Midnight Pearls: A Retelling of "The Little Mermaid" (Once Upon a Time)

by Debbie Viguié

Midnight Pearls: A Retelling of "The Little Mermaid" (Once Upon a Time)

book data

282 ratings, 3.59 average rating, 54 reviews (more data...)

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published

October 24th 2006 by Simon Pulse

binding

Mass Market Paperback, 208 pages

setting

Unknown

isbn

1416940162 (isbn13: 9781416940166)

description

In a quiet fishing village seventeen years ago, one lone fisherman rescued a child from the sea. He and his wife raised the girl, Pearl, as their own ...more

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 441)

All ratings | 5 stars (64) | 4 stars (96) | 3 stars (77) | 2 stars (31) | 1 star (14) | avg 3.59

all | this edition

Cindy

Cindy rated it:

05/05/08

bookshelves: fantasy, teen

Read in May, 2008

recommends it for: teens, lovers of fairy tales

I am a big fan of the retold fairy tale, so I was happy to find this series of familiar tales and fables rewritten for teens. I just finished this one yesterday, and I enjoyed it. Finneas is out fishing one night when a terrible storm blows up. Just when he is ready to give up and surrender to the sea, he spots a child floating in the ocean. He rescues the girl and together with his wife, they raise the girl as their own. They name her Pearl. It's a promising beginning, and I did enjoy the book....more

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Echo

Echo rated it:

(review of isbn 0689855575)

10/01/07

bookshelves: fantasy, youngadult

Read in July, 2007

recommends it for: Young adult girls

Being a fan of the original Anderson fairy tale, The Little Seamaid, and the Disney cartoon, The Little Mermaid, (and also enjoying the occasional young adult novel) I decided to take a chance on Midnight Pearls. Though it's not my favorite retelling, it was a good read. The author put an interesting twist on the story, adding in a little more adventure than other versions of the fairy tale. The beginning of the story especially is fascinating and very well told. The main body of the story and t...more Being a fan of the original Anderson fairy tale, The Little Seamaid, and the Disney cartoon, The Little Mermaid, (and also enjoying the occasional young adult novel) I decided to take a chance on Midnight Pearls. Though it's not my favorite retelling, it was a good read. The author put an interesting twist on the story, adding in a little more adventure than other versions of the fairy tale. The beginning of the story especially is fascinating and very well told. The main body of the story and the ending don't have quite the depth of the original, but they are still interesting, and I think they will have more appeal to the young adult audience than the original might have had. My only disappointment was in what I thought to be clumsy execution of the story.

SPOILER WARNING

In the book, we're introduced to the two main characters. We learn that they've been friends since childhood and that they meet on a regular basis. It is also hinted that they have started to have feelings for each other. Both discover that their parents expect them to marry soon, and each begins to regard the other as a possible choice for that marriage. The male main character even tries to propose -- though he is interrupted. It's not until that point, around page 60 (almost halfway through the book), that two new characters enter the scene. These two, we realize, are the REAL love interests for the two main characters. This is the clumsy story telling. At this point, I'm already attached to the two main characters as a couple. Everything has hinted that they love each other, that they're meant for each other. So, as a reader, when new love interests suddenly pop up halfway through the story, I view them as intruders and immediately dislike them. I don't sympathize with them or cheer for their success. Their story seemed to come out of nowhere and blindsided me, and the love at first sight that develops with the two new characters is unconvincing in contrast to the two main characters, who seem to have the sort of love that sometimes blossoms from friendship, which is also seen in a lot of fairy tales. Even though I know how the story would turn out, I still held out hope that somehow these new characters would go away and the two main characters would end up together. I thought the author could have handled that aspect of the story more gracefully -- perhaps by introducing the two love interests and their part in the plot earlier on in the book so it seemed more natural when they do meet the main characters.

However, aside from that, I did enjoy the story, and I think it will have a strong appeal to young adult readers....less

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Anita

Anita rated it:

03/17/08

bookshelves: fairy-tale, romance

I really enjoyed this retelling of the Little Mermaid. The main character is a girl looking for a sense of belonging, and finally finds it. Surprisingly "the little mermaid" is not the main character. An enjoyable read!

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Laura

Laura rated it:

01/28/08

bookshelves: borrowed-from-public-library

This was rather disappointing. I loved Disney's The Little Mermaid (I still do) and I love the original fairytale. I love just about anything to do with mermaids, but this book was not endearing.

*****SPOILERS****

So, the mermaid girl and her prince friend are about to get engaged when two other merpeople stumble into their lives and are apparently supposed to be the REAL loves of the two. The trouble is, readers t...more

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Cindy

Cindy rated it:

12/17/08

bookshelves: fantasy-sci-fi, young-adult

Read in December, 2008

Part of the Once Upon a Time Series - this offers a new look at the Little Mermaid fable. One can find a mix of the original H.C. Andersen tale and the Disney version. A different twist to the ending. An enjoyable read.

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Diana

Diana added it

06/06/08

bookshelves: 2007-2008

Once upon a time...a fisherman rescues a child from the sea. The fisherman and his wife raises the girl, and they named her pearl because her hair is silver and shiny. They treat her like their own child. They never wonder where where she is from, or how she ended up in the middle of the sea.
As she grows up, she transforms from a mysterious child into an unusual woman. Pearl is not always welcomed in the village. She doesn't have friends or a husband like other normal people. This book is...more

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Yushi

Yushi rated it:

01/14/08

bookshelves: advisory

Read in November, 2007

Based on the fairy tale "The Little Mermaids," Midnight Pearls retold the story of a little girl, Pearl, rescued from sea and raised by normal humans. Although she realized that she was different from the others, she never knew that she was a mermaid. Through all her obstacles, she always had her secret companion, Prince James, there to help her. However, a conspiracy puts an end to the life that Pearl has always led.

