I am a little bit of a black sheep when it comes to THE SUMMER OF CHASING MERMAIDS. I enjoyed many aspects of this book, but I struggled to form an emotional connection with it or fully root for the romance, which was a big part of the novel. 
 "The girl who'd written volumes on the walls 
 but never said a word." 
 Elyse, having lost her voice in an accident, was a bit hard for me to connect to, not because her feelings weren't expressed through dialogue, but because I could not relate to her actions or truly understand her motivations. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing her journey with becoming comfortable with herself again, as there was some great character development. 
 Christian, our stereotypical impossible to resist heart-breaker was a little bit different. He and I immediately set off on the wrong foot. Besides his somewhat creepy sexual comments to the the main character, he pretty much flirts with any female he sees. Granted, it shows him having more depth later on, being less creepy and more supportive but I still couldn't get behind the romance, especially one that seemed based on physical attraction for a large portion of the novel. One of their first exchanges: 
 Is there something I can do for you? 
 He laughed, raspy. "God, yes." 
 Beyond the characters, the writing was vivid and imaginative, and this book has some great quotes. Major props to the author for tackling topics that we don't see in YA every day but really should. Diversity! 
 As you might already know, I have this love-hate relationship with open endings (that is mostly hate) and I have mixed feelings about the conclusion in this one. On one hand, I like that it is open to your imagination and love the final message it leaves you with. On the other hand, it made me feel like there were still some loose ends that could have been tied up. 
 Overall, this is an entertaining summer read that adds something new to the genre. 
 "With the acceptance of one thing comes the dying of another: a new belief, a relationship. An ideal, a plan, a what-if. Assumptions. A path. A song."