Book Type: Novel Author: Suzanne Weyn Pages: 76 Summary(goodreads.com): Mermaid Queen Nefazia of the Indian Ocean shows up at Triton's palace, and the princesses are enchanted, until they begin to believe that she's come to marry their father. Aquatta convinves her sisters that having a stepmother around would ruin their lives, so she comes up with a plan that will drive Nefazia away forever. But Ariel thinks Nefazia would make a terrific stepmother. Can she stop Aquata's awful plan before it's too late? My Review: I'm so happy that I found The Little Mermaid novels, instead of just children's books! I first found this book while looking for Little Mermaid books on Amazon.com, and found this gem! This paperback series is very affordable, and can be found on amazon.com for a fair price. Great Imagery: What I loved about this book was the great imagery; I was able to picture everything very clearly, and there are also a few black and white illustrations as well, but they looked more like unfinished coloring book drawings then art for a novel. I would've liked to see some shading. The Plot: The Awesome and the Not So Great:
What really drew my attention to continue reading is that even though Ariel is always aimed for children, this book is not juvenile at all, and reads like a YA book. Not only do we get another sneak peak into Ariel's life before Prince Eric came into the picture, but we also see how Ariel can help girls of an older generation. As previously mentioned, most Disney characters are aimed for a mer-child audience, but this book deals with family issues, such as a possible new family member entering the household, a stepmother, and how to accept it. This book also shows that you may have more in common with your family than you thought you did.
The only element that annoyed me about this book was that killer whales are mermaid eaters! Why are killer whales hungry savages? I don't believe this should have been added, especially since Ariel once helped a young killer whale named Spot, and she was never injured by the sentient being. The killer whales actually look kind of evil in the illustrations!
Final Thought: Finally, I also loved that this book was a quick weeknight read, and only took me about an hour to finish. The ending was pleasant, and I cant wait to read more books in this series! I give this book (****) 4 stars. -Sirenita The Selkie