Customer Reviews

Midnight Pearls

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

With her book Midnight Pearls, Debbie Viguie stays away from what The Little Mermaid gave us and made a completely different story on mermaids. The book's cover itself provides a mystical feeling of enchantment and the unknown.

I do have one wavering opinion. Her story was rushed at times, especially towards the end. I reckon she was rushing to finish up with the story to get it over with. She went over descriptions and action-packed parts too vaguely. She did, however, take her rushed pace down a notch for the dialogues.

I enjoyed the friendship between Pearl and James. It shows how two people from two different social standings can connect and relate. It's a sweet touch.

Midnight Pearls is a nice, light book to read especially for a trip to the beach. It would make a nice gift for those who enjoy stories of such, especially young ones.

First off, I work in a book store as administrator of the children section. In a never ending quest to find some decent literature in the young adult section I have stumbled across the "Once Upon a Time" series written for that age bracket. This is a series of fairy tales retold in different settings by different authors utilizing the events from the original stories in new and creative ways. Being a fan of fairy tales as a child it is needless to say that I was excited to discover these.

My first choice of this amazing series was "Midnight Pearls" by Debbie Viguie, a retelling of Hans Christian Anderson's "The Little Mermaid". Set in a small kingdom by the sea the story centers around a fisherman named Finneas and his wife, Mary, a childless couple who long for a son or daughter. One evening on the brink of a storm Finneas happens upon a strange girl floating in the sea, naked, carrying a large pearl of midnight blue in her palm. He takes the strange girl home to his wife, who decides to raise her as their own.

It becomes apparent as the girl, whom they call Pearl, grows up that she is not one of them, but they can never quite bring themselves to admit this fact. Pearl is a strange looking girl, one blessed with pale, translucent skin, silvery hair, and large dark blue eyes. But if that weren't odd enough she also has very long, thin legs that make her stand out from among her peers, so much so that her only friend is the young Prince named James, who she has to see in clandestine meetings on the beach once a week. It becomes obvious that the two are doing what normal adolescents do, developing feelings for one another, however when it also becomes obvious that Pearl is of an appropriate age her parents become concerned that she marry...and the first to come asking for her hand is the local blacksmith. When this happens James decides to let his friendship with Pearl be known to her parents, a decision which ultimately proves to be folly. The day he announces his presence in her life he also takes her on a ride in a rowing boat, which ends in a near tragic accident when the boat springs a leak and they both have to swim for shore, a thing Pearl fears more than anything. When they meet up on shore again James swears to Pearl that she saved his life, even though she barely saved herself. He knows a young woman saved him and vows to wed the woman who performed so heroic of a deed.

Suddenly Pearl's world is in an uproar, because with the marriage proposal and James sudden fascination with his rescuer comes other trials. For one thing there is her conflicted emotions towards James that she quite can't clarify. Second, there is a sudden appearance of a mute young woman and a deaf young man, whom claims to be Pearl's betrothed and is soon taken into custody on accusations of murder. On the same day another suitor comes into Pearls life, a Marquis who is also a cousin of James, who claims to love Pearl. With all these choices in love Pearl still can't get the feeling of the young blind man's passion out of her head, especially considering he looks so similar to her. What connection does he have with her past?

This is a fabulous adaptation of Anderson's masterpiece. As a child I devoured copies of this book, finding more beautiful translations and illustrations of this story. As an adult, I am thrilled to be able to revisit a world which I so loved as a child, especially one that was so well done and encompassed new characters that really drew you in. I adored the inclusion of Kale, the young blind boy, and Faye, whom takes the traditional role of the Little Mermaid to a closer degree than Pearl. This is a must read for anyone who loves fairy tales, and I am definitely going to continue to read the others in this series. (I can't tell you how thrilled I am to find such a treasure in the young adult section either...it's the bane of my existence! However, I will be recommending this book to people who want more than the ordinary high school crush stories we sell.)

Rescued from the sea as a small child during a vicious, ravaging storm, Pearl grew up in a spendid small cottage, with a gorgeous view of the ocean, and the castle in which the King and Prince live in. Pearl is an outcast of her small village, with her pale skin, silver hair, and long, spindly legs in which she is always tripping over. But Pearl's secret friendship with the Prince gives her solace, as he is misunderstood just as she is. When suddenly two jealous mermaid's come up from the sea, with their eyes set on Pearl and Prince James. Now the two of them have to try to stay together, when everyone is trying to keep them apart.

A fantastic story, based on "The Little Mermaid." Viguie created many lovable characters in this novel filled with fantasy, mystery, suspense, and eventually, a happy ending. A must have for fans of the previous books in the "Once Upon A Time..." series.

Erika Sorocco

One storm tossed night, a fisherman pulled an unusual little girl out of the sea. She spoke a foreign language and seemed to have no knowledge of her past. The only clue to her identity was a perfect black pearl that she had brought with her out of the sea...so the fisherman and his wife raised her as their own...

Years later, Pearl has grown into a stunning beauty, but the villagers are afraid of her because she is different. The only one who understands her is James, the crown prince of Astra, who met Pearl on the beach one day when they were children...and then came to see her at least once a week ever after that. They become the best of friends...but could they ever be something more?

