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Cute book about a little girl. Decent read for children on a new twist to a fantasy world. ( )

Sink or Swim was probably the Whatever After book that I was most looking forward to so far (I think book #5 is Rapunzel, which I’m really excited for), as it centers around The Little Mermaid, which is one of my favorite fairy tales. However, I forgot at the time that Sarah’s books are retellings of the original Grimm fairy tales, and not the Disney movies, so it was going to be very different.

Sink or Swim starts off with Abby packing for a trip to see her Nana with her mom. When the trip is unexpectedly cancelled, she decides to try to get through the mirror again. This proves to be successful, but Abby is surprised to find herself nearly drowning when the mirror pulls them through. It quickly occurs to her that they’re in The Little Mermaid fairy tale.

Though there were some humorous aspects of Sink or Swim (such as them landing in the Kingdom of Mustard, where everyone wears yellow and ketchup is a four-letter word), overall, it felt more like a story about the ultimate vacation. It also seems like at any given time, Abby has no idea what’s going on, and her little brother doesn’t care.

I didn’t find myself really caring for the Prince or the Little Mermaid in this tale, so it was hard for me to get invested in their story. I felt like the story dragged for quite a while, and then the ending was rushed.

Overall, I thought that Sink or Swim was a cute retelling but that it wasn’t as clever or interesting as the previous Whatever After books.

This review was originally posted on my blog, here. ( )