Ripple by Mandy Hubbard

Ripple by Mandy Hubbard
Released: July 21, 2011
Razorbill/Penguin
ISBN13: 9781595144232

3.5/4 Stars

Goodreads Synopsis:
Lexi is cursed with a dark secret. Each day she goes to school like a normal teenager, and each night she must swim, or the pain will be unbearable. She is a siren - a deadly mermaid destined to lure men to their watery deaths. After a terrible tragedy, Lexi shut herself off from the world, vowing to protect the ones she loves. But she soon finds herself caught between a new boy at school who may have the power to melt her icy exterior, and a handsome water spirit who says he can break Lexi's curse if she gives up everything else. Lexi is faced with the hardest decision she's ever had to make: the life she's always longed for - or the love she can't live without?

All these new YA books based off mythology are making me swoon with excitement! There are so many out there, based off of different mythological persons, creatures, stories, etc. and they're told in such uniquely different ways.

Ripple is about Lexi, a girl cursed with being a siren. Hubbard does a fantastic job using a popular, current theme and making it her own. Lexi's curse is fascinating and the mythology Hubbard uses is just wonderful.

My disappointment with this book was the pacing and development- it was too fast. Like taking a ride on a runaway train, when you just want to enjoy the scenery. Lexi's romantic relationships unfold so quickly, that they came off forced more than anything (although one of them was understandably so). And Erik as a character was just flat and empty- there was nothing substantial to him, although the idea behind him was enticing. But to be honest, the pacing really took away from the story as a whole and left me wanting much more than was there.

However, Ripple is a book about far more than just a teenage siren with a curse to break. At the root of the story is the tragic and unfortunate death of Lexi's boyfriend, Steven, and how Lexi tries to cope with her grief. The richest relationships in the book were those between Lexi and Cole, and Lexi and Sienna, as they all tried to come to terms with Steven's death and the impact it had on each other.

Furthermore, Hubbard carves out the curse of sirens to cumulate in one large issue for them, as they seem to crave true love beyond anything else. The heartbreak Lexi feels and her desire for something more than the abandonment and deaths surround her is just stunning.

Sienna and Lexi's relationship is a kind of real life friendship, and the consequences of their actions are devastating- but perfectly applied by Hubbard.