May

May 1, 2011
Grades 5-8 In 1899, 15-year-old May learns that she is kin to neither the sour hypochondriac she has called Mother nor the stalwart lighthouse keeper she still loves as a father. But the mystery of her birth pales beside the experience of falling in love and the discovery that she can become a mermaid simply by diving into the sea. As she struggles to reconcile her familiar obligations at home with her newfound experiences, May finds her world shifting again when her sister Hannah, the protagonist of the first Daughters of the Sea novel, appears on the scene. Elements of mystery, romance, fantasy, and drama (occasionally bordering on melodrama) combine in a mesmerizing tale with a well-realized Maine setting. At the novels end, Hannahs story intertwines with Mays and promises another sister and still more revelations to come in future series volumes. The moonlit scene on the jacket emphasizes the novels romantic side.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)