The Mermaid Summer

This was one of my favorite books as a child. Just a warning however, I have a deep fascination and love for mermaids, and fairy tales in particular, so I'm a little biased here. The mermaid's character is fantastic, and as the first reviewer said, she is a "real" mermaid in true form. The author does good things for the reader visually, and all characters and their plights can be sympathized with. A really great read.

These are the mermaids that sailors feared -- vain, nasty little finned misses who don't hesitate to call up storms if it suits them. Mollie Hunter is in prime form here, in the tale of two brave kids who struggle to free their village from a vindictive mermaid.Eric Anderson never believed in the mermaid -- until his ship was crashed on the rocks, and he saw a mermaid seconds before the disaster. After that incident, he stays on the land with his family, but eventually grows restless for the sea. He leaves for a shipping job far away. Three years later, his wife, children, and grandchildren Anna and Jon receive nine gifts -- which the wise woman Howdy tells them is significant. Everything regarding the mermaid and their grandfather, she says, will be connected with the number three.One of the gifts is a conch shell, which the spooked Jon finds will summon the mermaid. After Anna accidently calls the mermaid up, the fishy girl is at first charmed by the sight of a "female land creature," then demands Anna's gift, a beautiful jade comb. When Anna refuses to give it to her, the mermaid threatens to drive away the herring -- meaning that the village will starve that winter. A war of wills begins between two ingenious kids and a ruthless mermaid -- not just for the village, but for Eric Anderson as well...This is a stronger book than Hunter's "Stranger Came Ashore," partly due to the more mainstream plotline and partly due to the third-person narrative. For the characters, Hunter hits all the nails on the head, as every person's emotions and responses are perfectly-written. Her descriptions of a rural village full of life and work is appealing, as are her atmospheric descriptions of the coastline.Jon and Anna are good heroes for this. Jon is strong-willed and a little befuddled by what is going on around him, while Anna is an innocent little girl with a scheming streak. Senior citizens Jamie and the Howdy add a note of experience and wisdom. The mermaid is also excellently drawn: she's not evil so much as lacking in generosity, mercy, or basic kindness. Like a spoiled brat, she wants what she wants, and will throw a tantrum to get it. And in keeping with her vanity, her only goal is to make her sister mermaids envy her."Mermaid Summer" is a charming, sometimes spooky look at the less benevolent mermaids. With endearing heroes and a tight storyline, it's a good read for any and all kids.

Eric Anderson was the only fisherman in the village who laughed at the tale of the mermaid whose favourite place was the Drongs, the huge rocks off the coast of the village. (They're real, by the way, lying off Hillswick Ness in the Shetland Islands of northern Scotland.)Eric stopped laughing, though, on the foggy day when he and his crew not only saw her, but were lured onto the rocks by her singing. After consulting the Howdy - the local wisewoman, in this 19th century village - Eric left the fishing fleet to sign on for a long ocean voyage, rather than endanger the other fishermen. The Howdy offered hope - and riddles, recommending what gifts he should find and send home to his family. Not until later do we understand the Howdy's prophecy that Granda Eric's gifts will be his hope of coming home, and that his fate is ruled by the number three. The Howdy's character is well drawn - we see enough of the story from her viewpoint to know that she's not as uncanny as she seems, and enough to understand why all the kids are scared of her.Eric sends gifts and letters to his wife Sarah, his son, and his grandchildren, Jon and Anna - but not the name of his ship or its home port, fearing that he might weaken if they write back. Both the adults and children of the family are developed properly as characters; Sarah, Eric's wife, reacts about as you might expect to her husband's exile to the ends of the earth, giving us a glimpse of the Howdy's treatment of the ailments of despair. While the adults are too proud to write against Eric's wishes, Anna is so determined that she figures out how to get her letters to Eric, always ending, 'Please come home soon.' She may even be determined enough to defeat the mermaid's magic...The mermaid, as you may have gathered, is drawn in the tradition of the old legends: beautiful, but ageless, and as uncaring as the sea of any human feelings. Mermaids have *some* feelings, just not the softer ones: they revel in the jealousy of other mermaids, for instance, or the rush of power. She isn't evil; she's outside human reckoning, like a storm or a shark. When the children finally encounter her face-to-face, they find themselves trying to outwit her for both Granda Eric's freedom and the fate of the entire herring fleet.

I read this book when I was young and loved it. I read it again recently and loved it again. The story of a mermaid whom an entire village fears and of the young girl and her brother who dare to try and outwit her, this book is fast-paced and compelling until the very end.

Even though the mermaid in the story was depicted as evil, the book was still good. There was a sense of magic and mystery to the novel. I liked the way that the main character used her own wits and strength, but still allowed other people to help her. The end of the story was also satisfying, which added a lot.