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17th out of 87 books
—
306 voters
Real Mermaids Don’t Wear Toe Rings (Real Mermaids #1)
by
Helene Boudreau (Goodreads Author)
First zit. First crush. First…mermaid’s tail?
If she hadn’t been so clueless, she might have seen it coming. But really, who expects to get into a relaxing bathtub after a stressful day of shopping for tankinis and come out with scales and a tail?
Most. Embarassing. Moment. Ever.
Jade soon discovers she inherited her mermaid tendencies from her mom. But this revelation raises...more
If she hadn’t been so clueless, she might have seen it coming. But really, who expects to get into a relaxing bathtub after a stressful day of shopping for tankinis and come out with scales and a tail?
Most. Embarassing. Moment. Ever.
Jade soon discovers she inherited her mermaid tendencies from her mom. But this revelation raises...more
Paperback, 206 pages
Published
December 10th 2010
by Sourcebooks, Inc.
(first published November 9th 2010)
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I knew I would love Real Mermaids Don’t Wear Toe Rings. I had read the great reviews. I enjoy the author’s quirky, somewhat “out-there” sense of humour. And I always love a book that draws me into an alternate world and allows me to stay there, happy for the duration, in my suspended disbelief.
And so I bought the book. And so I kept the book. And so I waited for one of those delicious afternoons where I could climb into a tub with my box of chocolates and a cup of tea. And I’m so glad I did.
Jade...more
And so I bought the book. And so I kept the book. And so I waited for one of those delicious afternoons where I could climb into a tub with my box of chocolates and a cup of tea. And I’m so glad I did.
Jade...more
4.5 stars
This book is flipping awesome. The humor, the character flaws, the MERMAIDS...awesomeness.
Jade is a great heroine, in that she is. not. a. mary. sue. Finally! A character who has flaws, who doesn't have ten different guys who think she is the most beautiful human being they've ever laid eyes on, who isn't the girl that rules the school, and who does not have enough money to buy ten mansions and a yacht. She's REAL. She has problems that girls will relate to. She struggles with her weigh...more
This book is flipping awesome. The humor, the character flaws, the MERMAIDS...awesomeness.
Jade is a great heroine, in that she is. not. a. mary. sue. Finally! A character who has flaws, who doesn't have ten different guys who think she is the most beautiful human being they've ever laid eyes on, who isn't the girl that rules the school, and who does not have enough money to buy ten mansions and a yacht. She's REAL. She has problems that girls will relate to. She struggles with her weigh...more
Due to copy and paste, formatting has been lost.
The first book in the Real Mermaids trilogy surprised me. I was expecting a fluffy read about mermaids, which I got. But I didn't expect to actually be enchanted by it. You should know by now that I just adore any type of mythology-- any at all. So I was happy to read a little bit on mermaid lore (the webbed ones), but I was a tad disappointed with the actual mermaid content of the novel.
To me, it was too...I don't know, shallow? That's not reall...more
I downloaded this as an audiobook and played it over my iPod during some long stretches of view-less trail during a backpacking trip. While the book isn't even REMOTELY aimed at my own demographic, I still found it thoroughly charming and diverting. (On the other hand, I might have found Ricardo Montalban reading the dictionary during a 4.5-mile, 1500-ft. climb through nothing but trees to be diverting, too.) The audio was read by a Jen Taylor, who did an excellent job convincingly portraying th...more
Originally reviewed by me at http://fantastic-finds-ya.blogspot.com/
Ok, getting a smidge tired of the "I'm a teen girl whose parent died/drowned/disappeared, and oh no, now I'm part fish!" plotline now. Ho hum. This is what I get for picking a mermaid theme, I suppose. ^_^
Tired premise aside, this book was ok. You can't help loving Jade and Bridget Jones-esque ability to place her foot firmly in her mouth, while struggling with her weight and trying to manage her relationships with friends, fami...more
Ok, getting a smidge tired of the "I'm a teen girl whose parent died/drowned/disappeared, and oh no, now I'm part fish!" plotline now. Ho hum. This is what I get for picking a mermaid theme, I suppose. ^_^
Tired premise aside, this book was ok. You can't help loving Jade and Bridget Jones-esque ability to place her foot firmly in her mouth, while struggling with her weight and trying to manage her relationships with friends, fami...more
I've had this one on my iPhone for a while and would read it in bits and snippets while I was in line at the store.
This book started strong. The narrator is conversational and funny. She is a 14 year old girl dealing with the loss of her mother and the onset of womanhood. While I found her interactions with her father to be amusing at times (ex: she has her first period and her dad rushes to her aid with a shopping cart full of pads), I thought other jokes fell flat.
