The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea

Tokuda-Hall, M. (2020). The Mermaid, the witch, and the sea. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. ISBN: 9781536204315 (hardcover)

Genre: Fantasy / Format: Prose novel

Reading level / Interest Level: Grades 9-12 (source: Booklist Online)

Plot Summary: This fantasy of pirates, magic, and queer romance takes place in a world of islands, where a colonial Empire has been expanding across the Known World. Evelyn is a daughter of nobility, sent by her parents to make an arranged marriage with a colonial governor on a distant island. Flora is an orphan who took a job on a pirate ship, and the identity of a boy, Florian, to escape starvation in the streets of the Imperial capital. Flora and Evelyn build a connection, and then fall in love, even as the voyage they are both on seems to leave them no power to shape their destinies. Together, they decide to resist as the story’s complications and dangers grow. The captain of the ship has broken the law of the pirates’ leader and hunts mermaids for their forbidden blood; Imperial agents connive in their efforts to secure more territory for the Empire; a menacing witch identifies Flora as a suitable heir to her power…. In the end, Flora and Evelyn need to fight back against the Imperial forces and all those who abused and held power over them, in order to become the truest versions of themselves.

Author Background: Maggie Tokuda-Hall is an author and former bookseller who lives in Oakland, CA. The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea is her first novel, following a picture book she wrote in 2017, Also an Octopus, which won a Parents’ Choice Gold Medal. She blogs on her website about topics related to kidlit, YA books, and the publishing industry.

Her next project is graphic novel Squad, illustrated by Lisa Sterle. It’s described as a “darkly comedic” story of a group of teen girls who like to “get dressed up, go to parties, target entitled, date-rapey Bros, turn into wolves, and eat them.” Its projected publication date is Fall 2021.

Critical Evaluation: This is a lovely, inclusive story with an old-fashioned, fairytale feel. Like traditional fairytales, it has a layer of darkness visible beneath its surface—death, abuse, and suffering are realities of these characters’ experience. It also reflects not only the injustices that individuals do to each other, but those perpetrated by organized power: colonial rule and the scars it leaves are defining parts of the world the story inhabits. Alongside its darkness, though, the book also offers characters who learn to do what is right, magic that transforms reality, and a sweet romance between a girl and a nonbinary teen. Although the prose is quite on the same level, The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea reminded me the most of Kelly Barnhill’s work, aimed at a slightly older audience.

Creative Use for Library Program: The book’s stunning cover and original fantasy setting make it a good pairing for Teen Librarian Toolbox’s story terrarium craft program. The librarian can model building a story terrarium using craft items that represent elements of the story—shells, costume jewelry, glittery sequin “mermaid scales,” etc.—and participants can choose their own symbols meaningful to the books they’ve read to create decorative terrarium bottles.

Book Talk: What if the rules and necessities of your life left you no room to be yourself, no chance to pursue what you wanted? Lady Evelyn Hasegawa’s parents have sent her off on a voyage across the sea to a wedding she didn’t choose. Flora has worked onboard ship since she was an orphan child, taking on the identity of Florian, a reluctant pirate trying to protect himself and his brother. When Flora and Evelyn meet, though, they begin to imagine something more than doing what they have to in order to survive…This story is packed with action, romance, magic, and mysterious fairytale lore.

Potential Challenges and Defense: This is another book with a queer romance at its center, which could elicit challenges from conservative parents. In response, I would point to the library collection policy, which should include language about books that show and include a range of diverse perspectives. Such a collection policy is based on the ALA’s professional ethics, which state that “it is in the public interest for publishers and librarians to make available the widest diversity of views and expressions” (2006).

Why did I include this book? Maggie Tokuda-Hall is a friend of a friend, and I had wanted to read her book since she described it to me months before it came out. It’s also enthusiastically blurbed by Charlie Jane Anders, who is one of my literary heroes.

References:

American Library Association (2006, July 26). The freedom to read statement. Retrieved from: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/freedomreadstatement. Document ID: aaac95d4-2988-0024-6573-10a5ce6b21b2

Batykefer, E. (2013, March 15). TPiB: Story terrariums [Web log post]. Retrieved from: http://www.teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2013/03/tpib-story-terrariums-guest-post-by-erinn-batykefer-at-the-library-as-incubator-project/

Goodreads (n.d.). The mermaid, the witch, and the sea [Webpage]. Retrieved from: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51710973-the-mermaid-the-witch-and-the-sea

Haque, A. (2020, April 15). The mermaid, the witch, and the sea [Review]. Booklist. Retrieved from: https://www.booklistonline.com/The-Mermaid-the-Witch-and-the-Sea-Maggie-TokudaHall/pid=9730655

Tokuda-Hall, M. (n.d.). http://www.prettyokmaggie.com/ [Website].