Friday 25 March 2011

Super Snippets (2) : The Mermaid's Mirror by L.K Madigan


Recently I've seen quite a few quotes that I love in books so I thought it would be a nice idea to start a new feature here sharing and commenting on all of my favourite quotes or 'snippets' from the books that I have been reading/reviewing on the blog and so Super Snippets was born. I hope that the snippets from the books that I share will whet your appetite for more and give you a better taster of the book so you can decide whether you would like to read it or not. Any suggestions for the feature would be welcomed!

Today's snippets are from The Mermaid's Mirror by L.K Madigan, which I reviewed yesterday.

Goodreads description

Lena has lived her whole life near the beach — walking for miles up and down the shore and breathing the salty air, swimming in the cold water, and watching the surfers rule the waves — the problem is, she’s spent her whole life just watching.

As her sixteenth birthday approaches, Lena vows she will no longer watch from the sand: she will learn to surf. But her father — a former surfer himself — refuses to allow her to take lessons. After his near drowning years ago, he can’t bear to let Lena take up the risky sport. Yet something keeps drawing Lena to the water . . . an ancient, powerful magic. And one morning Lena catches sight of this magic: a beautiful woman — with a silvery tail. Now nothing can stop Lena from seeking the mermaid, not even the dangerous waves at Magic Crescent Cove.
And soon . . . what she sees in the mermaid’s mirror will change her life forever.

Some of my favourite 'snippets' (with help from my book club)

'Lena's world had become a tangle of broken sleep and waking dreams...voices in her head and mermaids in the water...locks and keys and calls from the sea.'

I love this beautiful imagery that appears frequently in Madigan's writing because it makes Lena's world so vivid and feel more alive.

Lena's heartbeat slowed as she gazed out at the sea. Her breathing calmed. She didn't try to study the conditions; she just drank in the soothing ocean breeze and the hypnotic sound of the surf.'

'She could hear a mournful, sweet song reaching up to her ears from the depths of the sea. It was like no human song she had ever heard, sounding more like a thousand violins and flutes playing at once.' 

How are those quotes for appealing to the senses?

"Lena," persisted Cole. "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
Her parents and Grandma Kath had stopped talking and were looking at her now. Lena raised her eyebrows at them and said to Cole, "Happy."
 
This one really stood out to me because it made me pause for a minute and think about what she said. It's a memorable quote!
  

3 comments:

  1. This sounds a really beautiful book, I would lovee to read it someday. Super Snippets is a fantastic idea! Love your blog, keep it up :)

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    ReplyDelete
  2. Great feature. Reminds me a lot of my Noteworthy Passages feature. I actually did one for this book earlier this year and picked two of the same quotes.

    ~Briana

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  3. @Zoe Thanks!

    @Briana I just searched for your post and google and I see you're right. That's strange,my school book club and librarian helped me to choose their favourite quotes out of about 10. I've just emailed you :)

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I love comments, they make me smile! So thank you for taking the time to write one, I read all of them.
I try my best to reply here or on your blog :)

Stephanie x