My Sister Sif [Paperback]

Ruth Park (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1997

Fourteen-year-old Riko manages to get her sister Sif and herself to their Pacific island home, where a scientist who falls in love with Sif discovers her connection with an underwater race.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-- As she did in Playing Beatie Bow (Atheneum, 1982), Park creates a believable world within a world--this time an undersea one of merpeople in telepathic contact with sea creatures; and an underearth one of menehune, a race of dwarfs who live in burrows and fear fire. Set in the near future, this ecological fantasy begins when the narrator, Riko, was 14, and her older sister, Sif, was unable to cope with city life in the home of their married sister in Australia. Riko engineers their return to their remote islet home and, with adolescent fear of change, tries to scotch the growing attraction between Sif and a persistent marine scientist who has come for rare shells. There are some wonderful and funny scenes as he gradually grasps their half-sea connection, and even visits the undersea city where Riko's brother and mother live. But greater change threatens as pollution wrought by humans encroaches, deforming sea life and threatening the Earth itself. Well plotted, the last chapter is a bit anticlimactic but satisfying as summary. There are enchanting scenes of beauty and danger; perceptive, expressive writing; and vividly drawn characters. --Ruth M. McConnell, San Antonio Public Library
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

In another beautifully written story by the author of Playing Beattie Bow (1982), an adult Erika (``Riko'') narrates events in 2000 A.D. when she was 14, imaginatively linking environmental concerns with a plausible explanation of mermaids as humans with special adaptations (e.g., webbed fingers), but with lungs and sophisticated technology to maintain their undersea cities; the ``tail'' is a sort of wet suit. Daughters of a mermaid (Marika) and a Scandinavian seaman, Riko and Sif, 17, are unhappily living with a bossy older sister in Australia; until their father's death, they had lived on an island near Tahiti, where they were friends with dolphins and could visit their mother. Riko plans to become a marine biologist, but Sif pines for the sea; deeply concerned, Riko contrives to take her back to their beloved paradise. They find it threatened by man's depredations: whales and porpoises are tragically born dead; the sea people plan to migrate to a cold, desolate, but safer place, and Marika wants Sif to join them. Sif is torn: she realizes how precious she is to Riko and has also fallen in love with Henry, a young scientist they have both learned to trust. Like many of the poignantly evoked sea creatures, Sif doesn't survive, losing her life in a dramatic undersea climax. In a final chapter/epilogue, people are finally stirred by the earth's impending death (and by Henry and Riko's well-informed pleas) to give up their greed and begin to reclaim their environment. A compelling novel with unique, memorable characters and a thoughtful message. (Fiction. 11+) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (April 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140384758
• ISBN-13: 978-0140384758
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,812,194 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A timeless warning about the disappearance of natural resources, March 20, 2009

By 

Sarah - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: My Sister Sif (Paperback)

My Sister Sif by Ruth Park (Playing Beatie Bow) tells the tale of Rikoriko and her sister Sif. Orphaned after their father died, the girls are sent to live with their aunt in Australia. After growing up on the tropical paradise of Rongo, their new home Sydney, with its mad rush and choking pollution, is absolute torture, and Riko (known as Erika in the city) hatches a plot to escape.

Riko's idyllic summer on Rongo turns sour with the arrival of an American scientist, Henry Jacka, who's falling in love with Sif. Riko is bitter and upset, lashing out at those closest to her. She escapes up into the hills to vent to her friend Pig, a ground-dwelling Stone Age dwarf with an intense fear of fire.

The book inserts a dizzying blend of science fiction (telepathy, space age materials, mermaids, dwarves) and heavy-handed environmental warnings (mankind will destroy the earth!) into a relatively slim story; the main focus is on Riko's intense jealousy of Henry attempting to take Sif away from her. The climax felt forced and the sacrifice trivial; the ending fared better. This was originally written in 1986, and its age clearly shows in the descriptions of the "near future": rather than space-age technology, we get environmental disasters such as underwater dead zones, active volcanoes, tornadoes and floods, resulting in the death of butterflies (not quite yet!) and bees (much closer to reality). It's still an engaging read, especially for fans of mermaid- and dolphin-centered novels such as A Ring of Endless Light: The Austin Family Chronicles, Book 4 and Emily Windsnap: Three Swishy Mermaid Tales: Books 1-3, but is much more serious in tone than other books in this genre.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for a young person, July 20, 2007

By 

Lauren E. Hoyle - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Sister Sif (Paperback)

I read this book when I was really young and loved it, it was intelligent and captured my imagination. I ended up reading it more than once

5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing and hard to put down!, January 16, 2007

By 

Ryder - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Sister Sif (Paperback)

I truly love this book. It was one of those books that held my interest the whole way through and was definitely worth the time. This story includes fantasy, adventure, a bit of romance, and a whole new way to look at mermaids. I really recommend it to anyone who loves reading!