Customer Reviews

The Tail of Emily Windsnap

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My 10 year old daughter and I read this one together. It was an impulse buy, so I didn't know what to expect. We loved this book. It really captures what it would be like for Emily to discover the changes she is going through (might also be helpful for girls going through puberty). The mystery developed nicely with just enough clues to keep the reader (young and old-er) turning pages. My daughter would beg for more time whenever we had to put the book down. Also as a teacher and a writer, this story is well-written, with great characters, good dialogue and terrific description. I am off to look for another Liz Kessler book!

Many things start to happen after Emily's first time underwater, in seventh grade swim class. She finds out she is a mermaid. Once Emily starts to explore the ocean, she finds out where her dad is. He's in the mermaid prison. She sets out in the ocean to try to free him. In the process, she is stopped many times by Mr. Beeston, the lighthouse keeper, Millie, her babysitter and hypnotizer, and the prison guards, and many other magical challenges.

The Tale of Emily Windsnap has a fun plot, but it is not very interesting. Though it is fantasy, there are some really unbelievable aspects about Emily, such as not being underwater her entire life. Emily does physically change throughout the story, but doesn't seem to grow much emotionally. Emily does become more aware of what is happening around her by the end of the book. Many things happen during the story. Because so many little things are happening, it pulls away from the real emotions and interactions with her dad. One very good thing about the book is that the setting is really described. While you read, you can really picture the setting.

I read and finished this book VERY quickly, why? Because this is a dream that every girl would love, becoming a mermaid. This is a tail... I mean TALE about a girl named Emily that transforms into a mermaid only when she sets foot in the water and is human on land. She is a half mermaid half human because she soon discovered that her mother married a merman. In the deep blue sea this is apparently illegal so the father gets locked up in a underwater prison. Emily wants to meet her father badly so takes the risk of breaking into the jail. Please read this book.....it's a book EVERYONE can enjoy!

As a teacher, I read several hundred children's and young adult books every year. This book was a huge disappointment. Poorly written with ridiculous situations that don't make sense (reading a paper book under the water? Not being able to scale an underwater wall? Has the author not heard of being able to SWIM over it?) and flat characters. There are some wonderful children's books out there about magical creatures. This is not one of them. :(

Actually, I should have known the book was bad. On the back cover, the only reviews are for the ARTWORK! The writing isn't even mentioned.

Twelve-year-old Emily Windsnap lives on a houseboat in Brightport Harbor, but she has never learned to swim. Even though Emily begs for swimming lessons, her mom always says no. Finally, Emily persuades her mother to let her take swim class at her new school. When Emily hits the water, she gets the surprise of her life. Her long skinny legs have turned into a tail. That's right --- Emily is a mermaid!

All of a sudden, Emily's life is full of questions. Are there more mermaids out there like her? Why does her mom never seem to remember Emily's father, who left when Emily was just a baby? Who is the mysterious, menacing Mr. Beeston, who seems to be spying on Emily and her mother? And how can Emily get out of swim class before the rest of the seventh grade discovers her secret?

Emily is torn between happily exploring the undersea world of the mermaids and trying to solve the mystery of her father's disappearance. With the help of her new merfriend, Shona, Emily learns about mermaids and friendship at the same time.

Considering that this is a novel about magical creatures, THE TAIL OF EMILY WINDSNAP is surprisingly down-to-earth. Emily is a normal girl (in spite of that scaly tail), and her everyday worries about friends and family make the book seem realistic in spite of its fantastic premise. Readers will often be one or two steps ahead of Emily as she tries to solve the mystery --- Emily is sometimes a little slow to unravel the clues. Nevertheless, readers will be rooting for Emily to be reunited with her merfamily at last.

--- (...)

*First things first, anyone who loves Harry Potter and thinks this book will be like it, is wrong. I found it completely different. (I myself don't care for HP). It was written differently and was about a totally different fantasy.*
I read this book with total fascination. I felt like I was going through the hardships with Emily Windsnap. The author could not have described the underwater terrain more clearly and I could really picture what was going on in my head. The feelings characters felt and expressions they made came naturallly to me when I read the descriptions. The author timed all of the dillemas, miracles, sad scenes, and action scenes just right. Even the feeling of suspense was there when you needed it! The tale is dramatic and encasing, I never doubted that what I was reading could actually happen. A perfectly timed, real, fun novel I hope you pick up.

If you know anyone who would love to be a mermaid, this is the book for them! My six year old has entertained this fantasy for three years now and she literally wouldn't let me stop reading this to her at night. The action is non-stop, the characters are memorable and the story is one that touches the heart. Liz Kessler's description of life under the sea is detailed and well-thought out. Let your imagination soar!

I recommend this book for kids in grades 2nd and 3rd because it is a chapter book and it might be too hard for 1st graders and kindergarteners and too easy for 4th and 5th graders. If you like magical things than Emily Windsnap books are for you. I give these book 5 stars because I love things like this when people do not know about their secret and find it out on their own and keep it a secret even to their parents! -Lucy N.

Underneath the magic of mermaids, this story is a close cousin of "The Parent Trap" (the 1998 film, not the 1961 one, as the cell phones and cultural references are current) with the margical flourishes of "Freaky Friday" and "The Little Mermaid" thrown in for good measure. This story has a future Disney production written all over it.

It is the emotional daydream of every pre-teen girl without a father at home, who imagines that her father could be a wonderful man who left for honorable reasons, wishes that her mom and dad could get together again, and longs for a new best friend. The mother-daughter dialog rings true; Millie, her mother's New Age obsessed friend is delightful; and the fast paced, first person narrative is captivating. My 8 year old daughter and 6 year old son enjoyed it.

Both my granddaughters, ages 8 and 10, loved The Tail of Emily Windsnap. They can't wait to read the sequel. I also read the book and enjoyed it as children's literature, but I found it to be quite "light weight," the equivalent of a beach read for an adult. The story involves the transformation of a young girl into a mermaid and her search for her "merman" father. A number of important issues are deat with such as being an outcast at school, growing up with a single mother and family secrets. The story is compelling and you want to know what is going to happen.