Add this one to the list of really good mermaid books! This story moves around through time and one needs to pay attention to the chapter titles which tell us when we are. The prologue introduces us to Syrenka who is a mermaid. She is fascinated with humans and spends a lot of time observing them. But she learns that she is dangerous to the creatures she observes. Then the story shifts to the present and introduces Hester who is a seventeen-year-old history buff who is determined never to fall in love, marry and have children. She is afraid that she has a hidden genetic fault that would cause her to die after having a baby. After all, her mother and grandmother died shortly after they had their first child. She has a best friend named Peter who, I think, would like to be a boyfriend. I am not quite sure if Hester realizes this and is ignoring it or whether she is genuinely oblivious to his feelings. The old story tells about Ezra, budding naturalist, meeting Syrenka and falling in love with her in 1872. But local fishermen warn him away from her because of a long history of fishermen dying after interacting with those sea creatures. Ezra ignores the advice. When Syrenka is caught in a fisherman's net and Ezra almost drowns, Syrenka is attacked by the fisherman but kills him and becomes human. She has a baby and tries to give it to the sea but the baby is found by the widow of the fisherman she kills. Ezra and Syrenka, who has taken the name Sarah, marry but the widow of the fisherman is jealous of her and tries to convince the local pastor to perform an exorcism which goes incredibly wrong. In the present, Hester meets Ezra in a sea cave and develops an incredible attraction to him that causes her to do some uncharacteristic things like stealing a rare book from the library and stealing an old doll from a historical museum. This story is a mystery as Hester tries to learn about her family's past and the curse that is on it.I thought the whole mythology about mermaids and the curse was well-done. I found the end of the story to be very intense. I think my students who like romance, paranormals, and interesting characters will enjoy this story.
