From the flap “ Oak Grove is a dry, dusty town haunted by memories of a past flood. Everyone dreads the water – except two brothers, Trevor and Eli McGill. Nicknamed Trout and Eel for their darting quickness and the mysterious webbing between their fingers and toes, the boys dream of the farthest seas and of a magical past they barely remember.
Martha Glimmer, the boys’ loyal friend, has her own reasons to help them reach their hearts’ desire. She’s running away from her own memories – of her mother’s death, her father’s grief, and of the time before her heart was broken.
Little do Martha, Trout and Eel know that running away will lead them on a journey back to their own true natures…. “

I have gradually been reading Hoffman's oeuvre and popped this into my cart for an online book order. I was surprised at what a little thing it is, a short story, really, which is not my favorite format. It's a sweet tale but more importantly, it has Hoffman's beautiful voice, her particular brand of Magical Realism…which is SO magical. ( )

It was a cute short book with a nice plot to it. It's a good book for a younger generation but it has concepts that a lot of people can or could at some point relate to and appreciate. ( )

This one's a cute, short story. There's not much to it. I liked it enough, but i'd rather read something more substantial.

*Review written on December 16, 2014.* ( )

Touted as a young adult novel, but really just a short story printed with exceptionally wide margins and spaces between lines to get 80 pages out of a 25 page tale.
This one was pretty much lost on me. It was so extremely short, and the plot so completely linear, there was no room for character development, so I didn't feel that I knew or cared particularly about any of the three main characters.
The story itself was an unrealistic fairy tale about two brothers who are half-merfolk, living in a town where everyone is afraid of water. I don't mind the fact it was a fairy tale, but it didn't have much of a plot, and there didn't seem to be much point to the story other than its minimal plot. ( )

A cute little story about two adopted brothers who learn that they are the sons of a mermaid. ( )