Cry of the Sea by DG Driver

More info*

Publication date: 2014
Publisher: Fire and Ice
Pages: 200
My rating: 3 stars
Ages: 13+
Series: Juniper Sawfeather

Juniper "June" Sawfeather has spent her entire life helping her environmental activist parents try to save the planet, one small thing at a time. When an oil company's tanker leaks into the ocean, June and her father are the first on the scene. Among the dead and dying oil covered sea life, June finds something almost unbelievable--a mermaid. The next few days see June and her parents trying to convince the world the horrors of oil spills as well as protecting the mermaid. Will big oil find the mermaid and downplay the consequences of the spill or will June and her parents succeed?

I thought that the book dragged a little at the beginning, but a third of the way through it started to pick up. The take on mermaids was completely different than anything else. I have to admit that I thought that they were going to be the pretty, human-like creatures I've grown used to. But it was a good take, especially with how the other characters reacted, creating a conversation that I could see happening. Driver also included Native American tales and culture, mixed with the modern environmentalism.

I wish that the book had been longer and more fleshed out. I would have liked to have seen more interaction between June and the mermaid, as well as with the other characters. The story seemed to end fast, leaving me wanting to know more about the mermaid and what June planned to do if she ever met them again. Perhaps these are questions Driver will answer in another of the books in the series.

No language or sexual situations.

*I received this book from the author in exchange for this review.