Magical Venice – The Mermaid’s Sister

Holly Webb's The Mermaid's Sister is a magical Venice story for 9 year olds about a lonely girl who dreams every night of swimming with mergirls.

What happens

Mia is ten, and she lives in the palace with her cousin Olivia, the young duchess. Olivia's water magic keeps the city safe from floods, with help from the beautiful white water horses who swim up the canals.

Mia used to adore her cousin. But when Mia was very small, her mother and brother were sent away in a little boat for plotting against Olivia. And the court has never let her forget it. They whisper that she has bad blood. They wait to see if she'll turn out to be a traitor too.

So Mia has made a decision. She won't use her magic, and she won't even look at the water horses (even though her favourite, Lorin, keeps nuzzling her). It's the hardest thing she's ever done.

But every night she dreams of the deep green sea, and of mergirls with jewelled tails who swim just out of reach.

Now there's real danger. Hundreds of enemy warships are waiting beyond the lagoon, and their Emperor wants Olivia to marry his son. Then Mia overhears something that turns everything upside down. Her mother might be out there with the fleet.

What would you do if the family you'd lost came back as the enemy? That's the question at the heart of this one, and it's a big one. Mia is torn in two, and you feel every bit of it. She's prickly and proud on the outside and aching on the inside.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

Mia is very sad for much of the opening. In one scene she stands at the water's edge and wonders whether anyone would miss her if she stepped in. It passes quickly, as a face appears in the water, but it's a heavy moment. For a sensitive reader, or one going through a hard time, you may want to be close by for that chapter. It also reads older than some books on this shelf, with lots of palace politics and grown-up talk of war.

For a child who loves a quieter, more thoughtful magic story, it's beautiful. The Venice of the water horses feels completely real.

What to read next

If they'd like another Holly Webb story about a girl feeling alone beside the water, try The Dawn Seal. Lissa is spending the summer on her dad's houseboat, missing home and feeling a bit on her own.