Local Girl Taken by Mermaids
Wake
Sacrifices and decisions must be made to protect the ones we love
A girl must decide between an unfamiliar life of mermaids and legends or the appeasing life she's been living in order to salvage her life and protect her loved ones.
Summary of the Book
Picture Relating to Theme
"Either way, you don't get to see me or your [loved ones] anymore. So the choice really breaks down to being a mermaid or getting hurt. And you can't get hurt" (260). This is what Gemma's mother tells Gemma in regard to her confusion towards the sirens. This represents the theme as well since Gemma must again make a life altering decision and sacrifice her own happiness. Gemma strives to protect her family and make a decision that will benefit everyone to the best ability. It is extremely difficult for her to make a choice because both choices have unwritten consequences and evidently her head, heart, and mother are all giving a different set of instructions. She is caught between various outcomes and is at the crossroads of the right decision and wrong decision. However, Gemma's mother's advice has directed her towards the direction of being a siren.
Picture Relating to a Major Event
"Gemma looked down at herself and realized that she had the same fish's tail, covered in iridescent green scales... it was then that Gemma screamed" (p.159). This is the climax of the story where Gemma discovers who she truly has become. Penn, Thea, and Lexi's actions and tactics where targeted towards this: Gemma turning into a siren. This is also when you can witness Gemma's true perspective towards being a siren excluding the complications of leaving her family behind. Gemma's joyful reaction towards being a siren can be compared to her terrified thoughts of leaving her family behind in order to comply to regulations. This shows a lot about Gemma and how she cares about her family: so much they alter her choices.
Picture Relating to the Protagonist
"...like she was floating in an eternal loop. There was something magical about the bay at night, something that her family couldn't seem to understand" (p.4). This quote shows Gemma's profound rationalization behind her midnight swims, which are imperative to the events of the book. Without Gemma's fetish to the bay, many of the events in the story wouldn't have happened. The sirens would not have spotted her or have even been drawn to her had they not known she loved the ocean. Water is Gemma's defining trait. Without it, she would be a completely different character with daily routines completely opposite of her actions in the book.
Amanda Hocking
Email: hockingbooks@hotmail.com
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Location: Austin, MN
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