Emily Windsnap and the Siren’s Secret

Liz Kessler's Emily Windsnap and the Siren's Secret is an underwater adventure for 10 year olds about a half-mermaid going back to the town she came from.

What happens

Emily's life is, on paper, perfect. Both parents in one place at last, best friend round the corner, sun and sand every day. So why has she woken up rattled every morning for a week?

She works it out the moment somebody says the name Brightport.

Brightport is where she grew up, on a scruffy little houseboat, before she found out what she was. And Brightport is in trouble. The council is building something big, nobody on the mer side knows exactly what, and the town of Shiprock underneath is going to feel it first. Neptune wants people on the ground. Emily's family volunteer.

Going home turns out to be complicated. There is the girl who bullied Emily for years and may or may not remember that they became friends. There is Mr Beeston, who spent Emily's whole childhood lying to her about who she was and is now sitting in her living room being offered tea. And there is the small matter of which school Emily is supposed to attend when she has legs some of the time and a tail the rest.

Emily tells it all herself and she is lovely company. She worries, she notices things, and she is honest about the parts of her life she does not much like. When a whole school turns on her in front of everyone, you feel it.

Something to be aware of before you hand this one over. It sits well into the series. Emily mentions a dad rescued from prison, a sea monster and a storm that threw her home halfway across the planet, all within the last year, and none of it is explained again. A reader starting here will follow the story fine but will spend a while working out who everybody is.

The bullying is handled squarely rather than gently. Name-calling, being laughed at, being humiliated in front of a crowd. If your reader is living through any of that at the moment, it may land close to home. If they are not, watching Emily keep going is rather good for them.

What to read next

For a reader who wants to see where all this started, the book where Emily first grew a tail is in the library. She is at a brand new school, her mum has never let her near water, and then there is a swimming lesson.