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melsage1823's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
🍉🍉🍉This was a very good book about grief but unfortunately I have to withhold my review until Disney meets the demands of the bds boycott and divest from Israel. Ariel wouldn't approve.🍉🍉
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Violence and Domestic abuse
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
a_strix_named_strix's review
2.0
The writing style is not for me.
Everything is choppy. Especially the prose.
I can’t stand the short paragraphs too much either. It really annoys me.
Everything is choppy. Especially the prose.
I can’t stand the short paragraphs too much either. It really annoys me.
oceanisbetterthenu's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
1.0
daanin's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
startjpw23's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book is a prequel to The Little Mermaid movie that come out not long ago. I didn't see the movie. The book is a young adult novel. When this book starts, the ceremony where Ariel is installed as Protector to her own area of the sea is soon to take place. Her father, King Triton, doesn't think Ariel is ready to be on her own as a Protector. He assigns one of his right-hand creatures, Sebastian, to go with Ariel and pretty much be the unofficial Protector for the first year of Ariel's reign. Five of Ariel's six sisters have returned from the seas they oversee for the ceremony. The sisters do not all get along with one another. Not long before the ceremony is due to start, the oldest sister, Mala, is kidnapped. The remainder of the book is Ariel, with help of varying degrees from her sisters, and Flounder, a fish she meets partway through the book. Overshadowing everything else is the grief Ariel, her sisters, and Triton still feel over the loss of Ariel's mother. She was killed when Ariel was a small fry (the term used in the book for a very young mermaid). I thought the mystery was clever. I thought the book did a good job exploring family dynamics. I thought the book had good thoughts on grief. I thought the author did a great job creating tension even though the reader always knows it will turn out well for Ariel and the others. The only reason I dropped it from 4 stars to 3.5 is because I felt there were some things that only Ariel and her companions noticed that I felt Triton and others should have noticed. This is a fun book. I recommend it for people that can overlook the issue I mentioned. You don't need to have seen the movie to enjoy the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
akacya's review
4.0
2024 reads: 34/250
2024 tbr: 20/120
set in the world of the little mermaid, this book follows ariel as she’s preparing to be dubbed protector of her very own ocean. the ceremony is put on hold, though, when one of her sisters is kidnapped. she works with her other sisters to bring mala home and find her abductor before the coral moon.
i really enjoyed this book because it showed a new side of ariel that isn’t explored in the old cartoon or the new live action movie: her being happy in the ocean and with her sisters. ariel still had her adventurous side, but this was set in the sea, and i loved this exploration of her character and her relationships with other characters. i also think this book was well-written, as it’s digestible for younger readers, and enjoyable for older ones. i hope this becomes a series!
jordanadreams's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
csistek's review
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Disney for the audio galley to review!
If you're like me and have seen the prequel to original The Little Mermaid, take your expectations and toss them out the door. This is a completely new prequel story for the live action The Little Mermaid and the only thing familiar is Ariel's mother being killed by humans. This prequel tells the tale of how Ariel comes to be protector of her own sea, just like her sisters before her.
However, the ceremony to make this happen is interrupted by the kidnapping of Ariel's eldest sister, Mala. Mala is being used as ransom for Triton's throne. What follows is Ariel's attempt at solving Mala's kidnapping within a strict time limit while her father frustratingly won't listen to her input. Along the way, Ariel comes to terms with her mother's death and overcomes her grief, while also making up with her sisters and getting them to bond. She also meets Flounder, who is instrumental to the sisters' success at rescuing Mala, and she proves that the literal racism merfolk have against sea monsters is some nonsense that needs to be dealt with at the highest level.
The villain/kidnapper is very obvious from the beginning and they're honestly quite a forgetful character, but really, they're a plot device for the main focus, which is Ariel finding her courage and maturity--both of which she'll need as a protector. Basically, similar to the main story of The Little Mermaid, Ariel is trying to prove herself to her father and show how foolish and stubborn he really is, especially when it comes to his distrust of anyone that isn't a merperson.
Despite it feeling slow in the beginning, I ended up enjoying this new story for the IP. I also mostly enjoyed the narrator, though at times I cringed at some over-acting and constant need to actually clear the throat whenever a character is clearing their throat. I have not watched the live action remake yet, but the set-up of the new version of the world of The Little Mermaid that this story lets us see makes me very curious about it. And even if I end up not liking the movie, I can at least take comfort in the fact that I liked its prequel.
If you're like me and have seen the prequel to original The Little Mermaid, take your expectations and toss them out the door. This is a completely new prequel story for the live action The Little Mermaid and the only thing familiar is Ariel's mother being killed by humans. This prequel tells the tale of how Ariel comes to be protector of her own sea, just like her sisters before her.
However, the ceremony to make this happen is interrupted by the kidnapping of Ariel's eldest sister, Mala. Mala is being used as ransom for Triton's throne. What follows is Ariel's attempt at solving Mala's kidnapping within a strict time limit while her father frustratingly won't listen to her input. Along the way, Ariel comes to terms with her mother's death and overcomes her grief, while also making up with her sisters and getting them to bond. She also meets Flounder, who is instrumental to the sisters' success at rescuing Mala, and she proves that the literal racism merfolk have against sea monsters is some nonsense that needs to be dealt with at the highest level.
The villain/kidnapper is very obvious from the beginning and they're honestly quite a forgetful character, but really, they're a plot device for the main focus, which is Ariel finding her courage and maturity--both of which she'll need as a protector. Basically, similar to the main story of The Little Mermaid, Ariel is trying to prove herself to her father and show how foolish and stubborn he really is, especially when it comes to his distrust of anyone that isn't a merperson.
Despite it feeling slow in the beginning, I ended up enjoying this new story for the IP. I also mostly enjoyed the narrator, though at times I cringed at some over-acting and constant need to actually clear the throat whenever a character is clearing their throat. I have not watched the live action remake yet, but the set-up of the new version of the world of The Little Mermaid that this story lets us see makes me very curious about it. And even if I end up not liking the movie, I can at least take comfort in the fact that I liked its prequel.