Review: Lost Voices

Lost Voices
by Sarah Porter
Series: Lost Voices #1
Pages: 291
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: July 4, 2011

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Fourteen-year-old Luce has had a tough life, but she reaches the depths of despair when she is assaulted and left on the cliffs outside of a grim, gray Alaskan fishing village. She expects to die when she tumbles into the icy waves below, but instead undergoes an astonishing transformation and becomes a mermaid. A tribe of mermaids finds Luce and welcomes her in—all of them, like her, lost girls who surrendered their humanity in the darkest moments of their lives. Luce is thrilled with her new life until she discovers the catch: the mermaids feel an uncontrollable desire to drown seafarers, using their enchanted voices to lure ships into the rocks. Luce possesses an extraordinary singing talent, which makes her important to the tribe—she may even have a shot at becoming their queen. However her struggle to retain her humanity puts her at odds with her new friends. Will Luce be pressured into committing mass murder? The first book in a trilogy, Lost Voices is a captivating and wildly original tale about finding a voice, the healing power of friendship, and the strength it takes to forgive.

*A copy was provided by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for review purposes*

I have never read a mermaid book before, so going into this book I didn’t really know what to expect.  I knew how the traditional mermaid stories were told, so I was expecting that.  But that’s not what I got.  I got something better.

First off, this book is amazing.  Second, this book is amazing.  And third, this book is amazing.  I didn’t have any clue what Sarah Porter was going to do with a mermaid story, but it turned out to be a unique, catchy book.  The idea was amazing.  I really liked the different spin Porter put on the mermaid folktale.  Even though this book wasn’t very action-packed, it still kept me interested.  The writing was, in a word, amazing.  The story line, the staging, the events, everything was amazing, and the climax was really, really good.  The one thing that I did have a problem with was a little hole in the plot.  It’s when Luce saves someone with her talent (I’m not giving spoilers) and everyone should be astounded and wondering how she can do it, but Porter just left it.  Another thing that wasn’t that good was how, after like five pages, Luce and Catarina were already BFFs.  There was no build, and to make matters worse, Luce was literally saying, “I love her.”  Waayy to weird for me.  And one last thing: I don’t understand why Samantha (a mermaid in this book) was begging Catarina to save Anais, literally crying about it.  I though it was because they were sisters, but Porter never really explained that.  Those three little flaws were what kept this book from getting 5 stars.

I really like this cast of characters, and I liked that they were introduced as the story progressed, and not just in the beginning.  It was a really big cast but I really liked it like that because it made the story interesting.

I really liked Luce.  I thought she was a strong, defiant, confident person who had been left out her entire life but didn’t let that get in the way of doing what was right.

I also liked Catarina.  I felt really bad for her at the end, but she did kind of bring it on herself.  I thought she was kick-butt, confident, and really queen-like.

Now I’m going to do a 180 and say that I hate and despise Anais.  She was so mean, self entitled, and just down-right horrible, I couldn’t stand her.  But she does make a great villain in this book.

This book was a really good introduction for me into the mermaid genre, and seriously, I would have given this book 5 stars and a ranting review if not for those three flaws.  I can’t wait to continue on with the series, and I highly recommend picking up this book.

4 1/2 pink flowers