Title: Midnight Pearls: A Retelling of "The Little Mermaid"
Author: Debbie Viguié
Copyright: 2006
Pages: 208
Format: Paperback
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Finished: 5-14-09
This is part of the Once Upon A Time series, each book retelling a classic fairy tale. This was a clever reworking of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid. It has all the base plot points of the original fairy tale, a mermaid who falls in love with a human, a sea witch who grants a human form to the mermaid in exchange for her voice, etc. However, Viguié creates a much more involved story, including a love triangle of sorts, and plenty of court intrigue and conspiracy.
Finneas is a fisherman, and one night he discovers a child floating in the water. He and his wife Mary raise the child, whom they name Pearl, as their own, even though she is clearly not quite human. As Pearl grows up, her family overlooks the things that make her different, but the villagers are always leery of her. Unbeknownst to everyone, over the years Pearl has become best friends with Prince James, and their friendship may be growing into something more. However, on a boating trip out to sea, an accident occurs, and Prince James is saved from drowning, not by Pearl, but by a mysterious girl in the ocean. What is the mysterious girl's connection with Pearl? What lengths will the mysterious girl go to find her true love? Read the book and find out!
A fun retelling that keeps enough of the essence of the original story to make it recognizable but still creates a new, fresh story. I might pick up another of the Once Upon a Time series someday.
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