Siren's Storm

July 1, 2011

A dreamy, hair-raising mystery in a Long Island fishing village–cum–upscale resort evokes the traditional horrors of coastal communities.

Seventeen-year-old Will is a local in Walfang; Gretchen is "summer people," but she's Will's best friend anyway. They used to be three musketeers, along with Will's brother Tim, until a year ago when Tim died in a boating accident that should have killed both boys. Now Will and Gretchen try to renew their friendship in one of the creepiest summers either can remember. Will is drawn to Asia, a beautiful stranger with "green sea glass eyes." Gretchen worries about the local mad teenager who babbles portents about "seekriegers" and sings sea shanties. A 400-year-old gold doubloon turns up in a donation box, and an antique bone recorder—the spitting image of one found on Tim's body—appears in the local antique shop. Most frightening of all, Gretchen's sleepwalking, always worrying, has gotten downright dangerous. The more Will investigates, the more he sees connections with generations-old local mysteries—and possibly, incomprehensibly, stories far older than that. Walfang is exquisitely realized (occasionally too much so; narrative flow sometimes takes a backseat to painting Walfang with not-always-necessary detail); characters are defined as much by their place in society as by their behavior.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

January 1, 2012

Gr 7-10-Will Archer, 17, is mourning the drowning death of his older brother, Tim, at their Long Island beachfront community a year earlier. A hurricane hits, and in the raging storm Will sees a girl with "green cat eyes, long black hair" who is later revealed to be Asia, the new girl in town. Watery descriptions indicate that she is not of this world and she eventually reveals herself to be an immortal "seekrieger," or siren, on a mission to deliver the as yet unidentified "Burning One" to Calypso (from ancient Greek mythology) and her vengeful band of siren sisters. In the meantime, Will's friend Gretchen is sleepwalking in dangerous places, while local unbalanced teen Kirk Wostler is making premonitions about "the Fury awakening." The first two-thirds of the book holds together: Will's and Gretchen's grief over the loss of Tim, the crazy murmurings of Kirk, and even the deliberate coyness of Asia all seem to be working toward some purpose. Instead of cresting smoothly toward a narrative climax, however, the story sinks under laboriously developed narrative threads and forced plotting. Asia's lengthy story of her life as a siren and an expository excerpt from a lost sea captain's journal fail to tie up loose ends. Plotlines and characterizations promisingly woven together in the beginning unfortunately unravel in an oddly enervated conclusion.-Janice M. Del Negro, GSLIS Dominican University, River Forest, IL

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2011
Grades 9-12 Seventeen-year-old Will is haunted by the memory of his drowned older brother; captivated by enigmatic green-eyed newcomer Asia; protective of girl-next-door Gretchen; and baffled by the mystery of the spiteful, shadowy creatures that seem to be massing in the scenic bay waters by the tourist town of Walfang. Papademetriou sets this modern-day story with mythic elements in a small town, whose character she creates with spare strokes and whose vacation-charm quality contrasts nicely with the somber problems of the protagonists and other characters. Other effective contrasts include Gretchen and the safety of the familiar juxtaposed with Asia, the Nereid, who is otherworldly and a potential threat to Gretchen's hidden love for Will. There is also Will himself, who is seen more clearly when paired with secondary character Angus, a puppy-like cub reporter. The mythic elements include vengeful mermaids (seekriegers); Calypso, from Homer's Odyssey; and a male version of Cassandra (named Kirk), who is constantly invoking the danger that does eventually come. Rounding off the satisfying mix, Papademetriou also inserts excerpts from a fictitious sea captain's log.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)