Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs

Bloomsbury, 2011. ISBN 9781408820186
(Ages 12+) All Tempest Maguire has ever wanted was to surf the amazing waves near her Californian home and hang out with her boyfriend, but life is never that simple. Tempest is half mermaid and with her seventeenth birthday approaching she must decide what she really wants; if she will stay with the life she knows now, or if she will give herself to the ocean like her mother did six years before. She knows the changes will begin soon after her seventeenth birthday but then begin early, a whole week early, and she is so angry because her mother said after her seventeenth birthday they would begin. She has never wanted to be a mermaid, she has always known she would choose human but when she meets Kona, a gorgeous surfer whose amazing surfing abilities suggest he may be more than human, the lure of the ocean becomes almost impossible to resist. Soon enough she finds herself in the middle of a battle for survival, with the future of the ocean at risk one mistake could bring the end to life in the ocean.
This book is amazing and I wish it hadn't finished. You can feel all of Tempest's emotions, well most at least. I would definitely recommend this book as it has adventure, mythical creatures and has amazing characters.
Tahlia Kennewell (student)