The Siren

Title: The Siren
Author: Kiera Cass
Genre: YA Fantasy
Pages: 327
Rating: 4.5 Stars
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Although she may look like a normal, 19 year old girl, Kahlen is not. She instead is a 100 year old siren, her voice and life taken by the Ocean until she's served her century long sentence in return for her life.  For when Kahlen's ship sank to the depths of the ocean, she was the sole survivor. The Ocean's sirens rescued her and offered her a choice. Live and serve She, the Ocean, for a century, and Kahlen could return to the world wiped clean of memory and as the 19 year old girl she looked to be, or she could die like everyone else aboard the ship. Like her parents. Kahlen chose life, and for 80 years she's been singing to large ships, killing everyone aboard and feeding She who lives on death.

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I really enjoyed this book! If you aren't aware, this is a short, stand alone fantasy novel, and that's just something we don't get often in YA fiction. The plot was so beautiful, and it worked really nicely as one, stand alone book. 

It's a story about Kahlen, a siren who one day falls in love with a boy in Florida. But within that, it's about so much more. It delves deep into the meaning of true love and true sacrifice. Kahlen is prepared to risk everything for her love. Even herself. It's quite refreshing, the way the book displays the relationship between the two characters to be something actually true. Today's society presents relationships as something you can throw away or push aside. The connection between Kahlen and Akinli is so deep and real and solid, it's unlike most things I've read. 

But there are so many other complex relationships in this story. For example, Kahlen's "sisters", the other sirens. They all look out for each other, and despite their differences, you know that they all love each other dearly. And perhaps the most complex character of them all is the Ocean Herself. She's the mother to the sirens, and with that comes a motherly love as fierce and strong as a tempest. Perhaps a little too fierce, though, considering She isn't quite ready to share Her beloved sirens with anyone else. 

So if you're skeptical at all about reading this book, push all doubt aside and pick this book up right now. It's a very fast paced read, as Kiera Cass' writing style is not dense at all, and it goes quickly. I know you'll be touched by this beautiful, romantic novel.