Book Type: YA Series Author: Kathryn Lasky Pages:
Hannah (book 1) 336 pages May(book 2) 328 pages Lucy (book 3) 312 pages Summary of Book One: Hannah: Hannah is not like other girls in the turn-of-the-century Boston orphanage where she grew up. Instead of seasickness, she gets land sickness. She leaves a ring of salt in the tub when she bathes, and sometimes she sees a faint tracing of scales on her feet. It's freakish, horrifying . . . and deeply thrilling. Hannah feels a change coming. But she is not the only one who senses it. A young painter recognizes something in Hannah--a connection with the sea that recalls a secret from his own past. A choice lies ahead, and Hannah must discover if she is a creature of the land--or of the sea.
My Review: Book 1: Hannah The first book in "Daughters Of The Sea" really sparked my interest in reading this trilogy. Hannah is an orphaned girl with a mysterious past, confused about where she came from and why she is shedding salt out of her skin, and growing scales! What I really like about Hannah is that out of the three sisters, she is curious, kind and motherly, but also strong and determined to understand the sudden changes that are taking over her body. What is ironic, and funny about this first book is that Hannah feels like such a freak, but meanwhile, the house she works in is full of odd people! The romance that occurs this book is very sweet, and the end made me want to pick up the second book! Book 2: May May's life is slightly different compared to Hannah's. May lives as the daughter of a lighthouse keeper, a life that May finds dull "like a winter's morning." May lives with her mother who is a huge hypochondriac, and the lighthouse keeper, who has been the only father figure in May's life. May also has a different personality compared to Hannah. She is strong, fierce and quite clever. She loves to read and learn, which is something women were not supposed to do in the mid-late 1800's. This made her character likable, especially to a book fish like me!
She embraces the change inside of her, sometimes ashamed that she is not fully human, but wants to seek out where her and her sisters came from. A few romances spark up in this book as well. At times, especially towards the middle and ending I felt this book dragged a bit, but we have more insight into Hannah and May's family.
Book 3: Lucy I found this book to be the most interesting one in the series. This book focuses more on how Lucy, the third daughter is caught in an adoptive family who is so focused on status that they will do anything to climb the social ladder. This book showed how Lucy, like her other sisters is defiant, bold and tells the outright truth, something that was frowned upon for women in the 1800's. The way that this story is written almost reminds me of "The Great Gatsby," because everyone is just focused on their social stature. It was so interesting to read how Lucy longs to escape high society, where people only marry for money and status, but not for love.
Lucy's relationship with Phineas was sweet, and shows that she values him for his personality instead of his money. The only thing that confused me
was how the sisters instinctively knew they were mermaids. I wish there was more discovery. The unfortunate part is due to the abrupt ending, I know this cant be the last book in the series. We will have to wait for the last installment! So far, I give this series (*****) 5 stars. -Sirenita The Selkie
Book 4: The Crossing
Daughters Of The Sea is a beautiful series about three girls searching for the truth together. Through sisterhood, trust, and faith, the girls have overcome tough obstacles.
But I feel like "The Crossing" was a bit of a rushed ending for this great series. I was disappointed after finishing it and left wanting more. First, this book seems disjointed. Every daughter is going through their own life issue, especially Hannah. She becomes a puppet to Stannish, obeying his rules, yet her heart is breaking. She doesn't even visit her sister, Lucy, who is in jail. This seems very out of character compared to the first three books.
The whole series focused on the daughters' identity and their heritage to the sea, but this book only focused on Lucy's trial for a good portion of the plot. The ending was abrupt and left me wanting more. Although this particular book didn't catch my interest, I really enjoyed this series for its historical content and mermaids!
This book gets (***) 3 stars.
I give the series (****) 4 stars.
-Sirenita The Selkie