13 year old Molly just wants to be normal. Having to wear a full fish costume and hand out flyers to locals who probably have binned dozens before, is humiliating. Spending most of her free time working – for free! – in her family fish and chip shop is annoying. And being shamed at school for her mum’s daily seaside skinny dipping is mortifying. Why can’t her family just be normal!

Molly’s four sisters don’t seem to suffer the daily pain she does. The only good thing about having a fish and chip shop is that she gets to talk to Fit Steve when he picks up his family order. Only she and her best friend Abby call him that, but she knows every other girl in her year thinks it. He’s gorgeous!

Just when she thinks life can’t get any more embarrasing, Molly learns a family secret. Her mum and three older sisters are in fact mermaids! They’ve been keeping it a secret until she too turns 13 and changes it a mermaid herself.

Molly isn’t excited or in awe or in the least bit happy about another abnormal thing in their lives, and turning into a mermaid is as abnormal as anyone can get.

It gets worse. If Molly is anywhere near a lot of water, her body tingles, her legs snap together and bingo! She has a tail. A shiny, scaly white tail. Typical. Her sisters have beautiful shimmering, coloured tails and hers is boring, plain, white. This transformation catches Molly out in very inopportune times at school, a swimming pool and even at the zoo.

She’s dying to talk to her bestie Abby about it but has been sworn to secrecy by her sisters, or suffer a terrible fate of living in polluted waters for the rest of their lives. And besides, Abby has betrayed Molly in the worst way possible, talking about her behind her back to enable her to join the popular kids at school and be closer to Fit Steve and his friends.

There is one good thing in all of this fishy mess. Each mermaid develops a special power. Her sisters have super smart or super fast gifts but Molly has no idea what hers might be. Just as her family advises, her power develops slowly and with it, life isn’t actually as awful as it once was.

A funny mix between fantasy and contemporary, this story delves into a normal girl’s struggle with growing up, boys, friendships and social status at school and an unbelievable talent. Turning into a mermaid is exciting to her sisters but intolerable to 13 year old Molly who just wants to be normal.

Molly is a scratchy often grumpy character, as her sisters often point out, but slowly softens to realise that being popular, ashamed of her family and envious of others hasn’t got her anywhere except more unhappy. Her transformation, although far from perfect is gradual and welcome to all around her, including herself. 

Author – Laura Kirkpatrick

Age – 11+

(2019, Harper Collins, Humour, School, Family, Friendship, Secret, Fantasy, Popularity, Fish & Chips, Haddock Costume, Embarrassed, Humiliated, Being Normal, Mermaid’s Tail, Boy Crush)