The Mermaid's Sister, by Carrie Anne Noble
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The Mermaid's Sister, by Carrie Anne Noble
Ebook Download : The Mermaid's Sister, by Carrie Anne Noble
2014 Winner — Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award — Young Adult Fiction
There is no cure for being who you truly are...
In a cottage high atop Llanfair Mountain, sixteen-year-old Clara lives with her sister, Maren, and guardian Auntie. By day, they gather herbs for Auntie’s healing potions. By night, Auntie spins tales of faraway lands and wicked fairies. Clara’s favorite story tells of three orphan infants—Clara, who was brought to Auntie by a stork; Maren, who arrived in a seashell; and their best friend, O’Neill, who was found beneath an apple tree.
One day, Clara discovers shimmering scales just beneath her sister’s skin. She realizes that Maren is becoming a mermaid—and knows that no mermaid can survive on land. Desperate to save her, Clara and O’Neill place the mermaid-girl in their gypsy wagon and set out for the sea. But no road is straight, and the trio encounters trouble around every bend. Ensnared by an evil troupe of traveling performers, Clara and O’Neill must find a way to save themselves and the ever-weakening mermaid.
And always, in the back of her mind, Clara wonders, if my sister is a mermaid, then what am I?
The Mermaid's Sister, by Carrie Anne Noble - Amazon Sales Rank: #72401 in Books
- Brand: Noble, Carrie Anne
- Published on: 2015-03-01
- Released on: 2015-03-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.25" h x 1.00" w x 5.50" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 236 pages
The Mermaid's Sister, by Carrie Anne Noble From Publishers Weekly Set in 1870 on and around Llanfair Mountain, Pennsylvania, this delightful fantasy novel introduces the reader to Clara and Maren, sisters adopted around the same time by a woman (“Auntie”) known throughout the village for her cures. Maren came to Auntie in a conch shell, while Clara arrived via stork. Now, at sixteen, Maren is slowly turning into a mermaid, her fingers webbing and scales appearing on her sides. Clara wants Auntie to cure Maren, but that is not an option. Auntie responds, “There is no cure for being who you truly are.” As time passes, Maren’s body transforms more rapidly; it becomes obvious that it is time for Maren to be taken to the sea or she will die. Clara and a very close family friend, O’Neill, who also happens to be the object of desire of both sisters, decide to take Maren themselves. The story follows their adventure to the sea and the unexpected perils they face on the journey as their caravan burns down and they are “rescued” and then held captive by a group of traveling performers. This novel is widely appealing: there are elements of fantasy, romance, and adventure throughout. The book is a page-turner; the story pulls the reader in and the dynamic characters and plot twists keep interest levels high. The author’s writing style is very descriptive, helping the reader truly visualize the sights, sounds, tastes, and adventures of the characters. A must read.
From School Library Journal Gr 8 Up—This lovely, lyrical fantasy takes place in a mythical Pennsylvania mountain setting and tells the story of three foundlings—Clara, Maren, and O'Neill. Clara was delivered to Auntie by a stork, Maren was found in a seashell, and O'Neill was placed beneath an apple tree. Clara and Maren have grown up as sisters with wise woman Auntie as their guardian, while the young man O'Neill is raised by Scarff the traveling peddler. When Clara notices that Maren is developing scales and needs to spend more and more time in water, she realizes that her friend is turning into a mermaid and that no potion or magic will halt the change. Because the only way to save Maren is to return her to her father, the Sea King, Clara and O'Neill place Maren in a tub of salt water in the peddler's wagon and journey toward the ocean. However, they are waylaid by members of a traveling show who enslave them and put Maren on display in a freak show. Clara must overcome her inner doubts about who she really is in order to save Maren, O'Neill, and herself from the wicked traveling players. Like all good fairy tales, this one touches on deeper themes of sibling rivalry, jealousy, insecurity, and questions of identity. Osbert the rambunctious wyvern is a particularly well-done character. VERDICT Noble's treatment of the mermaid theme is fresh and original, and even her minor characters are beautifully depicted.—Kathleen E. Gruver, Burlington County Library, Westampton, NJ
From Booklist “Wishing gets you nothing,” starts off this classically told fairy tale, warning readers straight away that this fantasy isn’t one with a happy ending. Clara’s Auntie, something of a village wise woman, takes in odd and fantastic creatures: a wyvern, mysterious orphan girls, and Clara’s sister Maren, who is slowly but surely turning into a mermaid. Mermaids, however, can’t live on land, and as Clara and her best friend O’Neill set out to take Maren to a new home in the sea, Clara wonders and wishes to know what she is and what she’ll be without her sister by her side. This is as much of a mystery as the quiet romance between Clara and O’Neill, and it takes up much of the meandering of the story as their journey goes on. Adventure finds them when a traveling show kidnaps them all, and Clara must break out of her introspective shell in order to escape. Though the old-fashioned language might strike readers as a bit stilted, it works well to set the magical tone.
