Sirena

As a kid I LOVED this book, as an adult it's good, but not nearly as amazing as I remember. It's a bit on the depressing side and could honestly, pass for an adult book rather than a teen one. Sirena tells the story of a mermaid who falls in love with a man, sleeps with him, becomes immortal, and then must face a decision on whether or not to let him leave their private island. The part I liked most about it was all the Greek gods and legends tied in with it. Odysseus even makes an appearance. Also, as far as mermaid books goes, this one still holds up the best. It's written brilliantly, but it is on the short side. I wanted to go to their private island and hang out with Sirena and her mortal lover. They sounded pretty chill. Still solid and now I want to read more by Donna Jo Napoli, I love her fairy tale retellings!

Fish Girl

As a child I was obsessed with David Wiesner's gorgeously illustrated children's novels (Jumanji, The Polar Express, Zathura, etc.) and as a teenager I was completely taken with Donna Jo Napoli's young adult books, especially since the majority of them were fairy tell retellings. I re-read Sirena (a book about a mermaid coincidentally) soo many times in middle school. When I saw that these two literary power houses had teamed up to write a graphic novel I knew I HAD TO READ IT! Fish Girl is by n means complex, but it's simplicity is wonderful and inspiring. Fish Girl lives in a giant aquarium by the beach and helps Neptune put on a show for the humans who come in from the boardwalk. It's a lonely existence and she only has her octopus and the fish to keep her company, if she's lucky Neptune will tell her a goodnight tale while she gathers coins at the bottom of the tank. One day a little girl sees her, really sees her and nothing is ever the same again. A wonderful quick read. I found it absolutely refreshing and wonderfully drawn.

Bound

A fantastic rendition of the classic Cinderella tale. Years ago I took a class on fairy tales and we explored how many different cultures all across the globe have very similar stories and traditions, one of the most common is Cinderella. Last month we read Cinder which is a futuristic cyborg rendition of the Cinderella trope and this book, Bound, is a twentieth century Chinese retelling. Xing Xing lives in a cave with her stepmother and her stepsister Wei Ping and due to her feet being unbound is forced to do all the servant work. Xing Xing was educated up until her father's death so her stepmother is convinced that no one will ever want to marry an educated unbound, unattractive girl. Filled with great Chinese elements about family, traditions, calligraphy, and fish, this book compelled me from the get go. Donna Jo Napoli is  master at fairy tale re-telling.