Helpful Score: 4
A wonderful book about a daughter who decides to leave her family behind (after dealing with her mom's evil boyfriend ((fair warning he cusses A LOT in this book))), so she decides to take a chance and stay the summer with her mother's godmother and best friend. She learns a lot about her past and her future during her stay, and also what Mermaid Park really means to her and how it ties into everything. An amazing book with a wonderful story line, a perfect cozy read for these warm summer months. Again just be wary of the cussing as it does get out of hand, but it depecits real life instead of giving us the happy fluffy feeling, it lets you know how badly it really hurts Amy in this book when her mother's boyfriend cusses at her the way he does.
Helpful Score: 1
Sixteen-year-old Amy's family goes back to Wildwood, on the Jersey shore, for the first time since her mom married stepfather Tom. For Amy, Wildwood promises a summer of exciting new things--such as the interested cute pool boy, Dylan, who works at her godmother Lynne's motel, or an enchanting park she stumbles across in North Wildwood, where mermaids perform mesmerizing routines in a huge tank for audiences.
Amy manages to convince her family to let her stay for the summer and find work. She's thrilled to finally get away from the bullying Tom, indifferent mother, and perpetual liar Mel. She even manages to land a job at Mermaid Park. Cleaning trash and organizing the dressing room for the girls who play the mermaids, but still, it's a job at a place where she believes magic can happen. Things even seem to be going well with Dylan. Amy discovers a whole lot of self-confidence she didn't have before the summer.
As she learns more and more about how Mermaid Park functions, however, Amy ends up learning some things about herself and her family that seem to throw off everything she has believed about herself. Maybe this newfound knowledge will help her grow into a better person in the long run.
MERMAID PARK is a cozy little read set in the fantastically summery world of the Jersey shore. It's a great book to bring down the shore with you, to be brought out when your toes are covered with soft, warm sand.
Amy manages to convince her family to let her stay for the summer and find work. She's thrilled to finally get away from the bullying Tom, indifferent mother, and perpetual liar Mel. She even manages to land a job at Mermaid Park. Cleaning trash and organizing the dressing room for the girls who play the mermaids, but still, it's a job at a place where she believes magic can happen. Things even seem to be going well with Dylan. Amy discovers a whole lot of self-confidence she didn't have before the summer.
As she learns more and more about how Mermaid Park functions, however, Amy ends up learning some things about herself and her family that seem to throw off everything she has believed about herself. Maybe this newfound knowledge will help her grow into a better person in the long run.
MERMAID PARK is a cozy little read set in the fantastically summery world of the Jersey shore. It's a great book to bring down the shore with you, to be brought out when your toes are covered with soft, warm sand.
