Emily Windsnap and the Castle in the Mist
Author: Liz Kessler
Illustrator: Sarah Gibb
Publisher: Candlewick Press
ISBN-10: 0763633305
ISBN-13: 978-0763633301

In the third book in the series, Emily is now going to school on Allpoints Island learning things like how to decorate her tail, search for ocean treasures and comb out her hair. Her mother the human isn’t thrilled with this type of education and wants something a little more educational like history. Her father the merman thinks it’s fine and is proud of his daughter. Needless to say, this is causing some arguing. Beyond that the parents are adjusting to living together again after the long enforced separation so there’s bound to be some clashes. Emily thinks they’re splitting up and she’s having some heavy anxiety about it.

One day while treasure hunting for a school project, Emily discovers an old diamond ring. She puts it on and her life starts to change again and not for the better! The diamond turns out to be part of a long hidden secret of Neptune’s. When he finds out she has it, he curses her – in just a few days she’ll no longer be half-human, half-mermaid. She’ll have to choose which one she’ll be and which parent she’ll live with and which she will say goodbye to forever unless she can figure out how to break the curse.

Emily sets off to find a way to change her destiny and get out of this mess. She finds a mysterious castle in the mist, a boy who seems to hold the key to the mystery and a whole lot of trouble.

I’m a fan of Emily Windsnap. She’s smart, she’s spunky, she can be brave, but mostly she’s just an ordinary teenaged girl that just happens to have a tail. She deals with issues most teens these days have, like parents not getting along, homework and fitting in with her friends.

What I like about the Emily books is how there’s always real problems going on that get intertwined with the magical and fanciful. Yes, there’s a long time magical curse to break but the heart of the matter is that Emily’s worried about her parents, divorce and which parent to live with. Those are very real, very common issues that kids can relate to. What shines through this book is the very real love Emily has for her parents and they for her. It also makes it very clear that life isn’t easy.

Emily Windsnap and the Castle in the Mist is an enchanting ocean mystery that girls will love.

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