I met the author Sheila A. Nielson at a writing event last autumn. Her buoyant personality and love of books in general convinced me to pick up her book “The Forbidden Sea.” I haven’t read many stories about mermaids, partly because there aren’t many books out there about mermaids, and partly because growing up I never watched the movie. From the cover alone, not to mention the book jacket, I knew this book was going to involve in some way, a mermaid. At first I was surprised that the mermaid didn’t play as big of a role in the beginning but I loved the character development of Adrianne. From the very beginning I felt a bond with the young woman who is hated by her aunt, unintentionally mistreated by her younger sister, and ignored by the young man she likes. The ending of the book, though I won’t give any details, was perfect in its simplicity. The choices at the end made by Adrianne are supported all the way through the story. The change in heart from a couple of the characters also felt natural and I was pleased the end didn’t drag on but gave me all the information I needed to know that there was a happy ending even after I finished reading. One of the other aspects that I enjoyed about this book is that Adrianne doesn’t stand out from the time period and setting. There are several books that have a female protagonist that refuse to fit into the culture not for any practical reason but more because the author didn’t want to write about more docile women in skirts. Adrianne, though a free thinking, strong young woman, fits into the society and the changes made to her physical appearance and manner explained completely within the story. I didn’t feel like Sheila took a modern teenager and plopped her into the setting of a historic fishing village.
This book is one that I recommend to anyone who likes to spend time in the fantastical worlds. Since it involves mermaids there is not a feeling of redundancy that you might get with other fantasy books.
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