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199 of 228 people found the following review helpful. In summary, a pretty cliche faerie tale but well done and a safe read for the young adults in your life By The Barefoot Photographer I chose this book as my Kindle Firsts selection for the month of February. Here are my notes from the book.General notes:* The text is clean and well written. I sense no textual issues and my grammar/spelling radar is not getting tripped so that's good. I would say that the writing lacks any real style or flair. It's all very straightforward and not terribly unique. Nothing reaches out to grab you about this.* Pacing is average to slow. The story takes a while to develop in any meaningful way. It's not action packed by any means.* Not terribly original either; as I said, rather faerie tale like.* One of my pet peeves in YA fiction is the presence of sex or drugs. This one has none of the above unless you count magic potions; it's got lots of those!Detailed Reading Notes:* Starts out in Pennsylvania in 1870... well, but there's a blue wyvern and a sister who is slowly turning into a mermaid. At the end of chapter 1 we've got two girls, both foundlings with oddly magical backgrounds adopted by a single woman with faerie blood. My very initial impression of this is that it's not just young adult, it's YOUNG adult. Almost pre-teen but we'll see how it develops.* By the end of chapter 3, we've got yet another foundling, this one a boy. Adopted by a traveling peddler and friend to the other two female foundlings. Can nobody in this story take care of their own children!?!? With this, I think the introductions are over and the story is ready to begin so no more spoilers. I don't know about you but I see NO potential for romantical anything. None at all. OK. Maybe a bit.* As chapter 7 closes, our dramatic pitch inclines. We're in spoiler free territory so I can't tell you what but suffice to say that we're approaching a dramatic climax. Somewhat problematic is the idea that our main characters seem to be the only ones you believe in magic but they're certainly not very secretive about it. The wyvern is out and about a lot and without restriction if it's also supposed to be a secret. That makes me a bit perplexed.* By the end of chapter 11 we're REALLY in faerie tale territory. There's an evil faerie curse that keeps true love apart unless some complex series of events occurs to break it.* Chapter 15 closes and we've reached a narrative nadir. Tragedy strikes, what will become of our protagonists? All seems hopelessly lost! But I'm guessing it's not. Again, as stated other places, nothing terribly original or unpredictable about any of it.* OK, concluding, this turns out almost exactly as you would expect. Pretty cliche and predictable but still reasonably entertaining.PS: As always I strive to be as helpful as possible. If you find this review unhelpful, pop me a comment so I can do better next time. Thanks!
