I wish I could give this 3.5 stars but I can't so I will have to settle for 3. I loved the idea of this book. I loved how lovingly the author described the ocean. I loved the love between the family members.

I would give it 3.5 stars because of the way it was written. I liked that it covered a long period of time in the mermaid village, but did not cessation like how it jumped in time with no explanation of the In between. This may just be the perils of an adult reading a young adult novel though.

Overall I really enjoyed the story. ( )

such an incredible story they I do wanted to continue. .. I was extremely saddened when I read that the author had passed away from cancer so no more stories would follow.

The first half of the book was really hard to get through. It had a lot of predictable moments and the fight between Lena and her dad was kind of weird. There were several occasions in the book where they mentioned the amazing love between Lena's parents but I was hoping for a flashback or something. I wanted to see their love story and how he ended up with her supposed best friend at the time. When Lena finally meets her mom face to face then the book gets interesting. But you have the awkward old fashioned English that her mom speaks. Just because she doesn't remember a lot of English doesn't mean it changed that much in the past six years or however long it's been since she left. I really enjoyed the mermaid world and it was a different take on their lifestyle. But it was over so quickly. The love story between Lena and nix was cute but sometimes I forgot she had a bf that she was cheating on and I forgot that she was sixteen because it seemed too mature for sixteen year olds (not even sure what age nix is supposed to be). And I'm still confused about the mermaids hating the humans and their romances. It's never explained other than the betrayal of leaving your own kind. When Lena returns home the book kind of just ends. Nothing was accomplished - she's still an outsider and still separated from her mom. The only difference is that she knows how her mom feels except now her mom has to suffer by watching her daughter thru a mirror. Plus she just left nix. So much for their love story even if she was young. He could've come to find her. And the biggest annoyance is that she gave up the whole mermaid world just so her dad could go surfing? I just felt cheated by the ending. And it was like a circle just going right back to where it started. The only difference was that she broke two boys hearts and her dad can surf. I guess? ( )

2.5 review to come ( )

"The Mermaid's Mirror" is the first mermaid book i have read in years.
The story revolves around Lena, a teenage girl that has a love for the sea. She yearns to learn how to surf but due to a near death experience her dad had years ago in the sea, she is forbidden form learning how to surf. It take a rebelious act to dramatically change Lena's life forever.
The story of Lena can be a bit predictable at times. I also feel that the author seems to rush through certain scenes at the beginning of the book, almost as if impatient to get to the "good stuff." Aside from that the story is quite facinating in the way it depicts the world of the mer-people. All in all a good book to read.