Life on land is suffocating for Jess Creary, who wastes her summers flipping burgers for tourists on a fishing boat off her quaint resort island home off the coast of Maine. After all, her older sister Kay died in a boating accident two years ago, her mother has disappeared, and her father isn't exactly dealing with things so well. Surfing and the handsome Captain Matthew are about the only bright spots in her life. Then, on her twenty-third birthday, Jess catches the perfect wave--a wave that transforms her into a mermaid. Under the sea, a startlingly beautiful, dark place, Jess is reborn into a confident, powerful predator with superhuman strength --finally she is someone to be reckoned with. Meanwhile, back on land, Jess's relationship with Captain Matthew heats up, and so does her search for justice for Kay. Jess has thirty days to choose between land and sea; legs and fins; her humanity and her freedom. Who could ignore the freedom of the sea? Yet, the ocean is a dark, wild, lonely place. Is this a gift or a curse? Will Jess choose family and love, forgiveness and truth, or will she be seduced by the wild call of the sparkling sea forever?
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Jess Creary tragically loses her older sister, Kay, in a boating accident. It's suspected that Kay's boyfriend, Tripp Sinclair, may have had something to do with the death. Not long after, her mother disappears. Now two years have passed and Jess and her father are still trying to find their footing in life again. Jess has been distracting herself with surfing, working as galley staff on charter fishing boats, and quietly crushing on young, hot Captain Matthew.
On her 23rd birthday, Jess's father gifts her a necklace charm that she later discovers helps her morph into a mermaid with superhuman strength. While unsure of herself on land, in the sea Jess becomes a strong predator to be feared and respected. For the time being, Jess has the ability to move between both worlds, but she's soon informed that she'll have to choose one world or the other within the next 30 days.
Though the characters are all supposed to be in their 20s or older, this read more like a YA novel. Much of the plot emphasis seemed to be more centered around navigating difficulties within family or friendships or summer jobs / romances rather than the paranormal aspect. I would've liked to have seen the story go deeper with the Native American mythology... until you get closer to the end of the book, the references are kinda minimal. Even the passages discussing Jess's experiences as a mermaid are brief.
A good light summer read, entertaining for what it is, I was just hoping for a little more depth and atmosphere overall.
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