Between the Land and Sea--Derrolyn Anderson

Publishing Date: March 19, 2011

Genre: YA Fantasy/Romance

Series: Marina's tales # 1

List Price: $0.99

Sensuality Rating: G

Star Rating: 5/5

Synopsis:

Marina is a privileged girl who’s had an unusual upbringing. Traveling the world with her scientist father, doted on by her wealthy and glamorous neighbor Evie, Marina’s life seems perfect.
Everything changes in the summer of her sixteenth year when she is sent to live with her Aunt Abby and Cousin Cruz in the lovely seaside town of Aptos, California.
Only a few weeks after arriving, sixteen year-old Marina has nearly drowned twice, enchanted the hottest guy in high school, and discovered a supernatural creature. If she can manage to survive some increasingly dangerous encounters with unpredictable mermaids, she might be able to unlock the mystery of her past and appease the mysterious forces that want something from her...
And maybe even find true love along the way.

My Opinion:

          Between the and Sea has made me a lover of mermaids again! A few months back, I read this book that was so strange and creepy, it put me off mermaids for awhile (I thought forever, but Ms.Anderson has saved me from never touching a mermaid novel ever again.Thank you!) and I had a very wary feeling starting the book. Fortunately, I am now able to begin a mermaid based novel without having any biased feelings, anymore.hat is written in first person. I'm not a big fan of first person, but this novel was done superbly and I can't complain.

          Author's purpose of righting Between Land and Sea is to bring you on a journey through the eyes of a teenage girl learning new and exciting thing's about herself. Hopefully, you will enjoy and want to learn more by the end of the book. It is obviously a fictional piece of writing t

 This mermaid based novel is about a girl learning about her unique heritage that has been kept secret and finding true love. I extremely enjoyed it, and hope you will give it a shot.

         

The Good:

• The prologue instantly drew attention. It was written to pull a reader into the book and not let go until the last page. Very well done.
• The informal writing style helps readers to connect with the characters in the book. Her work is clear and coherent, and very original, which is always a plus.
• Character development is very successful; when I was reading Between Land and Sea I could  picture each character acutely. By the end of the book, I felt as if I knew each character on a personal level.
• Reader instantly becomes addicted to the plot, characters, atmosphere. One of my favorite aspects of the novel was the setting! I wanted to know more about Aptos, California. The way Ms. Anderson describes it made me want to visit. From what I can tell, she is a very descriptive and talented writer and belongs on a best seller list!
• The whole idea of Between Land and Sea is so unique and original. It was not disappointing in the least. I loved learning about the mermaids.
• I was especially interested in the different ethnic jargon Ms. Anderson used in the novel. Not only did she tell of Marinas travels around the world, but she backed them up with little phrases that Marina "learned" as well as cultural knowledge. This shows the reader, the author took time to research. readers appreciate that kind of thing.
• I love Aunt Evie! What teenage girl doesn't want an "Auntie" to take her under her wings and buy her a bunch of designer clothes?

Normally, I would have a "The Bad" list, but since this is five stars and I can't seem to find anything  wrong with it or anything that I didn't like, so we'll move right along to recommendations!

Recommendations??

          I would recommend this book to any fantasy lover or a YA reader. Anyone interested inn mermaids and true love would do well to read Between Land and Sea.