Mermaid by Carolyn Turgeon

Mermaid, by Carolyn Turgeon, is an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid. It's often labeled as "a twist on the classic tale" but I felt it was more of an expansion with a little bit of a twist at the end. It considers both princesses -- the mermaid princess, and the other princess whom the prince falls in love with -- and tells the story through them. It sticks closely to the bones of the Andersen tale through most of the story and only diverges in the last quarter or so, once the human princess (Margrethe, in this version) reaches the prince.

The value in this story comes from the fact that there is no real "bad guy" in play -- both princesses love the prince, and he's conflicted for both personal and political reasons, making this one of the more complex retellings of the story. Even the sea witch is not evil or motivated by greed or malice: she warns Lenia (the young mermaid) that it is a terrible thing to lose a part of oneself, but leaves the choice ultimately up to the mermaid princess.

The book was shorter than I expected, given the complexity of the situation, and I found the writing to be overly formal. On the other hand, since it was adapted from Andersen's story, it makes sense that Turgeon would use similar language. Turgeon does give the main characters complexity and depth, but I would have liked to see that from a few of the other characters, and would have appreciated a little more world-building. There are hints of it within the undersea kingdom, but it's never filled out in the story.

It has the same problem that all versions of this story have to a modern audience: a young woman giving up her life, family, and greatest asset to be with a man (who doesn't even know she exists). Turgeon does manage to give Lenia something else to live for in the end, and this becomes more of a story about two women saving each other than a romance or a story of a heroic prince or tragic princess.

The Mermaid's Pendant by LeAnn Neal Reilly

This is Leann Neal Reilly's first book, a modern retelling of The Little Mermaid.

I went into this really wanting to like it... but I just could not get through it. The beginning is very slow. Skimming ahead, the writing mostly seemed like heavy-handed edification: the message was more important than the story.

While I love the concept -- moving past the "happily ever after" of the fairy tale to the struggles of real life and love -- I couldn't bring myself to finish it.

I'd be interested in knowing what other people thought of it, outside of amazon.com rave reviews. If any of you have finished it, please do comment!

The Mermaid's Madness by Jim C. Hines

If this cover art doesn't make you want to pick this book up and read it, well, I don't know what would work for you. And Jim Hines has managed, with exceptional talent, to write a sequel that is as good as the first book in his Princess series.

Following the further adventures of Danielle, Talia, and Snow (respectively Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White), the story picks up as Danielle sails with her mother-in-law on a diplomatic mission to the mermaids--which goes terribly wrong, terribly quickly. The three princesses must race to save their Queen and Kingdom in this fast-paced, exciting sequel to The Stepsister Scheme.

The series is one of the best I've seen at genuinely updating the sensibilities of the characters, making them three-dimensional and feminist, while retaining the fun and whimsy--as well as the darker sides--of the fairy tales they draw from.

I am mentioning this book in its own entry because, well, it's awesome in its own right. I suggest reading the books in order, as there is a lot of character and plot development that's consistent through the series. Hines follows this one up with Red Hood's Revenge, and I am looking forward to the fourth installment, The Snow Queen's Shadow, which should be released next July.

Also be sure to check out Hines's blog for more information on upcoming books and a number of other cool topics.

Midnight Pearls by Debbie Viguié

Midnight Pearls is one of the books in the "Once Upon a Time..." collection by Simon & Schuster. (If you're familiar with Cameron Dokey, you're probably familiar with this series.) This is Debbie Viguié's retelling of The Little Mermaid.

I found this book kind of... ehhhh. It was a quick read, and Viguié had an imaginative twist for the story, but I got tired of Pearl's self-pity pretty quickly. The plot picked up with, not a love triangle, but a love pentagon, between Pearl, the prince, the mermaid... the mermaid's brother... and the translucently evil Sir Robert.

My favorite bit was Viguié's creative twist on mermaid-to-human magic. And it would be unfair of me to say she hasn't given the story a different angle. I certainly appreciate any version of the Little Mermaid that isn't Disney's. (Okay, it's possible that I appreciate that version, too, in some childish part of my heart.) However, this isn't one of my favorites, and unless you're a devoted fan of all variations of the story, you might pass this one up.

Mercedes Lackey's 500 Kingdoms Week: Fortune's Fool

Following up with the drearily slow One Good Knight is the third installment, and possibly my favorite in the series: Fortune's Fool. Lackey returns to the kingdoms with a story about a mermaid who falls in love with a prince--fortunately this is a very, very lucky prince.

This is also the beginning of the storylines that seem to focus a lot on a family of royals who really understand the Tradition and how to use it to their benefit. So Sasha, seventh son of the king, plays the fool in public, but in the rare moments of privacy, his family cherish their good fortune in having him--because in Traditional manner, things just naturally go his way.

When he meets Katya, a princess from a very different kingdom, things heat up right away between them (naturally), until they catch the attention of one of those magic-power grubbing Jinn the Tradition is so likely to throw your way in this world.

I thought this story was one of the strongest in the series, mostly because there was enough plot to keep things rolling steadily. Lackey incorporated the folklore of more than European culture, here, as well, which always changes things up a bit. Also, the spicy romance didn't hurt.