In which we meet Jess, a sullen, slightly embittered young woman on her 23rd birthday who grew up and lives on a island off the coast of Maine. She's depressed because two years ago, her older sister -- then 23 -- died in a boating accident. The death sent her mother on a "spirit journey," and no one knows when, or if, she will return.
It rended Jess's relationship with her father -- the island's sheriff -- because she knows she cannot please him and blames him for not avenging her sister's death. It plunged Jess into a depression, with no plans for her future and no desire to work on something other than a fishing boat.
Her one relief is surfing. And on the day she catches a perfect wave, she magically turns into a mermaid. It's an interesting twist, and not as silly as it sounds. Her temporarily becoming one with the sea gives her a new perspective, and changes her -- not always for the better -- both mentally and physically.
The book explores those changes -- her abilty to become a mermaid, and her return to being human -- and shows how she reacts to a changing summer in a tourist town. The book explores how she learns that she is following an ancient fable, and how she is going to determine a resolution to her changes.
Jess is a great character -- vividly written, nuanced, familiar, and strong enough to carry the book. Other characters are there, but their point is to add another aspect to Jess, or give her someone to play off.
I must say, I am not sure about the book's ending. I found it uninspiring and unsatisfying. But I don't know if any ending could have been satisfactory. The author sets up a good tale and tells it well, but the story's end, like life, cannot be pleasing for everybody
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