Bad Mermaids Make Waves by Sibeal Pounder - OPTIONAL

Bad Mermaids Make Waves by Sibeal Pounder, illustrated by Jason Cockcroft, 242 pages. CHAPTER BOOK. Bloomsbury, 2017. $14. 

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL — OPTIONAL. 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

In The Hidden Lagoon, mermaids and other sea creatures can be free without the threat of human discovery, but suspicious things are happening around the lagoon as piranhas start to keep an eye on everyone and their leader is missing. Three girls are on a summer adventure on land with legs when they learn about the disappearance of their leader and they head back to help out. Adventures and clue solving ensue and the girls are able to make a difference in their community. 

I never really connected with the main characters and I found a lot of the plot line disjointed. The pace is breakneck and never slows down, which may be appealing for some young readers, but I found it exhausting. I did like the mixed genres in this book, as the book is sprinkled with newspaper articles and ads. All in all, too busy for me but the touches of humor made it worth the read. 

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher