Lost Voices (Lost Voices, #1) in Once Upon a Twilight blog

Mar 21, 2011 Once rated it liked it

Shelves: debut-author-2011

Lost Voices is a good start for the series. I am a huge fan of mermaids and was very excited to know this book was all about them. Its refreshing to read about a new mystical creatures than what we normally get in books. Now this is not your typical Happy ever after tale and these Mermaids are not your Little Mermaid kind you see on the Disney movie. Sarah gives me more of the Siren type in this novel, and if you know anything about Sirens. You know you never should run into one while at sea. Th Lost Voices is a good start for the series. I am a huge fan of mermaids and was very excited to know this book was all about them. Its refreshing to read about a new mystical creatures than what we normally get in books. Now this is not your typical Happy ever after tale and these Mermaids are not your Little Mermaid kind you see on the Disney movie. Sarah gives me more of the Siren type in this novel, and if you know anything about Sirens. You know you never should run into one while at sea. The book brings to light all the young girls and boys that get abused either psychically or emotionally from their loved ones. Sarah created this world where these girls turn into mermaids once their little hearts break or turn cold. Then once the mermaids turn there goal basically is to sink ships and kill humans using their singing. Its like payback for everything they went through in their human lives. The descriptions that Sarah provides of these Mermaids is just beautiful. She get so in to detail on their colors and how they swim. but really how she describes the singing and how those voices bring down the ships, you can almost hear it while reading the book.

Luce is the main character in the book, she has been living with her Uncle since her Father never return from his fishing trip out at sea. Luce is different and doesn't really fit in at school. Then one night her Uncle does the unthinkable and it affects Luce so much that it triggers the change. She doesn't understand what is going on but she in the water and a ship is coming towards her and she hears this music. Well it turns out its Luce singing to the boat and she has taken it down. Thats when the other mermaids find her and actually save her as well. She begins to lower to far down in the ocean with one of the ship wreck crew. So Catarina saves her and they explain to her what has happen and who she is now. Catarina is the queen of the group. The Queen is chosen by the skill and talent of the enchanting song voice. They realize that Luce has a extraordinary voice, might be just as good or better than Catarina. Luce though doesn't really feel like she wants to wreck ships or hurt the humans, so this begins several reactions and events to happen. Then new members of the group set off to hurt her and others as well. So Luce is once again feeling all alone and out of place. She also realizes her gift of singing is very powerful and even trains her voice. She begins to control certain things around her that eventually she will use in the end.

Now why I didn't give this book a higher rating is because it did start off a bit slow. I also felt the bullying was over done. Then there were the larvae, this was just troubling for me to swallow. Larvaes are the abused and neglected infants who became mermaids but they are not fully developed so the older mermaids cast them out and don't protect them from Sharks and Orcas. The ending also left floating on the water, not enough to drown me and missing enough to bring me afloat. Do I recommend the book, Yes. Its definitely different and I believe it a good start to the next one in the series. Will I read the next book in the series, YES! I am very curious to know what happens with Luce and her new life.

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Jun 21, 2011 Savannah (Books With Bite) rated it really liked it

I really love mermaid stories and when I read the back of the book it captured me. Mostly cause the storyline was different then what I see around. And this book was different yet it did run along the same lines as other mermaid stories.

The characters in this book I really like. They were all the same as in the burden that they carried as a a human. I really like the old tale of how they become mermaids. It gave a an interesting twist on the story all together. Luce has been through so much. I a ...more

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Oct 23, 2010 Megan (magan bagan) rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

I was very intrigued by the concept of this story and was very excited when I received an early galley of it. Story's about mermaids aren't ones that I read all that often, but the description of this particular story seemed different an innovative. Sarah Porter didn't hold back and that made this book even better.

Luce is a fourteen year old girl in a pretty dire situation. Her alcoholic uncle tries to do the unthinkable and then leaves her stranded along the cliffs of their Alaskan home. In try I was very intrigued by the concept of this story and was very excited when I received an early galley of it. Story's about mermaids aren't ones that I read all that often, but the description of this particular story seemed different an innovative. Sarah Porter didn't hold back and that made this book even better.

Luce is a fourteen year old girl in a pretty dire situation. Her alcoholic uncle tries to do the unthinkable and then leaves her stranded along the cliffs of their Alaskan home. In trying to cope with what happened to her, Luce finds herself thrust into a world she never thought possible.

Mermaids.

Luce has become one of them and at first it seems like the best thing that could have happened to her. But she soon learns that things aren't perfect under the water either, especially when a new girl joins them that begins to shake things up.

One of the things I found interesting about this story was that Sarah used a siren sort of mythology with the mermaids. They would sing to boats to get them to crash, but there was so much more behind it and I loved that. She puts you right in the middle of Luce's moral delima. And Luce eventually learns a secret about herself that she isn't ready to face.

Her writing is very real and almost uncomfortable in certain areas. As a reader you want to be able to feel like you know the characters and like your experiencing things right along with me, and I think that you get that with the way Sarah writes. It's very honest and true to her characters. She doesn't hold anything back, but leaves you with the hope that things can get better.

You also get a very true reminder of what it's like to be a teenage girl. There are so many emotions and changes that you go through as a teen, but imagine having to go through that as a mermaid.

This book, like most of the ones that I've read lately, is the first of a series and I can definitely say that I'm intrigued to find out where she's planning on taking it. So much happens by the end of Lost Voices and I know that there's even more still to come. So be sure to keep your eyes open for more this author. ...more

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Jan 20, 2011 Megan rated it liked it

Shelves: debut-authors-2011-challenge

So, Luce has a traumatic experience involving her uncle after her mother has died and her father has been lost at sea. The trauma turns her into a mermaid, I'm still a little unclear on the rules of this mermaid-ification but it works for Luce and her merfriends, so I'm just going to go along with it. Luce joins the local mermaids even though Cat, their leader, is worried about Luce's singing being better than hers. There is a fair amount of mean girl behavior- which really annoyed me. I really So, Luce has a traumatic experience involving her uncle after her mother has died and her father has been lost at sea. The trauma turns her into a mermaid, I'm still a little unclear on the rules of this mermaid-ification but it works for Luce and her merfriends, so I'm just going to go along with it. Luce joins the local mermaids even though Cat, their leader, is worried about Luce's singing being better than hers. There is a fair amount of mean girl behavior- which really annoyed me. I really wanted to slap some nasty mermaids down. But Luce just kind of rolls with it all even though she both loves and hates sinking the ships and killing the passengers. Luce inadvertently learns Cat's secret, her reason for choosing the ships that she does, Luce keeps the secret. She protects Cat from the others even after Cat treats her poorly. Luce repeatedly proves that she has moral scruples and a heart, something many of the other mermaids are sadly lacking. This book was definitely not sunshine and rainbows and love stories. Luce is trying to find her place in a pretty harsh world but she fights hard to gain control of her voice and her behavior. I think that that example of behavior alone is reason for teens to read this book. All of the mermaids have these horror stories of bad treatment by adults but Luce and one of the other girls does not let the evil of others completely change who they are. This display of ethics is wonderful. This book may not be happy or uplifting - even at the end. But it DOES make you think. It makes you question what the mermaids should do. What is right and wrong? Is there a defining line? Lost Voices will leave you pondering many of the great questions of life and I think we can all use that from time to time.

I would suggest this one for readers 16 and up due to violence, mainly. Also the great moral dilemmas broached in the story may be a bit much for younger teen readers. You can find out more about the next books in the Lost Voices Trilogy and about the author on Sarah's website. Please give this book a chance when it is released July 4th. The lesson is worth the read. ...more

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