“TEMPEST UNLEASHED,” by Tracy Deebs, Walker Children’s, Hardcover, June 5, 2012, $16.99 (ages 12 and up)
When Tempest Maguire decided to embrace her mermaid nature, she knew she’d have to give up some things, including her family on land. She was OK with that. They were safe, and she was needed in the ocean, her mother’s clan needed her.
But as time passes, Tempest learns being a mermaid isn’t so easy. Training to one day take the throne as mermaid queen is hard work, and Kona, the selkie who helped her embrace her mermaid side, is suddenly treating her differently.
When Tempest learns her youngest brother has been injured, she drops everything and returns to land. Coming home isn’t as easy as Tempest thought it would be — one brother in the hospital, another moody and distant. And then there’s Mark, Tempest’s old boyfriend, who’s still carrying the flame.
Nothing seems right. Not on land and certainly not a sea. While Tempest is tending to her family, Tiamat, a sea witch, is waging deadly battles, seeking to start a war. Tempest is in the middle of it all. Kona and Mark. Land and Sea. Tempest must live up to her name if she is to save them all.
The follow-up to “Tempest Rising,” “Tempest Unleashed” is a dark and dangerous mermaid tale light years away from Ariel and Prince Eric. There’s battles, blood and death all wrapped up pearls and sea glass and romance. While it’s not absolutely necessary to read “Tempest Rising” first, it’s probably a good idea. Things will fall in to place much faster that way.
Author Tracy Deebs does a nice job pulling readers under the waves and into a world that is mysterious even without the magical creatures. In Tempest, she’s created a strong and likable character that’s aptly named.
Though a few plot elements throughout “Tempest Unleashed” are predictable, there are enough twists, particularly an undersea battle, to keep readers engaged and wanting more. While mermaids aren’t my favorite genre, I was happy to find a story that wasn’t all romance. I think more depth would certainly help, but it’s not a deal breaker. It’s a fine summer read.
