Lu Hersey

Although I haven't finished the book, I already know what I have to say about it. The plot line is brilliant and well thought out.

However, a real downside is the writing style. I really struggled to read it because it is clearly aimed at younger children. I feel like the sentences and grammar let the story down because it was so simple.

This book is suitable for young readers (under the age of 13, I'd say) and I think it would be a very good read but personally, I didn't enjoy the book.… (meer)

Nice take on the Selkie myth which I guessed as soon as Danni mentioned the saltwater puddle in the kitchen! Danni lives with her mother and rarely sees her father. She knows nothing about her mother's family and assumes that they are all dead as her mother has mentioned that her father drowned at sea. One day Danni comes home from school to find her mother gone - no note, justa puddle of seawater on the kitchen bench. After waiting for 24 hrs and no sign, she calls her father who takes her back to his seaside shop in Cornwall. After a few frantic days, her mother is found not far from her Dad's town, in a stupor with no clothes on, on the beach, and is placed in a psychiatric ward as she is unresponsive to her daughter and ex-husband.
Danni must then live with her Dad (it is school holidays) and try and unravel the mystery of what happened to her mother. SPOILER ALERT: She discovers that her mother grew up in the town, witnessed a murder by a cult , changed her name and moved away. Danni is also confronted by people in the street who cross themselves and spit at her when she goes near - and talk about "her kind" not being wanted. She finds out that her grandmother is alive and that her mother hasn't spoken to her for years because she believes that Mamwyn could have stopped her father from drowning if she had transformed into a seal. (Selkie's are seal people who when they wrap themselves in a special seal skin turn into seals) It turns out that her mother's skin has been taken from her that is why she is in a stupor.
There is also Romance with Elliot ( the nephew of a woman who hates her mother), her best friend Levi's help, her new relationship with her half sister and the homeless man Robert who seems to be able to work magic. All very gripping and interesting.… (meer)