Imagineer, my 9 year old daughter, and I had the pleasure of reading “Forbidden Wings”, A Mermaids Story, by M.C. Arvanitis.
This captivating story with fantastical characters is absolutely delightful, and delivers a powerful lesson for young readers. If you are brave, persistent, and have a sense of adventure, you can make your dreams come true. The main character, Nadeea, is brave, kind, and strong.
As a parent, I absolutely love stories that capture the imagination of young readers and teach an important life lesson. When they see a character they admire in a book exhibiting traits such as kindness and bravery, hopefully these traits will spill over into their own lives.
I sat down with Imagineer today to hear her thoughts (in her own words) on this very captivating and inspiring story.
Q. Describe this book in a few sentences
A. This book is about a mermaid named Nadeea who is the King and Queen’s daughter, but the King and the Queen were taken away. Since they were taken, Nadeea is teased by the other mermaids. When Nadeea goes to the surface, she meets fairies and she wishes for wings.
And she meets this man named Sir Cecil and she takes her fairy friends on an adventure. When they get to Wyre Island they meet Sadie Squarette, a damselfly, who guides them. They also meet seals that can shed their skins and can look like humans at the age of 16. There is also King Colin, Zasta, and Prince Kerr of the seals. In their adventure, they get to the Damselfly queen and she is very ill. Whenever she lays eggs, somebody comes and takes them before one can become the new queen. And there are many more adventures, like when she sees her parents again, but you have to read the book to find out.
Q. Describe the main character
A. The main character is Nadeea. She is a mermaid and a princess. Her parents were caught when she was very young. She helps her friend Cookie and gets bullied by this mermaid girl named Damean. Nadeea is brave, nice, helpful, a good swimmer, and adventurous.
Q. What is your most favorite scene in the book?
A. My favorite scene in the book would be when Manny the sawfish saved her parents and the other Mer children and Cookie, of course.
Q. What was the worst scene in the book?
A. I guess it would be the ending because it was when the book ended. Actually, the ending was very nice because there was a big celebration. But, I was sad it was ending, because the story was over. And, I think they should also make a sequel!
Q. Would you recommend this book to your friends?
A.Yes. I would recommend this book to my friends because it is adventurous, exciting, happy. Its very detailed and tells about what people look like and what they do and stuff. The detail makes it exciting.
As mentioned above, we thoroughly enjoyed this story and would love to see a sequel detailing more of Nadeea’s adventures.
For another book review by Imagineer, check out: The Secret of Platform 13
It’s funny Imagineer is reading “The Secret of Platform 13”–so am I! And the part she didn’t like was the ending because it was “when the book ended” . . . too cute. I am definitely starting to jump on the mermaid bandwagon. 🙂
I love that a life lesson is a focus too, that’s what I hope to impart in my own books. Sounds like a great book and a wonderful review. Cheers
Julie Grasso recently posted..How to train your Dragon…Dictate
Glad to hear that Imagineer liked the story. That one is coming up soon for us! Thanks for linking into the Kid Lit Blog Hop – nice to see you again! 🙂
Renee C. recently posted..Featured Guest Reviewer: Becki @ Organic Aspirations & Lewis Music Studio
Just like Imagineer, I love books with adventure as well and particularly books with main characters who are nice to others, as it sounds like Nadeea is from Imagineer’s description. I very much enjoyed reading Imagineer’s review.
Imagineer certainly loves the adventurous stories the most. I love her descriptions too. 🙂