Lost Voices by Sarah Porter
Reviewed by AimeeRatings
Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content
LANGUAGE
VIOLENCE
SEXUAL CONTENT
ADULT THEMES
Ratings Explanation
Language: There is a handful of damns, exclamations involving deity and a few instances of the B word.
Violence: Luce has an abusive uncle who hits her. An attempted rape is described in some detail. Luce watches a boat wreck in which all the people drown and die. She looks right into the eyes of a man drowning. All the mermaids had horrific things done to them at the hands of adults. Baby mermaids are called larve and usually are eaten by whales and sharks. Luce tries to save a baby larve from orcas and gets bruised and battered in the process. There is blood everywhere from the larve being eaten. Another boat is made to crash and there are dead bodies everywhere. A crazy woman lights a house on fire, trying to kill the girls inside. There is a fight in the water between mermaids. A yacht is made to crash and there is again, dead bodies and blood. A passenger boat is also taken down and people are drowned. One passenger claws into his own face and head until there is blood everywhere. Catarina is ambushed and beaten up by other mermaids. A mermaid dies on the shore.
Sexual Content: A girl is found dead and naked on the shore in the seaweed. Luce is almost raped by her uncle. Mermaids are all naked on top. Catarina sneaks away with a male from a downed ship to kiss him. She keeps him alive underwater by breathing into him when kissing. Catarina was sold for prostitution when she was a human.
Adult Themes: Luce’s father is a thief. He is in and out of jail and Luce goes into foster care. Her father takes her and runs from the law. There is attempted rape and child abuse. The mermaids drink liquor- vodka and scotch and get drunk, more than once.
Synopsis
Life has not been easy for fourteen-year-old Luce. Before her dad died she lived with him in a van and was constantly on the run. One day Luce’s dad goes out to sea for work and never comes home. Luce is left to live with her uncle who is a mean drunk. Things reach a climax when Luce’s uncle tries to rape her and then leaves her on the dangerous cliffs of a small Alaskan town. Luce fully expects to die when she drops into the freezing water below the cliffs, but instead turns into a mermaid. When Luce is taken in by a group of mermaids, she feels a sense of true belonging and family. That sense of belonging is shattered when Luce realizes that these mermaids are driven to use their voices to destroy boats and kill humans. Luce has a particularly beautiful voice and is capable of great power with it, but Luce doesn’t want to kill humans. As the other mermaids recognize Luce’s great skill, they put pressure on her to use it to their advantage. Luce struggles between loyalty to her new family and her conscience.
Luce is a strong, smart character with that base need to find love and acceptance that drives her on. I liked that even when she knew that base desire would be rejected, she still kept to her convictions. This is a sad tale, dark even, with no happily ever after. Based on content, I would recommend 18+ for this book. This book will be released July 2011.