Between the Sea and Sky by Jaclyn Dolamore

2011/240pgs

About the Book: When Esmerine is named a siren, she is excited to share siren duties with her older sister Dosia. But when Dosia disappears from the sea and rumor has it a human has kidnapped her siren belt, Esmerine knows she must try and save her sister. Esmerine transforms her tail into legs, a painful process for a mermaid, and sets off to find her sister. While on land, Esmerine reconnects with her childhood friend and winged person, Alandare, and the two join together to find Dosia. During her search, Esmerine finds herself conflicted about where she truly belongs-in the sea as a siren or on land with Alan?

Sarah Teenlibrarian Says: Between the Sea and Sky is an enchanting tale from the magical world of Jaclyn Dolamore. I really think she has one of the best imaginations! Never have I thought before that winged boys could be cute or that mermaids could wander both the sea and land because that's part of what mermaids can do.

Esmerine is a character I liked right away. She was smart and funny and she loved books, so of course I had to like her after that! She feels loyalty to her family, but she also misses her time spent on land playing with her friend Alandare as a child. I think what I liked most about the mermaid world here was that mermaid's could transform their tails into legs without any magic or curse, but instead it was just part of their natural abilities. Of course, there was pain and discomfort that came from that, but that made the mermaids even more interesting to me. They weren't trapped in the sea but could go anywhere, although there may be a price. I thought this made for an interesting conflict for Esmerine. She wanted to visit the land, not because of a boy, but because of her own curiosity but at the same time, the sea was home.

When Esmerine first met up with Alan, I thought he was a bit stuffy. But I grew to like him just as Esmerine does and their romance is sweet. They are very much star-crossed lovers-Esmerine can't stay on land and Alan can't go to the sea. I thought this played out well without being overly angsty or dramatic. Both Esmerine and Alan are smart and know they can't be together and they try to handle that in their own way. They're never whiny, but instead they are very logical which I really liked. For me, that made them more real.

The book has a nice historical fantasy and fairy tale feel to it. The world Jaclyn Dolamore creates is a wondrous one with lots of interesting characters. I really liked that this was a unique take on mermaids and really, who would have thought winged boys could be so cute?? I think I have a new fascination with winged boys thanks to Jaclyn Dolamore!! Readers who enjoy fairy tales and star-crossed romances will love Between the Sea and Sky.