School Library Journal (Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2018)

Gr 4-6 Mermaids Beatrice, Mimi, and Zelda's summer on land is coming to an end. They get a mysterious note ordering them to return home at once. The queen has been fishnapped and a bunch of bad mermaids have taken over, with piranhas preventing mermaids from leaving their homes and everyone being forced to make fish jewelry for the new queen, "The Swan." The only clues to the queen's location lie behind enemy lines. Can the trio save the rightful queen and stop the bad mermaids? The plot is well developed and engaging. The characters are easy to like, believable, and draw readers into the story. Although the slightly cheesy fish slang takes some getting used to, Pounder adeptly mixes mystery and adventure. VERDICT A light fantasy recommended for library collections where mermaid tales are popular. Kira Moody, Salt Lake County Library Services

Kirkus Reviews

Oh cod! Someone has fishnapped the Mermaid Queen!All young mermaids are required to spend a summer on land, with temporary legs and feet. Beattie, Mimi, and Zelda are three such mermaids, enjoying hot dogs by the sea, when crabmail arrives from the missing queen herself. The girls must end their summer early and arrive home by midnight—only they can stop the titular bad mermaids threatening the Hidden Lagoon in the queen's absence. When the girls arrive, they find Periwinkle Palace deserted except for an army of piranhas and a new queen, a mysterious mermaid who calls herself The Swan and who is forcing all mermaids to make shell tops for some unknown reason. The trio steal a clamshell car and set out to find the real Mermaid Queen and stop The Swan from carrying out her nefarious plan to control all mermaids. Beattie, whom the black-and-white illustrations portray as dark-skinned, is the leader. Fraternal twins Zelda and Mimi are shown with pale skin. Each mermaid has unique traits that set her apart from the others, and each uses her personal strengths to solve the mystery and save the day. Creative metafictive elements and tongue-in-cheek jokes about mermaid myths such as perpetual hair combing round out the lightning-fast plot. A cliffhanger finale suggests a sequel.Fin-tastic fun. (Fantasy. 8-12)

Horn Book (Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

Mermaids Beattie and twins Zelda and Mimi are called to stop bad mermaids who have fishnapped the mermaid queen, Arabella Cod, and taken over the Hidden Lagoon. With the help of the Lagoon's eccentric residents, the trio won't stop until they've saved the kingdom. This cheeky under-the-sea mystery is bursting with inventive language; a creative, fully imagined world; and lively black-and-white illustrations.