The Tail of Emily Windsnap

Emily lives on a boat but has never been in water. When her class first go to the pool for swimming lessons, she discovers an extraordinary ability to swim - but something strange happens to her legs which seem to want to fuse together. Emily finds she is now drawn to the sea and as she explores it she makes a new friend, the mermaid Shona, and discovers the truth about her mixed heritage - part human, part merfolk. The father she has never known has been imprisoned by Neptune for daring to marry a human woman. Can she rescue him and reunite her family? Kessler creates a likeable heroine in Emily and her relaxed storyteller's voice overcomes occasional creaks in the plot. Each new chapter opening of this agreeable debut novel is attractively decorated with a line and tone illustration by Sarah Gibb.