Hannah

Hannah (Daughters of the Sea, 1) by Kathryn Lasky, 2009; 310 pages. Published by Scholastic. Source: Library.

Hannah wants to be normal, but she's not. The sea calls to her, and she can see a delicate tracing of scales on her legs. Billowing waves sooth her, but flat land makes her sick. She knows there's something wild in her that's different, wrong-and deeply thrilling.

Only one person seems to know who- or what - Hannah is. He's a guest in the house where she works as a scullery girl, and his fascinated gaze followers her. She doesn't understand his terrifying allure, or her longing. But even as the mystery deepens, Hannah is sure of one thing. A sea change is coming. 

First Sentence:

They say the sea makes some people sick.

Since I have May, the second book in The Daughters of the Sea series, sitting on my TBR pile I decided to check out the first book in the series from my library.

While I found Hannah to be a really quick and solid read, but not necessarily one that I would add to my (ever growing) list of all-time favorites. While Hannah is marketed as a YA title, it comes across as more of an upper MG read.

I loved how vividly Kathryn Lasky described everything, especially the descriptions of the raging sea during a violent storm. Her writing made it seem like you were almost there a midst the storm with Hannah and the rest of Hawley residents (the people she worked for).

On a whole, Hannah was an okay character. At times I really liked her and at others I found her to be an extremely frustrating character to read about.
She made me laugh when she would keep referring to the handbook she read on how to be a proper servant to the rich, especially since she would try so hard to be perfect and then she would end up doing something that she should not.

What really made this book hard to put down for me was the main antagonist and her evil hench kitty (yes, I said hench kitty). The two of them together were just so truly crazy and unhinged that whenever they appeared you knew that things were about to go from bad to worse for Hannah. They definitely gave the book a bit of a darker turn with their insane/creepy relationship.

I think what kept it from being an amazing read for me was the end and that it took nearly the whole book for Hannah to realize the truth...one that we all knew was going to be revealed at some point (that she was a...) I would've liked for it have been it revealed a little earlier on in the book. The reason why I did not much care for the end of the book was that it just seemed so abrupt.
Even though the book was frustrating at times I really enjoyed and am looking forward to reading May when I have a chance.

Final Verdict: Hannah is an interesting and highly fast-paced read (I read it in about four hours) that will most likely be enjoyed by fans of MG fantasy.

Do I recommend it, yes. I do believe that Hannah the first book in the Daughters of the Sea series is definitely a worthwhile read and will most likely appeal to fans of Sirena by Donna Jo Napoli.

Hannah earns 4 out of 5 pineapples.