids, but it has always been hard for me to find a mermaid book that I’m interested in reading. I was impressed with the amount of mermaid culture Cokal was able to capture in just under 500 pages. I put the book down feeling as if I actually learned something.
I enjoyed the way she wrote the matriarchal society of the mermaids. It was interesting to read something based on a culture in which women hold the power. I also must admit that I enjoyed her inclusion of mermaid anatomy. It was a very neat take on something that’s always boggled me a little.
Sanna’s adventure was action-packed and didn’t have time for any boring moments. Each moment was filled with suspense, keeping me at the edge of my seat. This is a book I would definitely want to read again. If you’re in search of a thrilling fantasy without a lot of romance, you should consider this as your next read. ( )
  RavenNight | May 2, 2020 |
Ressenya escrita per a Crítics Matiners de LibraryThing .
Well, I've just discovered a new author whose words speak to my very soul. This story was so magical, a bit of a grown-up mermaid tail that edges just enough onto the dark side, and it was told in such an evocative way. I loved these seavish folk and their world, both on the shore and under the waves. And those mermaid songs... I wish I had a whole book of mermaid poetry to devour.

To be honest, I was expecting kind of a frilly mermaid story, but instead I got this intense, intricate, beautifully told masterpiece - and I'm so glad I did. If the synopsis sounds the least bit interesting to you, I would say definitely give this one a read - you might fall completely under its spell, like I did.

Final verdict: I'm obsessed with it! I thought this book was amazing! It's now officially one of my favorite books! I shall be shouting about it from the rooftops for days and I am currently recommending it to everyone I come in contact with!

{ Review originally posted on my blog, PidginPea's Book Nook (http://pidginpeasbooknook.blogspot.com). Thank you to LibraryThing Early Reviewers and the publisher for providing me with a review copy. My reviews are honest and my opinions are my own; your reading experience may vary, so give it a read and see what you think. :) } ( )
  PidginPea | Apr 28, 2020 |
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Blood calls to blood; charm calls to charm. It is the way of the world. Come close and tell us your dreams. Sanna is a mermaid -- but she is only half seavish. The night of her birth, a sea-witch cast a spell that made Sanna's people, including her landish mother, forget how and where she was born. Now Sanna is sixteen and an outsider in the seavish matriarchy, and she is determined to find her mother and learn who she is. She apprentices herself to the witch to learn the magic of making and unmaking, and with a new pair of legs and a quest to complete for her teacher, she follows a clue that leads her ashore on the Thirty-Seven Dark Islands. There, as her fellow mermaids wait in the sea, Sanna stumbles into a wall of white roses thirsty for blood, a hardscrabble people hungry for miracles, and a baroness who will do anything to live forever.

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