A fantasy/historical fiction novel about a poor orphan girl in late 19th century New England who discovers within herself a strange longing and need for the ocean. The novel was inspired by a painting at the Boston MFA (John Singer Sargent's The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit) and contains a fictionalized version of how this painting came into being.

The story is heartfelt, with sprinkles of sensual descriptions of the water, but often the author's research gets in the way of her writing. Historical details like types of clothing or cleaning supplies aren't as artfully woven into the text as they could be and it almost feels like Lasky needs us to know how much work she put into the novel.

Overall though, it is an interesting read and I'm considering reading the rest of the novels when they come out. I wonder if the rest of them will have a fine arts tie-in too? ( )

It’s 1899. Hannah is an orphan and, at 15 years old, can no longer be supported by the orphanage. When she is sent inland (from Boston), she has an odd skin reaction and soon after ends up back in Boston where the sea air seems better for her. She finds a job as a scullery maid, and meets a painter who seems to be able to sense something about her…

I really liked this. It’s YA, so very quick to read. The author has some beautiful descriptions. Quickly glancing at other reviews, some people didn’t like the focus on a servant’s life, but I really like historical fiction and found it very interesting! ( )

DAUGHTERS OF THE SEA: HANNAH is a sweet, readable story about an orphaned teenaged girl who discovers, over the course of the novel, that she is a mermaid. A reader drawn to the premise and looking for a light read will probably have a good time with this book; an older or more critical reader, however, will probably find it problematic.

As an older AND more critical reader, I was frequently annoyed. The author has a habit of setting up a compelling sub-plot, only to fail on the follow-through. For example. At the beginning of the novel, we find Hannah about to leave her orphanage for the wide world beyond. The headmistress of the orphanage sends Hannah to orphan exile in Kansas because she is so "unsuitable" for domestic labor in the city of Boston. About a month later, Hannah returns to Boston and the evil headmistress who sent her away has oh-so-conveniently disappeared, replaced with a new, much kinder woman who declares Hannah perfectly suitable and sets her up with a position in the wealthy Hawley household. I was annoyed by the sudden switch from Hannah the fish-out-of-water (har har har) who we meet in the first few chapters of the novel, to Hannah the likable, who gets along with everyone and always finds help just when she needs it.

Hannah's love interest, Stannish Whitman Wheeler, is problematic as well. One the one hand, it's pretty neat that he is modeled after John Singer Sargent and art-lovers who read the book will recognize that Wheeler's portrait of the three Hawley daughters is modeled after one of Sargent's most famous paintings, "The Daughters of Edward D. Boit" - down to the massive Chinese vases in the dimly lit room. On the other hand, it's perfectly ridiculous that Wheeler is presented as a world-famous artist taking commmissions from America's greatest families at the age of nineteen (probably as old as he could be without making his attraction to fifteen-year-old Hannah entirely creepy).

And the author is ultimately foiled by her own emphasis on historical accuracy: Hannah is a scullery maid and Wheeler is a famous artist, and so the two almost never cross paths. At some point in the novel, it's taken for granted that there is a very strong bond between the two of them - but based on what? A single, very brief conversation and a couple of shared glances? When Hannah starts making decisions based on Wheeler's importance in her life, I could only feel sorry for her.

I could go on. The book is, indeed, pleasant and readable but I kept getting hung up on little issues like the ones I've mentioned. If these sound like the kind of minor problems that can ruin your reading experience, DAUGHTERS OF THE SEA is not for you. But if they sound like silly nit-picking, which they may be!, go ahead and pick it up. ( )

This review has been crossposted from my blog at The Cosy Dragon . Please head there for more in-depth reviews by me, which appear on a timely schedule.

Hannah has been brought up in an institute for orphans, yet she feels a yearning for something more. She is surprisingly well educated, yet she can't guess what she is going to become. Some transparent drama complicates Hannah's life, yet she doesn't know she can move on.

Hannah was tolerable. I was really very disappointed in this book. There was no depth. Hannah is a flat character, the three sisters are flat characters and the painter is rather like a cameo. Something I did like was the way the beautiful painting was described in great detail. I would have liked to see more of the painter's work, and know what happened to the painting once it was defaced.

The family's rather sudden sympathy for Hannah makes no sense. The reader doesn't see her socialising with the staff, and although she gets along well with Ettie, I don't think it was shown clearly enough that Ettie had come to love her. I'd almost say there was too much telling and not enough showing.

I knew almost from the beginning what Hannah was, it was so blindingly obvious. Transparent, that's what I'd call this book. Transparent and unsatisfying. Not unreadable like Wit'ch Fire, but still not great. No real danger in the book to satisfy the reader, not even really any anticipation. The cat Jade and her owner Lila are nasty, irrational and mean but they don't really do anything to Hannah.

The book is Americanised to an extreme. Hannah travels from Boston to Kansas. See, I have some knowledge of geography, but only very little bit. So I felt almost completely lost. I'm sure Americans might appreciate the localisation more.

The ending was quite unsatisfying. Too open ended for me, and I just couldn't love the way Hannah thought she could choose anything she wanted. The question of Lila wasn't answered. Worse still, the next book in the series (there was a small excerpt at the end of this book) doesn't seem to be about Hannah, and what she found. I'm just glad I didn't get the sequel which was right next to it in the store.

I picked this book up while on my overseas holiday, and was actually tempted to just leave it at the house I was staying at. If I've met my weight limit when flying home, this one will not be returning with me. I don't think it's worth a second read - not enough depth.

Although this is marketed to young adult readers, I'd recommend this book for children who can't see through transparent plots. Normally I would be relatively tolerant of perceived inadequacies in children's books - they aren't aimed at adults like me - but in this case, I'm not sure there were any really good redeeming qualities. ( )

My feelings on the book

Never having read a novel about mermaids before I was quite sceptical of how I would feel about the story. To my surprise I loved the book! Lasky is a beautiful writer that left me reading through the night unable to put the book down.

The main character Hannah is 15 years old when the orphanage that she has called home for all those years doesn't want to place her in a "suitable" job because the head lady, Mrs. Larkin feels Hannah is just "different", unable to handle working in a home or at a store. So Hannah is shipped off on a Orphan train headed for Kansas. As Hannah becomes further and further from the ocean the sicker she becomes.

Through a course of events, Hannah is sent back to Boston for work as a scullery girl for a family named The Hawley's.

Hannah's life becomes fascinating, I was on my toes at what was going to happen next. At all times I had no idea where the author was taking me. I loved that the storyline was not predictable!

There was only one thing I didn't like about the book. Hannah encounters Lila, the oldest of the Hawley daughters. Lila's character is dark, mean and selfish. Lila's relationship with her cat is just plain*weird*. Throughout the story I wish they would explain if the cat can sense something in Hannah, maybe that's why the cat hates Hannah so much. Also why the cat is trying to take a certain item from Hannah. That still seems a mystery to me. ( )