Sailor Twain: A Woman's Scorn...

Sailor Twain (or The Mermaid in the Hudson) by Mark Siegel

Why did I read it?

There are two reasons that I picked this book up. First, I am apparently on a Romance reading spree (Every Day, Forever..., and Amiri & Odette: A Love Story are the last books I've read lol).

Secondly, while flipping through the work, I found that it featured a topless mermaid. I wanted to ensure that it wasn't gratuitous before I put it onto our young adult shelves.

What happened?

Twain is the captain of a steamboat on the Hudson River near Victorian era New York City. Some days he thinks he is the only one that keeps the wonderful ship afloat. The owner, a French noblemen is bedding every woman that comes aboard, and the engineer was involved in a mysterious explosion on his last expedition.

But Twain's dedication to his ship lessens dramatically when he rescues a wounded mermaid and slowly falls in love with her. Sharing his own personal stories and reading fantastical tales with the creature, Twain makes her promise that she will never sing to him. But Twain's devotion to his ship isn't the only thing affected by his love for the mermaid. He also begins to neglect his crippled wife who he used to visit every weekend...

As the mermaid begins to consume Twain's every waking thought, he can't help but wonder where she came from, and who wounded her in the first place. This search will ultimately lead to a terrible choice that begs question of the difference between love and obsession, selflessness and selfishness, and supernatural forces.

What did I like or not like?

This graphic novel actually began as a serialized webcomic drawn in charcoal. The illustrations are simple, being only black and white, but that aspect keeps them powerful and mysterious.

In addition to fascinating illustrations, the story of love, danger, and consequences is really engrossing and I know that I blazed right through it. But I have to admit that I had to contemplate the ending a little bit to make it make sense to me.

Concerning the topless mermaid issue, pretty much every illustration shows her absolutely bare-chested. While I completely understand if this turns you off from the novel, I think I understand the reason behind it. Siegel was trying to write an original novel based on mythology. Traditionally speaking, mermaids have been drawn topless, and it seems he was trying to remain true to that aspect of the mythos.

So I can't say the toplessness is gratuitous as there is quite a bit of precedent there, but I think it should play a part in whether or not you decide to read the story.

Amiri & Odette: The New with the Old

Amiri & Odette: A Love Story by Walter Dean Myers,
with paintings by Javaka Steptoe

Why did I read it?

My sister grabbed this book from the library, and when she finished reading it, I couldn't resist the uniqueness of the cover and idea behind the adaptation.

What happened?

Amiri is the prince of the basketball courts in the Swan Lake Projects. While he appears to own and conquer all he sees and all who challenge him, his mother worries. She understands the violence and danger of his urban life, and wants him to settle down.

Later that night, his mother's desires become his desires, as he meets the girl of his dreams. But a dangerous curse separates their new found love as Odette is promised to Big Red. While Odette believes herself irrevocably chained, Amiri believes their love is stronger than any other tie.

But, defeating Big Red and holding onto the love that they have found will be even more difficult and dangerous than either can imagine.

What did I like or not like?

As Myers puts out in his introduction, the story of Swan Lake has been told in Celtic, Russian, Slavic, and Arabian folklore, and is best known for the Tchaikovsky ballet version of the tale. But Myers felt it appropriate to tell the tale again as he believed modern dangers in young people's lives today are similar to the magic spells of folklore.

Myers sets his retelling of the classic tale in a housing project, relates the action in verse form, and has his words accompanied by collage-on-cinder-block paintings by Javaka Steptoe.

I thought the combination of urban poem and paintings was a new and interesting way to portray the timeless themes and story of Swan Lake.