Somehow the opening tone of c...more
This book started strong. The narrator is conversational and funny. She is a 14 year old girl dealing with the loss of her mother and the onset of womanhood. While I found her interactions with her father to be amusing at times (ex: she has her first period and her dad rushes to her aid with a shopping cart full of pads), I thought other jokes fell flat.
Somehow the opening tone of c...more
This is what happens when the book I'm currently reading is at the wrong house. I end up getting a random book on my kindle and finishing it, even though I didn't like it. It's hard to make me dislike a mermaid character, but this did it.
Jade is a teenage girl who we're supposed to feel sorry for (I think) as she is preparing for a pool party despite her fear of water. She doesn't want to go, but her best friend is making her try on all sorts of bathing suits. Then, suddenly, she finds the perf...more
Jade is a teenage girl who we're supposed to feel sorry for (I think) as she is preparing for a pool party despite her fear of water. She doesn't want to go, but her best friend is making her try on all sorts of bathing suits. Then, suddenly, she finds the perf...more
Like the ratings ... this really was, y'know, okay. I picked it up because I like mermaids and even YA fic doesn't have a lot of mermaid-books to pick from, so if you're looking for a book about mermaids, you can't really be picky. I liked Jade well enough, the main character, who was pleasantly and realistically drawn (with a character arc and everything!), and her dad has some fun quirks -- but everyone else (the Insanely Loyal Best Friend, the Completely-Evil-With-No-Redeeming-Qualities Rival...more
I loved this book so much. I read it in a day, not only because it was a short book, but because I couldn't get enough of it. It was fun, fierce, and fantastic. Yes, I meant to use all of those 'f' adjectives.
Jade is such a unique and interesting character, I liked her immediately. She's a bit on the chubby side, a bit socially awkward, and crushing hard on a guy, though she has no idea what to do about that. I loved how her insecurities were portrayed so beautifully without getting too exaggera...more
Jade is such a unique and interesting character, I liked her immediately. She's a bit on the chubby side, a bit socially awkward, and crushing hard on a guy, though she has no idea what to do about that. I loved how her insecurities were portrayed so beautifully without getting too exaggera...more
The Good Stuff
* Absolutely positively one of the most delightful pieces of tween fiction I have ever read
* Heroine is a very real and refreshingly honest
* Strong opening grabs your attention and you are hooked into the story
* Sort of reminded me of a hipper Judy Blume book (This is a compliment)
* Snappy witty dialogue
* Love the relationship between Jade and her Dad
* Positive relationships between Jade and her friends and boys
* Very unique storyline
* Author really remembers what its like...more
* Absolutely positively one of the most delightful pieces of tween fiction I have ever read
* Heroine is a very real and refreshingly honest
* Strong opening grabs your attention and you are hooked into the story
* Sort of reminded me of a hipper Judy Blume book (This is a compliment)
* Snappy witty dialogue
* Love the relationship between Jade and her Dad
* Positive relationships between Jade and her friends and boys
* Very unique storyline
* Author really remembers what its like...more
I think I am going to have to swear off YA fiction for a little while. I can't help but find the workings and reactions of the teenage mind beyond annoying. Well, when they come out as infintile as they do anyway. I don't ever remember acting like the teenager portrayed in so many of these books - EVER! So your friend acts a little 'off' for few days and suddenly you are acting like the whole world is coming to an end and you aren't on the same 'wavelength' anymore. Say what? Was I missing a gen...more
At 13, Jade has a lot to deal with: she’s still getting over her mother’s drowning death a year ago, she just got her first period, and she might have a crush on a guy who surely thinks she’s weird. But nothing prepares her for what happens when she takes a warm bath in salt water to ease her period cramps. For it is then that Jade turns from a normal teenager with average concerns into a freaked-out girl with a mermaid’s tale.
Real Mermaids Don’t Wear Toe Rings by Hèléne Boudreau is at turns lig...more
Real Mermaids Don’t Wear Toe Rings by Hèléne Boudreau is at turns lig...more
REAL MERMAIDS DON'T WEAR TOE RINGS, by Hélène Boudreau, is an absolutely charming book. I went out of my comfort zone reading a lower YA book, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I sat down to start the book and finished it about two hours later!
