Emily Windsnap and the Castle in the Mist

In this latest addition to the fantasy series, Emily finds her existence as half mermaid half ordinary girl under threat. While on a class assignment searching the seabed for trinkets to present to the mighty sea god Neptune, Emily discovers a diamond ring. She places it on her finger – and feels its magic engulf her. It has extraordinary powers, but its presence incurs the wrath of Neptune, who turns on Emily, threatening her with a curse intended to destroy her identity and her ability to inhabit both land and sea. Yet the ring, unperturbed, continues to lead her ever onward, to a castle far out on the horizon and enveloped in mist. Could the castle be the key to the ring’s mysterious behaviour and to Neptune’s fury? Light-hearted and exciting, with a straightforward plot and happy conclusion, the book also touches upon a deeper theme: the precariousness of belonging to two worlds, each with different values and beliefs, and the loss of identity that can ensue from having to abandon one in favour of the other. However, the book’s strength lies in the rich, descriptive passages, unusual in a story for this age group, which conjure a vast watery world governed by violent forces and inhabited by shadowy creatures.