They are just beginning to explore the possibility when two mysterious strangers enter their lives...threatening to rip Pearl and James' dreams apart...or will new dreams be found? Read it and find out! Really unique retelling of The Little Mermaid...I loved it!

I have to say that i was disappointed with this book. First of all, the summary on the backcover is entirely wrong (books with incorrect summaries annoy me). There is no 'disdainful king', no 'jealous young mermaid', Kale is not so lovestruck a merman, and although the sea witch is powerful... she could have been much worse.

I think the novel would have turned out better if Viguie had better developed her story and characters. Pearl, the main character, struck me as an indecisive, gullible girl who spends much too long dealing with self-pity. Prince James, Pearl's best friend, I would have liked more, had he been more developed as a character. Faye the supposedly 'jealous young mermaid' wasn't jealous at any moment of the book, and she struck me as the character with most spirit of them all. Her brother Kale, I was starting to like --he seems to have an interesting personaltiy-- and yet, all his talk about "I've loved Pearl for seventeen years and have been looking for her all my life" displays him as a naive, slightly foolishly ideal young merman, and throws his credibility down the drain.

The plot itself was alright (reading about the defeat of Prince James' foes was much more interesting than reading about Pearl defeating the "powerful sea witch" --who seemed too easy to defeat by half--), but i think i would have appreciated it more if its pace had slowed down a bit. The sad thing about this novel is that it is entirely too brief. Just as i was starting to get into the characters, the story was over. There wasn't enough time to get really attached to any of them, except perhaps Pearl, whom i wasn't very impressed with. When i was finished reading, i was left with the sour taste of "Well, that's it??"

All in all, the book had great potential... but it needed many more pages to really make it truly shine.

A retelling of the fairy tale The Little Mermaid from the Once Upon a Time series.

As with the best retellings, there are enough twists on the classic tale to make this a retelling worth reading, while still maintaining the basic features of the original story. Elements of both the Andersen version and the Disney version are taken and successfully blended with wholly original features. Two sets of lovers mix things up a bit and keep the reader guessing as to who will eventually end up together. The characters are likable and the resolution, while fairly predictable, is satisfying. While I've so far liked Dokey's additions to this series the best, Viguie's books are a close second. Viguie's tend to be a little darker, more serious, older, and more sensual, though not smutty or graphic at all. Both authors have a knack for writing with beautiful imagery, and Midnight Pearls is no exception.

A solid addition to the Once Upon a Time series. Recommended.

In this edition of the once Upon a Time series we get a fresh new look at the tale of The Little Mermaid (one of the few fairy tales to actually have a monument). Like others in this series, there is far more to the story than we previously knew. Here we meet a fisherman and his wife who find a daughter during a storm. The fisherman rescues her with a net and decide to bring her up as their own. The girl is pale with unusually colored hair and very long legs. Because she is clutching a huge pearl they decide to name her Pearl.

Years pass and Pearl develops from a toddler to a young woman. She has a secret. She has been meeting the local prince every week on the beach for years. They are very good friends. But their ages are starting to get in the way. Suddenly the prince is being forces into marriage to produce an heir while Pearl is made an offer by the blacksmith. Each tries to find a way out of the arrangements. But things get even more complicated when rival suitors show up and Pearl's mysterious past begins to return. Before we know it the plot has become involved with several mermaids and a merman, the prince, a Duke and a Marquis, the Sea Witch, not to mention a plot that could shake the whole kingdom. Is there any way for the heroes to wind up happy? You will have to read it to find out.

This was really quite entertaining. I liked the way it held as close to the original as possible and yet worked things out in a very non-Disney style. The one fault I had was it seems Pearl's rescue from the ocean changes from the opening of the book when it is retold later. I wonder if there was an enchantment that changed peoples memories of the event or it was a mistake. No explanation is given in the book. But other than that the story moved quickly and purposely to a fine conclusion. If you thought you knew the story, guess again. Check it out.

This is a great book with a fun twist on Little Mermaid, with a happily ever after, of course, just that I didn't expect the people who ended up together would. All in all, it's a majical story with that "fairy tale style" of writing.

i enjoyed this book. the only bad thing about it was that i wished the story would have gone on longer! the reason why i gave this novel 4 stars instead of 5 was that this story was supposed to be a retelling of "the little mermaid". i didn't know that until after i read the book! my advice is, read this book if you want a cool and quick read, but if you want a true retelling of a classic fairy tale, look elsewhere.

This was a fun, light read that enjoyed immensely. I started it and finished it in one night...a clue that the book could have easily been much longer. Just as a started getting into the storyline, it was over--with a way too rushed ending. I didn't get to know the characters very well, and the love seemed way too rushed between them.
I have to say that the ending dissapointed me, because two characters that i really wanted to end up together didn't. Of course this is just my opinion on the plot, and no one else has seemed to mention it, so it's probably just me. but it was so upsetting!
all in all this is a pleasant read and i recommend it, but be prepared for it to to rush things!