Beth Mayall

Sixteen year old Amy finally catches a lucky break when she gets to spend the summer on the Jersey Shore with her mom's godmother who owns a seaside motel. That's when her road to self discovery and adventures begin. Amy is just your run-of-the-mill teenager who is far from Miss Popular at her high school. She has a brat for a younger sister, a nagging mother and a difficult new step-dad who is constantly bullying her. Thrilled to get away from it all, she busies herself searching for work. She stumbles across Mermaid Park which is an underwater display headlining teenaged girls in breathtaking mermaid costumes. Being a champion swimmer herself, Amy is immediately drawn and stops at nothing to become one of the "mermaids". As she tries to weasel her way into the show and squash her fear of the 36-foot deep tank, she discovers romance, inner strength and unearths secrets about her family which were covered up for years. Readers will identify with Amy's battle to become more self confident and find it a truly pleasing summer read. This coming of age story is one not to be missed!… (más)

Mermaid Park is a story about Amy, a teenage girl who is sick of her family. Her mother never listens to her, her sister is a big phony and her stepdad is, well, a big jerk. She goes to vacation with her family at Jersey Shore. She ends up staying for the summer with her godmother and works at the Mermaid Park, where mermaids perform underwater in a huge tank.

This is a coming of age story. We see Amy discover herself and learn to deal with the people around her. Even though this book isn't what I expected, I enjoyed it. Amy reminded me of some of the things I went through as a teenager. I think we all feel like the world is out to get us at sixteen, at least I did.

I was dissapointed by the romance. It set it up in the beginning for romance, but it fell short in the story. But like I said, this is a coming of age story. Amy can't be sure of someone if she is not sure of herself. The mermaid park is what makes this story. Dressing up as a mermaid and performing underwater in a huge tank is like the all time little girl dream job. The Jersey Shore was a fun setting to read about. I felt like a was on vacation again with my family while reading this. This is a great beach read, or a read when you are wishing for warm weather.

3.5 stars!… (más)

Sixteen-year-old Amy’s family goes back to Wildwood, on the Jersey shore, for the first time since her mom married stepfather Tom. For Amy, Wildwood promises a summer of exciting new things—such as the interested cute pool boy, Dylan, who works at her godmother Lynne’s motel, or an enchanting park she stumbles across in North Wildwood, where mermaids perform mesmerizing routines in a huge tank for audiences.

Amy manages to convince her family to let her stay and find work. She’s thrilled to finally get away from the bullying Tom, indifferent mother, and perpetual liar Mel. She even manages to land a job at Mermaid Park. Cleaning trash and organizing the dressing room for the girls who play the mermaids, but still, it’s a job at a place where she believes magic can happen. Things even seem to be going well with Dylan. Amy discovers a whole lot of self-confidence she didn’t have before the summer.

As she learns more and more about how Mermaid Park functions, however, Amy ends up learning some things about herself and her family that seem to throw off everything she has believed about herself. Maybe this newfound knowledge will help her grow into a better person in the long run.

MERMAID PARK is a cozy little read set in the fantastically summery world of the Jersey shore. It’s a great book to bring down the shore with you, to be brought out when your toes are covered with soft, warm sand.… (más)