Banks works out some of the kinks in the humor as the book proceeds, and readers should get a kick out of it. After the realistically bloody death, the book doesn’t wait long to plunge into comedy, complete with sitcom-style dialogue, that falls awkwardly flat at first. Heroine Emma begins the book by failing to save her best friend from a shark attack. However, the word “mermaid” just isn’t allowed call them “Syrena,” instead. I think some of the relationship problems are discussed really well in the review by Katya in Goodread so give it a read.Another twist on the mermaid theme comes with a hefty dose of romance and a heavier dollop of comedy in this debut.

And to be equally fair, she was really being assertive and standing up for herself. To be fair, there are a lot of these same types of conventions in most fantasy fiction presenting royalty, it just was highlighted more because here we have people who are basically strangers telling this young lady who she had to be. For example, when Emma goes on a date with another young man, Galen insists that Emma leave with him and will not take no as an answer. Teen readers looking for romantic tension will not be disappointed here, although some people who raise valid criticisms about the Edward/Bella relationships may find themselves making the same types of criticisms about Of Poseidon.

This is an interesting concept because it allows for us to have thoughtful conversations about respecting other cultures in very abstract terms.

Galen and Emma butt heads multiple times as he tries to tell her what to do (seriously – don’t go into the water). Galen was a frustrating character for the feminist in me because this is a character that is part of a society ruled by tradition and structure, some of which is not very forward thinking – especially when it comes to people in positions of royalty determining their own mate. So it is interesting to see Emma, a typical American teenager, suddenly being told that she is someone other than who she thinks she is and does not have the freedoms that she is used to. Anna Banks creates a well developed underwater world with complex rules, well developed structures, and a lore that tweaks what you think you know about mermaids and makes it both fun and intruiging.Įmma is a strong female character who thinks for herself, challenges the merpeople conventions – which are frustrating for a girl like Emma – and wrestles with a variety of complex emotions, including the grief and guilt she feels about the death of her best friend over the summer.

Anna banks of poseidon series