Donnelly, Jennifer. Waterfire Saga, Book One: Deep Blue. New York: Disney Hyperion, 2014. Print. 9781423133162. 352 p. $17.99. Gr. 9+.
Jennifer Donnelly’s exciting new series draws readers into an enchanting undersea world. In the first book, we are introduced to Seraphina, the heir to the Miromara dynasty, which is located in the Mediterranean Sea. She is betrothed to Prince Mahdi of Matali, and though she thought she loved him, recent rumors of his wild ways have her worried his attention has turned elsewhere. In addition, she is about to undertake her Dokimi, which will judge whether or not she is fit to rule. She has, however, been troubled as of late by dreams and visions of a mysterious river witch, who sings a song to her about 6 mermaids uniting to defeat a strong evil. On the night of her Dokimi, the realm is attacked and her mother is shot with a poisoned arrow. The city in chaos, Seraphina flees with her best friend Neela as a neighboring region sends soldiers to hunt her down. The two princesses face many different foes from hostile regions, encounter both helpful and evil terragoggs (humans), and begin their quest to find the mermaids mentioned in the song and save their world from total destruction. The many new terms used to describe the creatures and actions in the world can be confusing at times, but Donnelly’s text is fast-paced and exciting and will keep the reader wanting to learn more about this amazing world. Teens who love fantasy sagas will enjoy this new series, so plan on buying the second one and wait eagerly for the third!
Fantasy Lindsey Myers, Peters Township High School
Think Harry Potter meets Percy Jackson, and you have the Waterfire Saga. I was a bit perplexed by this series at first, since I was confused by the numerous terms and jargon that Donnelly created for her new world. But, like all fantasy lovers, I soon fell into the story and devoured it as fast as I could. The story reminded me of the Percy Jackson series because Donnelly places her characters in modern times at one point one of the human characters has a cell phone in his hand. Possibly because of the ornate way in which the merpeople world is described, I had thought that this would be in another era. But, with enough willing suspension of disbelief, I easily became caught up in the world of the mermaids. I am eager to share this title with students who loved the Percy Jackson series. I have one student that has been going through that series recently, so I am going to suggest this as her next fantasy series.