Ripple

Ripple

Mandy Hubbard

ISBN: 978-1595144232

Razorbill, 2011

Plot Summary: Lexi’s father abandoned her family when she was young and her mother, after some major drama with a potential new husband, killed herself leaving Lexi in the care of her father’s mother. Lexi, however, harbors a dark secret. On the night of her 16^th birthday—almost a year ago—she went swimming with her boyfriend, Steven, and he drowned. She’s been living in isolation, loneliness, and guilt every since. None of her friends will speak to her because many of them believe she could have done something to save him but all she remembers of that night was getting into the water and then finding his floating body. Her secret is that she fears she killed him. All she knows is that every night since then she has had to spend all night swimming of she gets very ill. But now it is the start of a new school year and while everyone still ignoring her, Cole, Steven’s best friend, actually starts to open up to her and befriend her. However, she knows she can’t let him in no matter how much she likes him because she might end up killing again. Soon a new student shows up and Erik begins to show an equal interest in her. When she and Cole begin dating, however, Cole’s friends reluctantly let her back into the circle. Soon it’s happy times again for Lexi until the night that she is swimming and Erik catches her and reveals the truth—she is a siren and he is a nix. He’s come looking for her because he has learned of a prophecy that says if a siren and a nix fall in love they can break their curses and be free of the sea forever. Thinking this is the only path to normalcy, Lexi breaks up with Cole and starts dating Erik. However, they have only a limited number of days because if they aren’t in love before he turns 18 it will be too late. Cole, however, won’t back down without a fight for Lexi and Lexi is torn between the two. However, what does she really know about Erik and his intentions?

Critical Evaluation: This is my first mermaid book. It was pretty good. While still a typical paranormal book focusing on a love triangle at its heart, the mythology behind it is pretty interesting. Obviously a siren from the beginning, Lexi needs to swim every night or she gets ill. If anyone is near her sees her they will follow her into the water and drown, which is what happened to Steven. There is a way to end the curse (which helps explain why her father left her mother and then her mother’s second relationship also failed) but it is not the way that Erik promises. Cole is the good guy while Erik is the bad guy. Cole is a good guy at heart—he loved Lexi while she was with Steven but hide his feelings when it was clear that she liked Steven more. Erik is the bad guy who appears charming and great until he turns totally evil. Turns out Lexi should have done her mythological homework on how nix’s end up killing people . . . The book ends with a huge action scene and a happy ending.

Reader's Annotation: Lexi is a siren and she is torn between guilt for (what she believes is her fault) the death of her boyfriend and new affections for Cole, her boyfriend’s best friend who has always loved her and the new guy Erik who knows what she is and promises her a cure.  

Author Information: Mandy Hubbard is a literary agent at D4EO literary, specializing in young adult and middle grade fiction. She's also the author of seven teen novels, written under her own name and the pen name Amanda Grace. Her titles include Prada & Prejudice, You Wish, Dangerous Boy, and But I Love Him. She's currently living happily ever after in her hometown of Enumclaw, Washington, where she watches too much MTV and stays up too late (Hubbard, 2012).

Genre: Fantasy

Curriculum Ties:  N/A

Booktalking Ideas: Mythology interest

Reading Level/Interest Age: 12+

Challenge Issues: N/A

Challenge Defense: N/A

Reason for Inclusion:  A good paranormal fantasy book on sirens. Will appeal to a lot of mythology fans (and paranormal romance fans).

References: 

Hubbard, M. (2012). Biography Retrieved from http://mandyhubbard.blogspot.com/p/biography.html