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful. Absolutely Charming Story but with a Few Severe Stumbling Blocks By Lance Rumowicz I got this book for free through Amazon Prime, and I couldn't resist a novel about a mermaid. What I got was a fun little fairy tale that I enjoyed, but which is not without its problems. I greatly enjoyed the world it created, which was one that did not require a lot of exposition to understand. Rather, most of it was implied. The idea of magic in the real world hidden from normal humans is common enough that it's easy to pick up. And it's always fun to think that there might be magic lurking just around the corner, out of sight from our mundane eyes. So while a lot of the more mystical elements seem to flit by with nary a mention or explanation (elven shoemakers, witches, faeries, wyverns), most of them work as simply accepted parts of life as told from Clara's perspective.I suppose my largest problem, overall, with the book is how long it takes to really get going. I ordered this book exactly a month ago. I read the last 70% of it in the past four days. It was the first 30% that kept me slogging through for the rest of that time. Don't get me wrong. It's not unenjoyable. There is quite a bit of characters suddenly and formally breaking into long bouts of storytelling. To a certain extent I found it charming. It fit well with the idea of the old-fashioned fairy tale this is trying to be. The problem is that most of it ends up having little to do with the main thrust of the narrative, so that the reader is left wondering where exactly this story is going. And since the main goal (of transporting the soon-to-be-mermaid Maren to the sea) is established very early on but not actually undertaken until well past the first third, everything in between those two points feels like the story spinning its wheels. And while it is enjoyable spinning, it can become rather frustrating with its meandering. What finally gets Clara on the road is the unwanted appearance of besotted suitor of Maren, who learns the truth of her condition and follows them on the road. To my disappointment, this really doesn't go anywhere. The suitor is never actually seen again, and the entire affair is resolved out of view of the reader.But since I did manage to breeze through the remainder of the book very quickly, it obviously managed to hook me eventually. And it did with the (re)introduction of the slimy "medicine" man and his family, who seem like helpful Good Samaritans at first but very quickly turn sinister as they trap Clara and the other protagonists into a life of servitude and performing. Once that major conflict is introduced, the book really gets its legs, for lack of a better term, especially in regards to a mermaid-related story. Sadly, what is set up as an amazingly intriguing premise (albeit one introduced halfway through) is resolved far too simply and disappointingly.Being a book centered mainly around three teenagers, a love triangle is almost inevitable, and a love triangle there is. But it is one of the most bizarre I've ever encountered. The elements are all there, with Clara feeling guilt over loving the young man, O'Neill, who is both like a brother to her and clearly the object of Maren's affections. The problem is with Maren. Once her transformation begins, she really stops being a character and becomes little more than an object to be carted around. She very quickly loses the ability to speak, which means there's no real meaningful interactions between the sisters, especially in regards to the love triangle, which really only seriously gets into motion after Maren is already a mermaid. All Maren can do is pout, tousle her hair, and swim around. And since Clara is much too prim and proper to discuss her feelings with O'Neill, the conflict is entirely internal. So it's really a love triangle with just one person involved.From here, spoilers abound, so keep reading at your own risk. The initial villainous plan of the Phipps family is set up very well. First they save Clara, O'Neill, and Maren from a fire and nurse them back to health. They ply them with guilt to stay with them on the road, really wanting to display Maren in their shows. And then they simply poison them with a concoction that forces them to drink it daily or die. I thought this was extraordinarily powerful, and I thought the Phippses were great villains, especially the relationship between them. Dr. Phipps rules with an iron fist. The rest of his family, while intimidated by him, are still completely loyal to him. The son, Jasper, appears as a wonderfully rich character, both charismatic and detestable at the same time. He hates his father for entrapping him in the same way yet seems to have given up hope and actually finds his life of servitude to be pleasing. Or at least, that's the way it seemed...For Clara and O'Neill, the nature of the dilemmaI meant they couldn't act rashly, but every moment they spent there made them more and more entangled in this web. The whole thing kept tension really high, and I couldn't wait to see where this was going.At one point, though, I had an unpleasant thought flit through my head: "Since this is a world where magic is hidden, how does Dr. Phipps recruit people who don't know about magic? Wouldn't they be inclined to simply disbelieve that such a potion could exist? It sure is lucky that Clara and O'Neill do believe in such things and didn't even require any proof... Wait. They didn't get any proof. How do they know any of this is for real?" And it turns out... none of this is for real. The potion is a fake, and the characters have just been accepting this on faith the entire time. So Clara and O'Neill look to be completely stupid for falling for this. And even worse, the way this is revealed makes this Phipps family look stupid. Dr. Phipps falls ill and stays that