The Mermaid’s Mirror is a tale about Lena finding out that her heritage is a wee bit more exotic than she had thought it was. When Lena sees a mermaid, everything she thought she knew and understood about her world is turned upside down. She becomes obsessed with finding out more about a creature that should not exist and when she succeeds in unearthing secrets, nothing in her life remains unchanged. I like the pacing of the story – there are no unnecessary lulls in the narrative. The author sustains the mystery and builds upon it satisfactorily until it is resolved in an interesting manner. The portrayal of grief and loss is well done and believable. However, the relationships between the teenagers seem a bit stilted and stiff. Lena, as an individual, is interesting enough, but I believe that she has the potential to be just a little bit more original. I had issues with the online conversations but I believe this might be a person peeve as I dislike the butchering that the language often goes through online and this does not reflect at all on the author. I felt that the beginning was unnecessarily melodramatic – when Lena fainted, etc – but it all came into place when the story developed. The group hugs became a bit incessant and started to lose their effect after the fourth one. I think the portion with the mermaids and their village was done exceptionally well. A lot of thought was put into the creation of their world and characteristics. I appreciated the detailed descriptions. The conflict within Lena was poignant and well expressed. I liked the book though I believe it could have been better.
