cover image Sound of Sirens

Sound of Sirens

Jen Minkman. CreateSpace, $7.99 paper (170p) ISBN 978-1-5031-6537-3

Dutch writer Minkman’s engrossing first book in the Tales of Skylge trilogy introduces 17-year-old Enna Buwalda, descended from the original settlers of the isolated island of Skylge. While her world seems small—limited to school, fishing for food, and taking care of her father—it’s a life she loves, especially when music is involved. A subsequent group of settlers, the Currents, live a very different lifestyle, complete with electricity, cars, and seemingly magical devices that the Skylgers are forbidden from using. While many see the Currents as saviors, keeping the mermaids (Nixen) from luring them to their deaths, others are working quietly to bring the truth about the Nixen to light, including Enna’s brother, Sytse. Enna’s world expands just a bit when she meets Royce, a Current born to one of the richest families on the island, who shares her love of instrument and song. Lush descriptions of a fantasy-tinged Dutch culture, in a contemporary world similar to ours, support evocative storytelling that should easily pique readers’ interest in the subsequent books, Light of Lorelei and Fire of Fryslan, which are also available. Ages 14–up. (BookLife)