Melanie McFarlane

A pleasant and engaging story for young readers in need of a "short, high-interest novel with contemporary themes written specifically for middle-school students reading below grade level (publisher's description of Orca Current series)". This particular book concerns a mermaid abducted to the Canadian Prairies and now trapped in the lake at Buffalo Pound Provincial Park, Saskatchewan.

I was very interested in reading the book, because I have visited Buffalo Pound more than once, love it very much from afar, and hoped for some feeling of the place. I didn't really get that feeling, probably partly because the shortness of the book (115 pages) and the necessarily simplified presentation of the story did not allow for much description of the scenery (and the scenery at Buffalo Pound is truly magical and amazing, with the rounded hills looking like the back of sleeping buffalo that might wake, emerge from the earth, and suddenly speak), but also because I was just puzzled about the setting, like where the general store was that the kids were continually bicycling to. The only store I'm aware of within a reasonable distance of the park is the concession inside the park, and the details of this store didn't fit. It helps with this sort of thing if the author puts a small explanation in the back of the book to tell readers what they changed in the physical landscape. A map of the area would have been immensely helpful too. The kids travel all over the park, to places I recognize and places I didn't, and I couldn't keep up with it. If I didn't know the park at all, I wouldn't have been any less disoriented. Perhaps Orca will provide these in the final edition.

The heroine of the story is obsessed with treasure hunting, so I was quite surprised when she and her mother discuss her mom's plans to move to Moose Jaw and Macy is resistant, that rather than refer to the famous Moose Jaw tunnels (built, according to legend, by bootleggers -- the treasure potential must be almost as great as the historical interest), Mom just says that new places have new treasures. Meh. A great chance to get kids interested in Saskatchewan's history was missed there.

All in all, it's a book likely to engage young readers' attention. There are some good family scenes, and boy/girl cooperation between Macy and her friend Sam, and positive messages about the elderly neighbour whom the children initially misunderstand, who turns out to be a very interesting person indeed. Plus mermaid drama and treasure. Recommended.… (meer)

This is a short and wonderful novel about a mermaid trapped in Buffalo Pound Lake, Saskatchewan. For some reason this makes it Canadiana although it could have been set anywhere away from the ocean. Grandma, dad and nine year old all enjoyed reading this. The characters are relatable and the setting makes you want to visit Saskatchewan, or at least this part of that province. As an aside, the book is friendly to dyslexic readers with a special font and paper. However, I know some people can't read serif heavy fonts and this font is very much a serif font so that might be a problem for those readers.… (meer)