I think one of the reasons I was not phased by it being a lower YA age group was because Jade was so wise for her fourteen years. She had issues with her self-confidence and was still dealing with the drowning death of her mother, but her 'voic...more
I think one of the reasons I was not phased by it being a lower YA age group was because Jade was so wise for her fourteen years. She had issues with her self-confidence and was still dealing with the drowning death of her mother, but her 'voic...more
Plot:
Jade finds out she is a mermaid. Her best friend spends a lot of time with another girl, and Luke, her crush, why would he ever look at her. There is a lot to handle.
My thoughts:
This was a short cute book, and I loved the mermaid explanation. That was really original and it almost made me believe it could be true. So here the author really thought about how and why there are mermaids.
Jade is a nice girl, her mum drowned a year earlier and she is trying to cope. She gets her period and her d...more
Jade finds out she is a mermaid. Her best friend spends a lot of time with another girl, and Luke, her crush, why would he ever look at her. There is a lot to handle.
My thoughts:
This was a short cute book, and I loved the mermaid explanation. That was really original and it almost made me believe it could be true. So here the author really thought about how and why there are mermaids.
Jade is a nice girl, her mum drowned a year earlier and she is trying to cope. She gets her period and her d...more
4.5 stars
Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings is a great coming of age story, mixed with a little mystery, for middle grade readers. It's fun, it's quirky and Jade's voice is one of realism as she's coming to terms with things that are going on around her and humorous. Jade had me laughing out loud more than once. Helene does a brilliant job at merging reality with fantasy, as Jade herself is a 13 year old girl who's not only coming to terms with her mother's mysterious drowning, but she's coming...more
Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings is a great coming of age story, mixed with a little mystery, for middle grade readers. It's fun, it's quirky and Jade's voice is one of realism as she's coming to terms with things that are going on around her and humorous. Jade had me laughing out loud more than once. Helene does a brilliant job at merging reality with fantasy, as Jade herself is a 13 year old girl who's not only coming to terms with her mother's mysterious drowning, but she's coming...more
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4.5 stars
Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings is a great coming of age story, mixed with a little mystery, for middle grade readers. It's fun, it's quirky and Jade's voice is one of realism as she's coming to terms with things that are going on around her and humorous. Jade had me laughing out loud more than once. Helene does a brilliant job at merging reality with fantasy, as Jade herself is a 13 year old girl who's not only coming to terms with her mother's mysterious drowning, but she's coming...more
Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings is a great coming of age story, mixed with a little mystery, for middle grade readers. It's fun, it's quirky and Jade's voice is one of realism as she's coming to terms with things that are going on around her and humorous. Jade had me laughing out loud more than once. Helene does a brilliant job at merging reality with fantasy, as Jade herself is a 13 year old girl who's not only coming to terms with her mother's mysterious drowning, but she's coming...more
Dec 24, 2010
Chelleyreads (Michelle&Leslie's Book Picks)
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
reviews-december-2010
Our heroine in Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings was 13-year-old Jade. She finds out she's a mermaid after a crazy day at the mall where she first got her period while trying on bathing suits. If that wasn't bad enough, she bumped into a cute boy while shopping for feminine products with her dad. Jade just wanted to forget about her stressful day by taking a nice relaxing soak in the tub when she came out with scales and a tail instead. It turned out her mom was a mermaid who was washed ashore...more
Mar 02, 2013
Bonnie at A Backwards Story
added it
If you're looking for something funny and sweet, the Real Mermaids series by Hélène Boudreau really hits the mark. Boudreau's voice is strong and witty, and I found myself laughing as I read REAL MERMAIDS DON'T WEAR TOE RINGS, the first book in the series. While technically a middle-grade 9-12 novel, the series is better suited for tweens and could also sit in the YA section. Main character Jade is thirteen, almost fourteen, and going through puberty, which is a scenario most younger girls can't...more
Omfg I loved this, didn't want to take my earbuds out. It was such a stupid premise - girl falls asleep in bathtub, wakes up with mermaid tail? REALLY? That's just idiotic. But really, this was a book about a girl going through a lot of physical changes (and no, I don't mean just the tail) with no mother to help her, and a best friend who she's lied to about said changes... therefore, a girl who feels like she's totally alone in the world and can't talk to anyone about her problems except her do...more
When I first saw this one on my twitter feed, I wasn't so sure I wanted to read it. I hadn't seen the cover yet, but the title kind of threw me off. I'm not sure why, but somehow, it just did.
Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings starts off with Jade (the main character) shopping with her best friend for the perfect swimsuit to fit her muffin-top, plus-sized body. She finally finds one...Then everything pretty much goes haywire from there.
