Skin of the Sea

Quotes

Genre

• Fiction
• Young Adult
• Fantasy
• Fairy Tale Retelling
• Mythology
• Historical Fiction
• Mermaids

Trigger Warnings

• Violence
• Enslavement
• Suicide
• Death
• Disfigurement

*There may be spoilers in this review. I will try to avoid major spoilers but some need to be brought up to be discussed.

Summary

A way to survive.
A way to serve.
A way to save.

Simi prayed to the gods, once. Now she serves them as Mami Wata–a mermaid–collecting the souls of those who die at sea and blessing their journeys back home.

But when a living boy is thrown overboard, Simi goes against an ancient decree and does the unthinkable–she saves his life. And punishment awaits those who dare to defy the gods.

To protect the other Mami Wata, Simi must journey to the Supreme Creator to make amends. But all is not as it seems. There’s the boy she rescued, who knows more than he should. And something is shadowing Simi, something that would rather see her fail . . .

Danger lurks at every turn, and as Simi draws closer, she must brave vengeful gods, treacherous lands, and legendary creatures. Because if she fails, she risks not only the fate of all Mami Wata, but also the world as she knows it.

Characters

• Simidele – A Mami Watta who must find a way to atone for saving a human from drowning
• Kola – A man Simi saves from the sea after he falls from a slave ship
• The twins – Kola’s younger orisa siblings who have the obsidian rings Simi needs
• Bem & Yinka – Kola’s warrior friends
• Issa – a Yumbo boy helping to guide Simi and Kola to Kola’s village
• Olodumare – The supreme creator
• Yemoja – A water orisa who created the seven Mami Watta
• Esu – The trickster orisa and messenger of Olodumare
• Olokun – the imprisoned orisa of the deep ocean

Setting

West Africa approx. 1400s, the ocean.

Overview

This has quickly become one of my favorite Little Mermaid retellings so far. I love the integration of African Mythology, it works really well with the story Bowen is telling and it was exciting to learn new aspects.

I really like Simidele. Like a lot. I liked her as a narrator, she had understandable faults and a genuine kindness a lot of MCs are missing in YA.

To be very honest, I am not a big mermaid person. It took me a second to get to this book but I found myself always circling back and picking it up. Simi has made me more of a mermaid person. I didn’t think it was going to be as good as it was but I was delightfully proven wrong. I’m very excited to read the next one.

Pros

Mythology has been a fixation of mine as far back as I can remember. It’s always moved in waves, Native American first, then Egyptian, and then Greek took over. It was aggressive. Asian and African have started to rise the more and more books have been portraying them. I know that is incredibly vague but as of now I still don’t know much. I learn more through stories it turns out and this was one of those books that sparked that interest. It introduces beasts and gods and ideals, cultural aspects that make me hungry for more.

It is a great retelling. It takes the key turning points of the Little Mermaid but Bowen does a wonderful job integrating West African mythology into the Anderson tale and to be honest improves on it. It hurts Simi to walk on her human feet like the original tale, and the threat of turning to foam looms over her head if she loses her heart to a human. This is the live action Little Mermaid that I would want to watch.

The characters were fun to me. Simidele was thoughtful and kind. She was empathetic and intelligent, watching the world around her and making her own choices. Kola was dedicated and loyal, working to protect his friends and family no matter what it cost him. It was nice to see people being kind to each other, even if they didn’t know each other. They connect to each other and work together to help each other out. There was an opportunity to have the whole jealous other woman thing going on but instead they went with a healthy interaction. It was really refreshing.

Bowen’s writing was lyrical and lovely as well. Simi painted the scenery with her words but also managed to tinge the landscape with her emotions as well. I still keep picturing the ocean depths and the Olokun trapped at the bottom with all his rage. The atmosphere was fantastic.

Cons

Really the only major con would be the predictability. To be fair it is a retelling so it goes without saying that the major beats and implications are known before you walk in but there were some events outside of the original that I saw coming. I figured out who Esu was a little too fast and I saw some of the events coming but it didn’t stop me from enjoying them.

The romance was so-so to me. I actually appreciated the way it wasn’t forced from the get go, Simi liked him but was thinking on it before she decided to give him her everything. She saved him because it was the right thing, to her, to do. I liked the way she ruminated before she acted. Plus, it is a part of the fairy tale, the mermaid saves the prince because she fell in love with him. Simi was a touch different. There was a touch of insta-love though, especially with the mistrust and lack of communication in the beginning.

Final Thoughts

If you are into fairy tale retellings you should check this out. If you are not into fairy tale retellings you should check this out. It was well written and the mythology fit in so well with the story. Simi was a wonderful character and her journey had me rooting for her all the way.

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