Ripple

Name: Krystiana Graham

Grade: 12th grade +

Title: Ripple

Author: Mandy Hubbard

Review: She had murdered once before, and she was determined not to do it again; that was how the book seemed to start. Focusing on that fact, a fact that was explained in better terms quiet quickly. Our main character in this story, is a young girl, only eighteen, named Lexi. On her sixteenth birthday - as it has been for all of her ancestors before her, a unique change happened . . . Lexi became a siren. For those who do not know, a siren is a mystical creature, who swims in large bodies of water, and sings to lead males into the water, and drown them. To avoid ever hurting anyone else, Lexi developed a few rules. Don't have friends. This one rule cost her, as you learn in the beginning of the book. Two years she was hated, because she couldn't explain what happened to her clique. And she refused to let herself be welcomed back among them. She also never swam in the ocean - when she had to swim. And yes, as a siren, she had to swim. Every night, rather than sleeping, she had to swim - or the next day she would feel completely ill. The night before the first day of school, two years after her first murder, she goes up to a lake in the mountain, a lake she refers to as her lake. However, she doesn't get far, before she sees someone already there. Cole, a friend of the man she killed, a man that was her best friend's brother, that was her boyfriend. Terrified to swim, even if Cole was to leave, Lexi turned and ran to her car, going home, and the next day at school - she was left more out of it then before. That first day of school, Hubbard really illustrates in words, just how much Lexi went through, especially in those two years. All the teasing, pushing, and shoving. However, you get to another one of her classes, and you find Cole there. He sits down beside Lexi to try and get her to talk to him.

Slowly, she lets Cole in, and Cole continues to pry at her curiously. And at the same time Lexi finally notices the new kid. Who had bright blue eyes. Eyes she'd seen before; in her mirror. At this point, she wasn't quite sure what it meant. One day, before she went up to her lake, however, she was in the graveyard, at her deceased boyfriend, Steven's grave, talking to him, when she heard something behind her. And it was then she was discovered by Steven's sister, her ex-best friend, who then demanded how often Lexi came there. Lexi didn't hesitate to answer, 'every day' before running out of the graveyard. Over the next bit, you see Lexi slowly being welcomed in by all of her friends once again, as well as the new kid finally being introduced.

Erik was the very first to come across Lexi - while she was swimming and singing, and not be drawn into the water. Soon, he approached Lexi with the truth, or his truth. That he was a Nix, a form of a Siren, but the male equivalent, and helped her understand more about her curse, and explain his to him. He also brought into her attention, that the curse could be broken . . . if they were to fall in love. Under Erik's determined command, she broke up with Cole, who had finally become her boyfriend, in an attempt for her and Erik to fall in love, so the spell could be broken. After that Erik was around her constantly, refusing to leave. And eventually she had to pull away for a few days just to get some space on her own, after he told her he loved her. The story concludes with you learning that Lexi took Cole up to her lake, intending to keep him safe, so he might learn about what she is, followed by learning the truth about Erik - who wasn't trying to fall in love with her at all. He was determined to kill her, finding Sirens a challenge to destroy. The final battle was fought - but to find the conquer and everything that happened in between, you'll have to pick up this book for yourself.

Why I picked this book up: My favorite mythical creature, though I'm not certain why, is a Siren. And so, this book, with a main character as a siren, was a must read for me. Not that I minded, I was addicted to the book quite easily - finishing it in a single day, and wishing I had more on Sirens to read.

Why I finished it: When I get into a book about a subject I really like, I can't not finish it, and so, when my parents took me, and my sister up to falls for a lunch; a read the entire time there, and got hooked, ending up with reading it for the rest of the evening, finishing it well before when I wished I had, if only it had meant that I'd get to read more about Sirens, for longer.

I'd give this book to: For anyone who likes Sirens, and mythical love stories meets high strung adventure, I'd suggest this book to. While it was a love story, it was still an amazing story, that still had a lot of action.

Rating: Five out of Five; I wouldn't give this book anything less. It was completely captivating, and I didn't know how to stop reading it. So, you want my advice, go and find your own book - as well.