Deep Trouble (The Secret Mermaid) by Sue Mongredien

Deep Trouble (The Secret Mermaid) by Sue Mongredien
Buy Deep Trouble (The Secret Mermaid) by Sue Mongredien at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Confident Readers
Reviewer: Sue Magee
Summary: The fifth book in The Secret Mermaid series delivers another reliable story which will appeal to girls who love magic and adventure. Recommended.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 96	Date: March 2009
Publisher: Usborne Publishing
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-0746096185
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Molly loves living in her Gran's house, The Boathouse, at Horseshoe Bay but she still misses her friend Katie and is very tempted to tell her about all that's been happening to her. She's distracted though when she sees the news on television – there have been volcanic explosions under the sea and scientists can't explain why there have been so many. Molly wonders if it might have something to do with one of the two pieces of the magic conch shell which are still missing. She longs for the magic in her own conch shell to work so that she can return to the depths and help her friends.

A long time ago five of the conch-shell necklaces were stolen by the Dark Queen and Molly has already helped her friends Ella, Delphi and Coral to retrieve their shells. This time she has to help Pearl who looks after the deepest parts of the ocean, where the volcanic eruptions are taking place.

Sue Mongredien has her finger perfectly on the pulse of what children enjoy. The inspiration for this series came when her eldest daughter didn't want to go to her swimming lesson. Sue suggested that she imagined that she was a mermaid, swimming through the pool and that persuaded her to get into the water. It started Sue thinking about what a great story it would be if there really was a girl with the magic power to turn into a mermaid – and so Molly came into being.

This fifth book in the Secret Mermaid series is perfectly pitched for the emerging reader with eighty six pages of text divided into six chapters. There's liberal use of illustrations by Maria Pearson which ensure that the pages are not too daunting – and that there are useful clues to the story if a little help is needed. The vocabulary is challenging but not too difficult for the newly confident reader. Don't worry if you haven't read the first four books in the series, you'll quickly catch up with the story!

It's a good story too with adventure, intrigue and just a little danger as the girls get dangerously close to a volcano. It's not a book which is likely to appeal to boys but any girl who enjoys magic and adventure is going to enjoy this book.

I'm always a little concerned when a book has a 'sneak preview' of the next adventure as this can put pressure on parents to buy another book when they might not want to do so. Here there are four pages of Return of the Dark Queen taken from the next book. You could well end up buying all six books in the series.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.

Boys and girls might well like another book which we've enjoyed recently – Shadow Goblins by David Melling.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Deep Trouble (The Secret Mermaid) by Sue Mongredien at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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