I didn't really like this story because it was too simil...more

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Bridgett

Bridgett rated it:

12/11/08

bookshelves: fairy-tales-mythology, sci-fi-fantasy, youth-fiction

I didn't mind so much that the falling in love happened fast, because it did in the original story. However, the ending seemed too convenient.

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Bridget

Bridget rated it:

12/29/08

bookshelves: children-ya, fairy-tales

I still haven't read Andersen's "Little Mermaid," so I can't make comparisons between the original and this retelling.

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Catherine

Catherine rated it:

07/28/08

bookshelves: fantasy-reads

Read in July, 2008

The author just can't produce believable dialogue or a smooth plot progression. She's in fits and starts with contrived emotional scenes in between. The book tries to be a type of Little Mermaid but just ends up with too many characters and too little interest. Robin McKinley wrote a short story along similar lines in the book Water that she wrote with her husband (Peter Dickinson) but she does it supremely better and in a shorter amount of space, proving that Viguie just can't handle short thin...more

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Rachel

Rachel rated it:

04/07/08

bookshelves: fantasy

Read in January, 2007

recommended to Rachel by: Aliya
recommends it for: No one, unless you want to scream and throw a book.

This was the first "OUAT" story I read, and let me tell you - IT MADE ME SO MAD, AND IS ONE OF MY LEAST FAVORTIES.

*SPOILERS*

The original, to-be-engaged couple gets intervened by the random strangers?! The pairing we're led to like?! I'm sorry, that annoys me more than anything else in a novel, and I felt that it was a completely insane thing - these retellings take the "love-at-first-sight" thing way too seriously, and kill off any actual romanti...more

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Jinxiu

Jinxiu rated it:

06/15/08

I love these fairytale story that has its own twist. This novel is based of on the "The Little Mermaid." Pearl, a mermaid is found in the shores one night and thus raises by a normal human couple. Her plain skin and green hair makes her stand out from the rest of society, lucky there is prince James who understands Pearl. They become friends but Prince James has more than just friendship feelings for Pearl.
It's similar to the little mermaid but this version still has its good.

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Suki

Suki rated it:

05/21/08

Read in May, 2008

This book is kind of retelling the book or movie of The Mermaid but it is kind of different. It was sometimes confusing because i dont really get who's the mermaid or prince because it didnt really follow the characters of the book or movie. there were double the main characters. i thought it was so romantic at the end! i realize that i still like Cathy Hopkin's book more because this book didn't really hook me in and i am not that interested. But you can try out this book!

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Jessica

Jessica rated it:

07/11/08

Read in July, 2008

This was a fun little book, but nothing more. The characters were vapid and inconsistent, the wording repetitive. The plot was developed well enough, but that is not enough to carry a book. It could serve as a basis for a much more interesting, well-told story. For a 9 or 10 year old I think it would be fine, (aside from some some light romance) but I found it in the 'teen' section of my library.
I gave it the second star because well...I like mermaids.

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Debbie

Debbie rated it:

09/13/07

bookshelves: young-adult-lit

Read in April, 2007

recommends it for: fairy tale fans

Midnight Pearls is a retelling of "The Little Mermaid." Pearl mysteriously appears in the ocean during a storm. She is rescued by Finneas the fisherman and he and his wife, Mary, raise Pearl as their daughter. Pearl becaomes friends with James, the prince. A plot to murder the king and the arrival of Kale and Faye, merkin siblings, complicate Pearl and James' budding romance. Good plotting and a bit of romance will appeal to teen readers.

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Esther

Esther rated it:

11/01/08

bookshelves: young-adult

So I found more books from this series. This one had a very nice twist to the Little Mermaid although the end was a little abrupt. I find all these books to be good but wish they had elaborated more and took a little more time to make them flow better so I could understand why some characters do or say certain things that seem odd or out of place to me. I think they like to keep them short and sweet though.

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Elizabeth

Elizabeth rated it:

07/23/08

bookshelves: fairy-tales

Read in July, 2008

recommends it for: anyone who needs a good fairytale retelling!

One of my favorite fairy tales has always been the Little Mermaid, by Hans Christian Anderson, so I'm sure that influenced my thoughts on this book... But it was still really good! Very creative and interesting, although it could have been better-written. It was a very unique way of weaving the story of the Little Mermaid into another intriguing plot. A quick read that I can't stop thinking about...!

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Karryn

Karryn rated it:

06/30/08

Read in June, 2008

What a disappointment! The premise was good, but none of the characters were developed well enough for me. I'm actually surprised that I even finished the book, but it's pretty short so I made myself finish, hoping that something would come of the characters. Note to self: Don't bother with the rest of the "once upon a time" series...

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Lynny

Lynny rated it:

11/09/08

Read in November, 2008

recommended to Lynny by: goodreads
recommends it for: Anyone who liked the little mermaid and a cute romance

a really good book, but i think that the characters could have done with a little more development, and there should have been more detail and explanation. basically, it was to small. she definitely could have gone deeper into the story.
but i still really enjoyed it.
:)

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Nerd Goddess

Nerd Goddess rated it:

09/16/07

Read in September, 2007

I liked this book pretty well, but elements of it bothered me. Some of the writing sounded like it wasn't edited right, and bits of the way the story went kind of bothered me. All in all, though, I thought it went well. Would have liked to see more of the bad guy.

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