The Tail of Emily Windsnap (Emily Windsnap #1)
by Liz Kessler (Author) Sarah Gibb (Illustrator)
The New York Times best-selling series
With a sure sense of suspense and richly imaginative details, Liz Kessler lures us into a glorious undersea world where mermaids study shipwrecks at school and Neptune rules with an iron trident -- an enchanting fantasy about family secrets, loyal friendship, and the convention-defying power of love.A young girl learns she's half mermaid and plunges into a scheme to reunite with her father in this entrancing, satisfying tale that beckons readers far below the waves. For as long as she can remember, twelve-year-old Emily Windsnap has lived on a boat. And, oddly enough, for just as long, her mother has seemed anxious to keep Emily away from the water. But when Mom finally agrees to let her take swimming lessons, Emily makes a startling discovery — about her own identity, the mysterious father she's never met, and the thrilling possibilities and perils shimmering deep below the water's surface.
With a sure sense of suspense and richly imaginative details, first-time author Liz Kessler lures us into a glorious undersea world where mermaids study shipwrecks at school and Neptune rules with an iron trident — an enchanting fantasy about family secrets, loyal friendship, and the convention-defying power of love.
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School Library Journal
Gr 4-6-Seventh-grader Emily Windsnap has never learned to swim, in spite of the fact that she and her mother live on a houseboat. When she finally takes a swimming class at school, her legs turn into a fishtail. She tries to hide her strange affliction, but something draws her to the sparkling surf. Soon, she is secretly gliding through the water as a mermaid. Below the waves, she meets Shona, also 12, who takes her to mermaid school and leads her on several adventures. When Emily learns the intriguing history of the Shiprock community and of illegal marriages between humans and merpeople, she begins to look for her merman father. Danger, humor, confrontation, and even a trial before Neptune all play a part in her search. Eventually, she finds her dad and comes to understand the truth about her oddly controlling neighbor, Mr. Beeston; her mother's dislike of water; and her parents' love affair. All ends well when the family is reunited and swims away to live a new life on a secret merfolk island. This fantasy has some delightful moments, but not enough to keep it afloat. Characters are not fully developed, the plot wavers between complicated and oversimplified, and the transition from merworld to human is not smooth.
Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Review quotes
—Publishers Weekly Delightful moments.
—School Library Journal Light, imagination-tickling fare ideal for middle-grade girls, with charming ink-wash illustrations scattered throughout.
—Booklist Middle school girls . . . will enjoy the tale.
—VOYA Liz Kessler makes a splash with this tightly written, highly imaginative debut.
—FamilyFun Charming.
—The Wall Street Journal Liz Kessler creates an engaging heroine, full of funny asides and derring-do, and a sparkling, fast-paced story with more plot twists than a mermaid's flipping tale.
—Washington Parent
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV013000 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | General