She gets a mermaid's tail, while sitting in a salt wate...more
Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings starts off with Jade (the main character) shopping with her best friend for the perfect swimsuit to fit her muffin-top, plus-sized body. She finally finds one...Then everything pretty much goes haywire from there.
She gets a mermaid's tail, while sitting in a salt wate...more
Well, I have to say that the first and second chapters had me shaking my head. It gives embarrassment and a family moment a whole new meaning. It starts off with a girl's first period, yes, I dare to say it because I dared to read it. You'd expect it to be your mom who would buy your sanitary products for you, but, in Jade's case, it's her father walking down the aisles to buy what is almost a shipment of the every imaginable product there is. And then to top that off the boy she's crushing on s...more
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More reviews at Mrs. ReaderPants.
REVIEW: Oh, it was okay I guess. Sixth grade girls will probably like it much better than I did. While I am sure some girls will find the overly descriptive and long-winded menstrual cycle scenes amusing, others may be embarrassed by it. Real Mermaids is great for tween readers, but with their limited experience with menstruation, I really think it will turn off some girls. I remember reading Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret? in fourth grade, and I stopped re...more
Jade is having the worst day EVER. She has to go bathing suit shopping, during which she starts her first period. Her father has to help her buy feminine supplies during which she bumps into her crush. All of the above is humiliating enough and to make matters worse, during her bath, she grows a mermaid tail. Can a girl's life get anymore complicated? Apparently so, because there are mermaids out there who want to be able to become human as easily as Jade does. [return][return]As an adult reader...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Jade was just taking a normal bath then suddenly she had a tail! After her bath, Jades dad told her about her mother being a mermaid. But if her mom was a mermaid how could she have drowned? Soon Jade starts hearing these high piched ringing sound in her ears. One day she was walking along a bridge and then she heard her mom calling her she saw her mom and went to try and save her. Want to know how it ends? If you do you should read the book your self.
I like this book because I like mermaids and...more
I like this book because I like mermaids and...more
hmm... I feel like Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings should be in the J section of the library. Not that it wasn't a good book or anything! But the characters seemed young and a bit immature. The writing style was very simple, leading to me wondering what made Real Mermaids YA. Otherwise it was a pretty good book, I would like to see a sequel, as Ms. Boudreau left us with some loose ends. Jade's character had potential, but we never really learn a lot about her, besides that she lives with her...more
This was a really sweet coming of age story with fins! I was really happy when I saw this book on the shelves at the library. I thought, "Yay, a mer-story." This tale didn't let me down.
It seems that Jade gets the perfect tank-kini, her first period, and her first fins on the same day. PRICLESS!
Don't worry...things do get better. Jade finds and rescues her mer-mother from her freshwater prison. Mom and dad reunite sorta after Dad realizes that she did not drown in the lake as was believed. Ja...more
It seems that Jade gets the perfect tank-kini, her first period, and her first fins on the same day. PRICLESS!
Don't worry...things do get better. Jade finds and rescues her mer-mother from her freshwater prison. Mom and dad reunite sorta after Dad realizes that she did not drown in the lake as was believed. Ja...more
I'm not really sure why this book got published, because 1) The dialogue is clumsy and well... bad. and 2) The author kinda overdid it on cliches. Oh boy. What was I thinking when I started reading this book?
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| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Should I read? | 6 | 18 | Jul 18, 2012 06:07pm |
Hélène Boudreau writes fiction and non-fiction for children and young adults. She is also a compulsive walker, a chicklet wrangler and a lover of cheese and cheap chocolate.
Her tween novel REAL MERMAIDS DON'T WEAR TOE RINGS is a 2011 Crystal Kite Member Choice Award Finalist.
More about Helene Boudreau...
Her tween novel REAL MERMAIDS DON'T WEAR TOE RINGS is a 2011 Crystal Kite Member Choice Award Finalist.
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“Hey Jade?' He called out holding two packages of maxi pads.
I shook my head violently to stop Dad from talking, but from where he stood, I doubted he could see I was talking to a boy. A mildly annoying, but nonetheless cute boy.
'Do you want wings or no wings?'
It was official.
This was shaping up to be the Most. Embarrassing. Day. Ever.”
—
13 people liked it
I shook my head violently to stop Dad from talking, but from where he stood, I doubted he could see I was talking to a boy. A mildly annoying, but nonetheless cute boy.
'Do you want wings or no wings?'
It was official.
This was shaping up to be the Most. Embarrassing. Day. Ever.”
“I was in no mood to negotiate with the Tampon Terrorist.”
—
5 people liked it
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