Tempest Rising
Tracy Deebs
Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers
Release Date: May 10, 2011
Pages: 352
Source: Publisher

Rating: 5 stars

Tempest Maguire wants nothing more than to surf the killer waves near her California home; continue her steady relationship with her boyfriend, Mark; and take care of her brothers and surfer dad. But Tempest is half mermaid, and as her seventeenth birthday approaches, she will have to decide whether to remain on land or give herself to the ocean like her mother. The pull of the water becomes as insistent as her attraction to Kai, a gorgeous surfer whose uncanny abilities hint at an otherworldly identity as well. And when Tempest does finally give in to the water’s temptation and enters a fantastical underwater world, she finds that a larger destiny awaits her—and that the entire ocean’s future hangs in the balance.

I absolutely loved this book! Tempest Rising was such a refreshing read, it was different from anything else I have read lately. Mermaids are one of my favorite mythical creatures, so I cannot tell you how excited I was for this book. I had high expectations for it, and it surpassed my every expection. Absolutely brilliant.

I loved that Deebs really look liberties with her story – a lot of the mermaid aspects of the book were so different from everything else I have read about mermaids. I loved it! It was one aspect that kept me reading so fast - it was just so different.

The plot also took so many twists and turns, I couldn’t guess where most things were going. Yes, the obvious sort of land marks I could guess, but after that I really wasn’t sure where Tracy Deebs would take the story. It was also very well written. The story was just beautifully woven.

The characters in Tempest Rising were awesome. I loved Mark and Kai both. They were both different from each other, yet alike. Tempest was a really great character as well, I loved her witt and snark. Her insecurities that came out were almost a bit much at times, and did marr my image of her.

The ending was perfect. As the last 50 pages came up, I sat there thinking to myself, “How on earth will she tie this up well?” There was a ton going on, and I was honestly worried that I wouldn’t be happy with the ending, and there would be loose ends. There was none of that – Deebs ties up everything that needs to be perfectly, while leaving enough open to sort of imagine what happens next. With the way she ended the story, I will be very interested if there will be a sequel or if it will merely stand alone – either would work marvelously.

I absolutely loved Tempest Rising. I couldn’t put it down, and when I had to, I was constantly trying to sneak in a few more pages. With a kick-ass plot and an awesome cast of characters, Tempest Rising is a book you will not want to miss. I definitely see this one falling among my top books of the year. It was simply amazing.