Lost Voices (The Lost Voices Trilogy) Hardcover – Bargain Price, July 4, 2011

With summer fast approaching, I've been on a bit of a mermaid kick lately. If anyone were to ask me, mermaids are probably one of my favorite mythological beings/creatures, and the lore surrounding them varies wildly from one story to another. For whatever reason, both the cover and the plot synopsis of this book caught my curiosity, so I decided to give it a shot. And for the most part, my gamble paid off.In a small town in Alaska, Lucette (or Luce, as she likes to be called) is a young woman who's had far from an easy life growing up. With her mother deceased, her loving-but-con artist father lost at sea, and her alcoholic uncle abusing her at home, Luce is desperate for any sort of escape. But then, on the night of her 14th birthday, fate deals her an unexpected hand when, after being attacked by her uncle, Luce is flung into the ocean...and transforms into a mermaid. Soon after, she's rescued and taken in by a tribe of fellow mermaids, who teach her all the secrets of her stunning transformation. But just as it seems as if her life's changed for the better, she's hit with a horrifying fact--mermaids use their powerful singing voices to hypnotize sailors into sinking ships, and her new "family" is more than happy to do it; wanting to take revenge on the humans who harmed them. Torn between two worlds, Luce will have to find a way to get used to her new aquatic life while trying to retain as much of her remaining humanity as possible....and in doing so, she just may discover a hidden strength she never knew she had.Well right off the bat, it's safe to say from the above summary that despite the story being about mermaids and featuring a young protagonist, this book is NOT for a young audience. It features more than a fair share of death, discussions about murder and abuse, and two noteworthy scenes where a group of girls are nearly burned alive, and Luce is nearly assaulted by her uncle (though thankfully, this is all handled fairly tastefully with no overly graphic descriptions). (And speaking of descriptions, the narration is fantastic, with imagery that really makes you feel like you're swimming in the ocean and hearing the weight and emotion of the siren songs.)So why all this talk about death and violence? Well, as it turns out, in this world, mermaids aren't born in the traditional sense--they're created via magic. And the determining factor of who becomes a mermaid basically depends on how tragic a life the girl/woman led when they were human. Each one of the characters experienced some sort of extreme tragedy or hardship in their lives--transforming into mermaids during their darkest moments and/or near death. Because of this, it's easy to see why these young women-turned-mythological beings would want to sink ships at every opportunity; blaming all of humanity for their problems.This winds up making Luce the most well-rounded character of the book. Slowly but surely, she goes through a bit of an arc; starting off as a quiet and timid person who tries everything to keep her head down and go unnoticed by everyone, then gradually gains more confidence in herself the more she exercises the new abilities she's been granted since becoming a mermaid. She's the only one who calls her friends 'actions into question, and is one of the few who truly sees the horror in what the mermaids are doing. The other mermaids are a varied bunch; some more likeable than others. And the more Luce shakes up the status quo, the more that a fight begins to break out over who will rightfully take over as queen. More than once, the narrative shows how easily a crowd can be manipulated, and that the black and white views the mermaids have on humanity is wrong. Just because you've been mistreated doesn't mean you should take your anger out on others, especially if said people had nothing to do with causing your misery.The book isn't without its flaws, however, and most of them lie with the vague explanations of how the mermaid "rules" work. We're never told where this magic originates from, or why it only chooses abused women to change into mermaids, or why men can't be transformed into mer-people too. There IS a set of rules that mermaids have to follow, including never harming another mermaid, always helping a mermaid in trouble no matter what, and never interacting with humans. Breaking any one of these rules results in banishing the guilty party from their tribe. But it's never explained who came up with these rules, or why, or how they're enforced. Hopefully, it'll be explained in the sequel, which I'm now interested to read, especially considering this first installment pretty much ends in the middle of a scene with nothing resolved.So while this is certainly a very odd take on the mermaid myth, it's hooked my curiosity just enough that I want to keep going and hopefully see Luce get the happy ending she deserves.

