Book Type: Softcover
Publisher: iUniverse, Incorporated
Age Range: Young Adult
Publication Date: July, 2009
Author Web Page:
“You must never do anything that might expose our secret. This means that, in general, you cannot form close bonds with humans. You can speak to us, and you can always commune with the Ocean, but you are deadly to humans. You are, essentially, a weapon. A very beautiful weapon. I won’t lie to you, it can be a lonely existence, but once you are done, you get to live. All you have to give, for now, is obedience and time…” The same speech has been given hundreds of times to hundreds of beautiful girls who enter the sisterhood of sirens. Kahlen has lived by these rules for years now, patiently waiting for the life she can call her own. But when Akinli, a human, enters her world, she can’t bring herself to live by the rules anymore. Suddenly the life she’s been waiting for doesn’t seem nearly as important as the one she’s living now.
The Siren is an exquisite and beautiful story. If I could describe the novel with only one word it will be: perfection. The main character Kahlen is a lovely girl that you as a reader can’t help but love her. Learning her story, how she became a siren and the consequences to be this magnificent creature are amazing and a little bit sad. Kahlen got a second chance after “dying” in 1921 but her second chance came with a price: giving up on everything she desires and loves. The deal is a century of servitude to the Ocean and helps “her” to lure unsuspecting victims to their watery deaths with her voice and exceptional beauty. With the story beginning with Kahlan as a siren the reader already will know her story little by little like completing a puzzle. You get to know how she becomes a siren, how she feels towards her decision years later and how she feels in a word that is not her place anymore. The second part of the book is the romance between Kahlen and Akinli. What a love story! I must say this: Cass knows how to write a beautiful love story. Akinly, the love interest is a perfect gentleman and Kahlen lost half. How they figure out each other is lovely, sweet, tender and everything you dream in a love story. One of the aspects that I liked most about the story is the character developing; even the second characters are very good developed and through Kahlen eyes you get to know them and feel the same complexity of emotions Kahlen has toward them. The second characters play important roles in the story until the very end. Even though this book is about a siren and a fantasy story, which makes it outstanding and brilliant for the singularity of human emotions that portrait; love, lost, depression, happiness, sorrow, The Siren is about life itself. I could say I lived the whole story as I read it and made me feel all emotions that it unleashed. The Siren is a book that will stay in your heart and you will never forget about, it’s exceptionally well written and beautiful.
Even though this book doesn’t have precise educative topics, I understand that some parts of it can serve as alternate reading about decisions and consequences (pros and cons). A singular detail I’ve observed as an educator is that in a real world where youngsters confuse love with sexual intimacy, this story can be recommended to all of those youngsters that would like to read a beautiful romance story where there outshines a quote I love: “Love never falls in ruins” (1 Corinthians 13).
August 9th, 2009
Are you in love with the book? It’ sounds like … I’m waiting for my copy can’t wait to read it!
August 9th, 2009
Omg!! I want to read it now!! it sounds like the “Little Marmaid” not Disney version, the original version. Sounds good. I love your teacher note.
September 13th, 2009
I was checking Amazon for this book and it sounds like it’s one of those self-published books, I’ don’t know. Anyway, I’m happy to hear some positive reviews about a self published book, the way some make sound self publish books is as if everything in that category is trash. Good to know they are wrong, everyone in Amazon has given good reviews to this book. I’ll see how I squeeze it on my buy pile or maybe ask my aunt as a birthday gift.