I wasn’t quite there for the romance, which is a bit unfortunate since this is a romance book. Fight me, but insta-love is just so useless and annoying. American Sign Language sign for "no" described. A few brief facts about oceanography and geography. Teens drink unspecified but presumably alcoholic beverages at a nightclub and see someone passed out there. Past mention of cleaning up puke after being the designated driver. Old cigarette smell at nightclub mentioned. Common Sense is the nation's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of all kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in the 21st century. I'm struggling with wording this next part (thanks brain), but I also want to point out that although this book in no way felt like it was dealing with religion, I got a sense of some religious symbolism. I believe Cass is Christian, so I wondered if maybe the Ocean was meant to be a personification (naturification?) of God. There are definitely many traits of the Ocean that aren't Biblical, but it was a parallel that I saw and it hit me on an emotional level. Any symbolism you may or may not personally see reflected in the Ocean aside, the way in which Cass brought to a life a character that in this world was a type of deity and creator full of undying and jealous love was simply astounding.

Fast forward eighty years and Kahlen is now a Siren, immortal and only twenty years from completing her role until another takes her place. Along with her sisters in Elizabeth, Miaka and the soon to be departed Aisling, Kahlen serves the Ocean in an emotional contract which sees her sing to to feed her thirst for human life. The Ocean is portrayed as an energy who owns the life of each Siren until her time of servitude is over. She's possessive and continues to brainwash her possessions that they are her property. Although ruling with with a firm and controlling hand, She is passive aggressive and uses the motion of Her waves to caress her Sirens to soothe them in their time of need.

Did we miss something on diversity?

I really liked Her sometimes, but there were other times that She just confused me. I mean, I liked the idea, I think that She was the strongest character of the book, and it's the first time I read something like it. Her relationship with the girls was one of my favorite aspects of the story, it was very motherly. Do not avoid this book simply because you hated Cass's The Selection series. The two are nothing, nothing, nothing alike. The characters, the world, the writing tone are all so very different. Sure, you may still dislike this one for any number of reasons, but if you're interested in the premise, don't judge it based on a totally separate book series. Uno de los elementos que más me gustó de The Siren fue la gran cantidad de personalidades que albergaban las hermanas de Kahlen, las sirenas. Si bien la historia de Aisling es la que más me atrajo de todas, el saber un poco de la vida pasada de cada una de estas chicas atadas al Océano fue bastante refrescante, pues el libro de vez en cuando se hacía un poco lento. ¡Ahhh! Pero si hay algo que Kiera Cass hizo bien en The Siren fue hacernos sufrir. Por supuesto que esta mujer no nos va a regalar una historia de amor sin grandes fuerzas de la naturaleza, destinos escritos e inseguridades que intenten separar a Kahlen y Akinli.

The Siren covers so many topics, one *might* think it wouldn’t be able to do that effectively, but Kiera Cass finds a way. The topics include, no fewer than: social norms across times, diversity of experiences, abuse, sacrifice, ALL sorts of love (motherly, friendship, soulmate), the impact of nature on the world, and the impact of the world on nature, the balance of life, and loss. With supernatural and fantasy elements set in the modern world, including important friendships and relationships, this book is more than a romance, though that relationship is at the center of most of the book. Some surviving Classical period examples had already depicted the siren as mermaid-like. [7] The sirens are depicted as mermaids or "tritonesses" in examples dating to the 3rd century BC, including an earthenware bowl found in Athens [19] [21] and a terracotta oil lamp possibly from the Roman period. [7] La primera novela que leo de Kiera Cass fuera del mundo de La Selección (de hecho, es la única que tiene), y es también la primera novela que ella escribió. Pese a haber sido revisada y editada, creo que se nota la mejora que ha tenido en el resto de sus trabajos. Vamos, que sí, se nota que le faltaba poner un poco en orden las ideas y dotarlas de detalles.

I kept waiting for something to happen, which isn’t how life works. In closed environments, everything just repeats.” This is a retelling of the classic fairy tale, The Little Mermaid, and due to being fascinated and familiar with both the story and mermaid lore in general, this was a highly anticipated release for me. And, as you can probably guess from my rating, I was left a little disappointed.