way for the rest of the book, which already dilutes the tension. But even though he's out of the story for days if not weeks, not once do the other family members even think to keep up the charade with the potion. As soon as he's out of the picture, the other villains never think about it again. The fact that they don't drop dead is the only thing that causes Clara and O'Neill to realize they've been had.And that's the main problem with the ending in general: everything is too passive. It's not just too passive. It's completely passive. Clara and O'Neill don't really do anything to free themselves. Everything is done for them. They just get to sit and watch it happen. The Phipps family turns out to be so incompetent they essentially free Clara and O'Neill themselves. A magic healing dagger is literally just dropped into Clara's lap. And then, finally, a random wyvern just shows up and kills the antagonists, who were already in the process of killing each other.I really wish the initial story hadn't been a lie because the lie was much more interesting than the truth, and it gave the characters a much better dynamic.Overall, I did enjoy this story. It has more than enough charm and mysticism to keep it together. In fact, "charming" is the word I would use to describe this book overall. I'll be honest that the ending left me disappointed, but that's largely because the middle had built up a conflict so fascinating. I admire Carrie Anne Noble, especially when I saw that she wrote this through National Novel Writing Month and published it herself. It takes a lot of dedication and guts to do that. As someone who has yet to make it through NaNoWriMo, I look at her in awe for that. So I hope she keeps on writing because she definitely has some great potential. I'm glad I read this book.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful. A Charming Modern Faerie Tail ;) By Pie Grrrl I was and am a very serious person, and have been my entire life. As a child, I was attracted to ALL sciences and math, choosing both fields to go into for my career. But, and this is a very important "but", I also have had my entire life the deepest of needs to 'escape' all that seriousness and found the Fantasy Genre the perfect "Escape Valve." It's a place for me to recharge my mind's battery, so to speak; a place where Rules of Reality are suspended and ANY and ALL things are possible.I have also, inextricably, been attracted to All.Things.Mermaid. and Of The Sea since as far back as my memory affords me. When visiting my great aunt's home, I could play for hours with her seashell collection from Hawaii and I hand-sewed a mermaid costume for my Barbie. I began collecting mermaid "everything" as soon as my babysitting money allowed: mermaid art, statues, and paintings, and I now have my home office decorated with a lifetime's worth of "Maid of the Sea" art. Please note, I've NEVER read Hans Christian Anderson's "The Little Mermaid" nor have I seen the animated movie. Where my obsession with mermaids hails from is truly a mystery to me but it is mystery I choose to allow, and NOT solve. :DWhen I read the small info on this month's Kindle First selection, I was so very hopeful that this book didn't disappoint. And it does NOT!!! Charmingly written to the extreme with fantastic character development of EVERYONE, including the "critters", it was what I needed to disappear into this snowy and cold February. Starting with the very cover, which is cryptically illustrated, it teases the reader with all major plot points and most characters. (I do so love when I can judge a 'book by it's cover!') Moving past the cover, it didn't take me any longer than one paragraph to know that this book was going to provide me with endless enjoyment, for how can you NOT love someone who writes, "Do trees make wishes?"The writing style of this book was captivating and I spent additional time rereading choice phrases and paragraphs and highlighting passages. Unfortunately, I can't quote any highlighted passages because once I went back and reviewed them, all of them would have provided some degree of "spoiling" the plot and I don't want to take that joy away from a future reader. Suffice it to say, Carrie Anne Noble REALLY knows how to combine words into lasting impressions. Carrie Anne's writing style is very similar to Sarah Addison Allen; if you've read "The Girl Who Chased The Moon" or "Garden Spells", then you'll be familiar with the type of writing exhibited in this novel.I also want to thank the author for setting her story in OUR world!!!! Set in Pennsylvania, I did NOT have to keep a written note card of made-up place names and NO ONE had bizarre, impossible to remember made-up names that so many fantasy authors feel is de rigueur; you just don't know HOW much a worn out brain appreciates this fact!!! And for anyone interested, "Llanfair" is an actual word: it's Welsh and means 'St. Mary's Parish."This story is written in the First Person narrative by "the mermaid's sister", Cora. The mermaid in question is Maren. The magic and fantasy is sprinkled about lightly like a delicate powdered sugar glaze vs a thick, sloppy frosting of fantasy. There isn't a weak character in the entire novel that "needs saving" and as a woman, I appreciate that all the women were strong. For male readers, none of them suffered the typical 'buffoonery" that is so in fashion with male-bashing.For those that need to know: there is no sex, no swearing that I can recall, no rape scenes, and one minor character death that is done 'off scene'. There is physiological intimidation by one major character but it's all Mind Games, so if you can live with that, that's the worst it gets.For me, this month's Kindle First selection of "The Mermaid's Sister" was a true gift from both amazon and the author. Thank you, both. :D
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