After reading Tera Lynn Childs' mermaid series, I was expecting this to be a light, fun story about cute mermaids. Couldn't have been more wrong! Don't be fooled by the beautiful cover on this book. It is dark and sometimes disturbing. This is not a mermaid story for the sensitive readers out there. Sarah Porter took her mermaids to a whole new level in Lost Voices.Luce is only fourteen, but she has had a tough life for a girl so young. Her mom died when she was little and her father was a nomad and a thief, dragging Luce from ratty motel to ratty motel, barely letting her stay long enough to enroll in school. She didn't mind it, though. Then her father decides to move to Alaska so Luce can have a normal life and be closer to his brother. When Luce's dad's boat is lost at sea while fishing, she is left to her uncle's protection. Her uncle is a mean, abusive alcoholic, but when he goes to far and actually tries to rape her, something happens to Luce. She changes. She becomes a mermaid.Mermaids are young women who are given a second chance after being hurt and tortured by human beings. Every girl mermaid Luce meets has her own horror story of how she got there- burned alive, thrown from a moving vehicle, sold by her parents, etc. Most of the mermaids are between 5 and 16, but there are baby mermaids- babies hurt by humans who become mermaids and are stuck as babies, never growing old, unable to defend themselves. The other mermaids call them larvae and know there is no way to help them. They will never grow up and can therefore never survive in the cruel ocean. Most of them are eaten by orcas, but there are always more to replace them. The larvae are the hardest thing for Luce to accept... until she learns what the purpose of the mermaids.Mermaids sink ships. Their song is so beautiful it draws ships into the rocks and breaks them apart. People ob board are so enchanted, they leap into the water to be closer to the the mermaids, jumping to their deaths. Luce struggles with this, even though she is the second best singer and instantly propelled to Catarina's, the Queen of the tribe, second in command. As a large group of mermaids come and then one of the mermaids convince Catarina to turn a girl on a yacht, things begin to change. Catarina loses her authority to control the mermaids and only take down small ships in places where the humans won't become suspicious. Soon Anais, the girl from the yacht, is getting girls to take down boats to get jewelry and clothes and useless electronics. They are endangering the mermaid way of life, but can Luce and Catarina save the tribe before they call too much attention to themselves?This is an incredibly dark, and sometimes morbid (especially with the ever-present larvae) story. It is not for delicate readers who can't handle dark stories. The most interesting aspect of this story for me was the fact that, although vengeful, the mermaids were given a second chance at life. For Luce, it was the first time she had real friends and the first time since her father's death she felt loved. It is a beautiful idea that after so much pain, they could find peace somewhere. I also like the idea that while the other mermaids took down ships to get vengeance on evil humans, Luce couldn't bring herself to do it- she remembered that while some humans like her uncle were evil, others were good to her. It is a nice twist to the story that gives hope for people and mermaids alike.Because this story is full of some very serious and violent situations, it might be best left for an older student. I would recommend grades 10-12 unless you know a younger student who is comfortable with darker material. The book might be best used in conjunction with non-fiction material and discussions about the situations in the story that lead to the girls changing into mermaids. The book will be a great catalyst for some serious discussions on vengeance and violence.

This book came in perfect condition and it is a ARC.So I’m absolutely ecstatic.

I quite enjoyed this book. It is an easy read and the overall plot is imaginative. However, I gave the book four stars because:1) You'll really be forced to buy the second book. What makes trilogies good is when the later books truly are sequels, not added on chapters. You should always be able to have the feeling of an ending at the end of a book, no matter if it is part of a series.2) I am a sixteen-year-old girl and some of the topics in here were not kid-friendly. If you or your child is a tween, then don't get this. There is violence, sexual content, and scary situations that might be inappropriate for a younger audience.3) Finally, I do have to admit that this story was quite imaginative and suspenseful. You will want to read the next page, but I wasn't as excited to tunnel through this read as I am other books.4) WARNING! SPOILER ALERT: The ending is left wide open. No explanations, no nothing. This left me not wanting more. The sequels that I've read always had a concrete ending, a concrete moral that made you want to maybe read the sequel in hopes of learning more about the characters. But really, I've had about enough of Luce for a while.Overall, read this if you're curious about what all the hype about is. I actually bought this because it got so much publicity. From now on, I'll stick to the diamonds in the rough.

I loved these books, and I'm surprised more people don't seem to have read/reviewed them. Sarah Porter paints beautiful pictures with her writing and manages to capture a hint of the mystery and freedom of the ocean. I love her imagery of singing and what the mermaids' voices can do (though it's generally not positive). Moreover, the overall tone of the books comes across as her wanting to tell an engaging story, to create something with substance, rather than impress or engage in wish fulfillment, which is how a lot of books I have read come across (at least those aimed at a teen girl/young woman demographic). I also find Luce to be rather more likeable than a lot of protagonists in similar books, despite the mistakes she makes. She isn't presented as some perfect girl who has it all (which can be annoying); for some reason, most female leads portrayed in such books always have to be 'beautiful', 'smart' and 'funny', and the authors often don't manage to follow through on claims of intelligence or wit.It is true that the end of the first book doesn't feel properly resolved, but then there are two more books so to me that was to be expected; it is not resolved, but the tone is hopeful. And yes, there are difficult themes and there's tension and sorrow, but, in a way, I find that matches the mermaid mystique and I can accept them as part of the premise and something to be resolved. I will admit that I was a bit disappointed with the end of the third book, there were a few questions left unanswered (what were those voices on the island in the second book?) and a few things I wished were more resolved, but I still love these books. They are refreshingly different - there is a grace and eloquence to the writing that I don't come across a lot; I have generally been disappointed in mermaid fiction as the authors seem unable to capture the beauty and mystery of the sea.So really I just want to say: well done, Sarah Porter. And please write more books.

Good book... got for great price and fast delivery

A bit too much teenage angst for my liking, but it’s a new take on mermaid mythology that was hard to turn down.It’s a quick, easy read and I’ll be getting the next in the series.

I loved this book because it combined fantasy, reality, family, friendship, love and a bit of tear-jerking all twisted into one fab plot. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends, although no one immature as there are some parts inappropriate for youner readers.

Lost voices trilogy is awesome..I can't put it down..