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| Publisher's Hardcover ©2020 | -- |
| Paperback ©2022 | -- |
As the Nipran Empire seeks total domination of the Sea, a genderfluid pirate and young Imperial noblewoman fall in love.Fifteen-year-old Evelyn Hasegawa faces a long sea voyage that will end in an unwanted arranged marriage, so she jumps at the chance to make a friend when she meets Florian, the sailor assigned to guard her. Florian harbors resentment toward privileged Imperials, but Evelyn's wit and sincerity slowly melt his cynicism, though not enough for him to reveal that Florian is also Flora and that their ship, the Dove, is actually a slaver disguised as a passenger ship. Flora is determined to earn enough money to start a new life with her brother, and it is this dream that has driven her to carry out the Dove's cruel business up until this point. But as her relationship with Evelyn deepens, Flora's resolve starts to crumble. Careful prose juxtaposes gentleness and brutality, contrasting the tender emotions between Flora/Florian and Evelyn and the violence of a pirate's life. Set against the backdrop of colonial expansion, this nautical fantasy goes beyond mere swashbuckling to examine the impacts of imperialism and misogyny on a diverse cast of varying ethnicities, sexualities, and gender identities. Witches, mermaids, and secret operatives add layers of magic and intrigue to the queer romance at the heart of this book. Flora is black and uses he/she/they pronouns; Evelyn's homeland is a fantasy equivalent of Japan.Absolutely enthralling. (map) (Fantasy. 13-18)
ALA Booklist (Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2020)The Imperial army controls most of the known world, and all that remains free is the sea. In order to survive the cruel life aboard the Dove, a pirate ship that sells unwitting passengers into slavery, Flora disguises herself as male Florian. When Imperial-born Lady Evelyn Hasegawa boards the Dove on her way to an arranged marriage, Flora can't deny the forbidden bond that blossoms between them. A daring escape sets the two on a wild path to freedom, with the help of a mermaid, a witch, and the sea itself. In her debut, Tokuda-Hall minces no words, telling a brutal tale of pirate life and the impacts of colonialism. Moderate pacing and short stories peppered throughout balance out the more graphic scenes of violence and torture, which may be more appropriate for older readers. Though the romance develops quickly, readers will easily warm up to the tenacious protagonists as they grapple with identity, discover themselves, and stop at nothing short of freedom.
Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)As the Nipran Empire seeks total domination of the Sea, a genderfluid pirate and young Imperial noblewoman fall in love.Fifteen-year-old Evelyn Hasegawa faces a long sea voyage that will end in an unwanted arranged marriage, so she jumps at the chance to make a friend when she meets Florian, the sailor assigned to guard her. Florian harbors resentment toward privileged Imperials, but Evelyn's wit and sincerity slowly melt his cynicism, though not enough for him to reveal that Florian is also Flora and that their ship, the Dove, is actually a slaver disguised as a passenger ship. Flora is determined to earn enough money to start a new life with her brother, and it is this dream that has driven her to carry out the Dove's cruel business up until this point. But as her relationship with Evelyn deepens, Flora's resolve starts to crumble. Careful prose juxtaposes gentleness and brutality, contrasting the tender emotions between Flora/Florian and Evelyn and the violence of a pirate's life. Set against the backdrop of colonial expansion, this nautical fantasy goes beyond mere swashbuckling to examine the impacts of imperialism and misogyny on a diverse cast of varying ethnicities, sexualities, and gender identities. Witches, mermaids, and secret operatives add layers of magic and intrigue to the queer romance at the heart of this book. Flora is black and uses he/she/they pronouns; Evelyn's homeland is a fantasy equivalent of Japan.Absolutely enthralling. (map) (Fantasy. 13-18)
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)Set in a fantastical world devastated by imperialism, Tokuda-Hall-s YA debut follows a diverse array of characters as they journey across a conscious and omnipotent sea. After her family falls on hard times, 15-year-old Imperial noble Evelyn Hasegawa is shipped off to a forced marriage in the colonized Floating Islands. Aboard passenger ship the
Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews
ALA Booklist (Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2020)
Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
Long after the sun had set, when the passengers were nestled neatly in their cabins, the crew gathered on the deck of the Dove. They'd been at sea for a fortnight, playing the role of any passenger vessel crew -- all "yes, sirs" and "no, miladys"-- seeing to the needs of the stiff-legged landsmen with exaggerated obsequiousness. But no more.
Rake stood at the helm, just below the Nameless Captain, as was his place. e ragged crew below them were the captain's men, chosen for their savagery, their drunkenness, and their predilection for thievery and murder. But it was Rake they answered to at sea.
"It's time," Rake said, and the men scattered belowdecks.
Sleep-fogged passengers were pulled roughly from their bunks and dragged, questioning and sputtering, to the foredeck. The captain scoffed; even their nightwear was finery, silks with careful stitching.
As was ritual, the strongest man was pulled from the ranks of the passengers and forced to his knees. On this particular voyage, he was a spice merchant named Mr. Lam, headed to the Floating Islands without his wife and his children to see about the famous marketplace there. He could be no more than twenty-five.
"Come on, then, Florian," Rake said. "Time to earn your britches."
It had been Rake's idea: The name change. The men's clothes. Being a slip of a girl may have been tenable in Crandon, but it wasn't here on the Dove. Not among these men. In taking this man's life, Flora could start a new one. Her life as Florian.
The cost was simple. Rake slipped Florian a dagger.
"Show them," Rake whispered. Not just the passengers, as was Florian's official charge, but the other sailors aboard the Dove. They needed to see who this child was, the man this girl had become. Rake could tell from the solemn nod Florian gave that he understood Rake's words exactly.
The child stepped forward, and though he was small-boned and skinny from strict rations, the passengers fell silent. The long, silver dagger in Florian's hand shone like the moon in an otherwise black night.
The Nameless Captain cleared his throat, all theater and cruelty. "It gives me no great pleasure to announce to you fi ne people that the Dove is no passenger vessel. She is a slaver. And all of you aboard are now her chattel."
Sobs and cries of dissent rippled through the passengers. One foolish old man even cursed at the captain. A blow from Rake across the man's chin crumpled his aged and spindly legs for him, and he hit the deck with a crash of bone on wood. The scuffle only caused more shouting and wailing until the captain raised his pistol into the air and fired once.
Silence returned, save for the sound of the sea lapping against the Dove.
"If any of you are thinking of mutiny, I can promise you"-- he motioned to Florian, who slipped behind the trembling Mr. Lam, dagger poised --"we don't take kindly to mutineers."
Though the man begged for clemency at a whisper, Florian dragged the dagger across his throat. Lam's blood spilled down the front of his nightshirt, and his thick, muscled body fell to the deck. Two of the crewmen hauled the dying man up by the armpits and held him for passengers to witness how the last shudders of life left him. Florian wiped the blood from the blade on his sleeve.
With the passengers now sufficiently terrified, the captain had them locked into the slave quarters, in the hold of the ship. e Dove's spacious cabins would be used henceforth by the crew, who until then had been taking turns in the hammocks strung up in the stores.
Belowdecks, the passengers wept.
Abovedeck, the crew chanted, "Florian, Florian, Florian, Florian!"
He was a captain's man now -- Rake had seen to that. As safe as he could be among his peers. The child had competently changed stories more than once, and swiftly, too. Rake had seen it happen. What was one more seismic shift? From child to adult. Innocent to murderer. Girl to man.
And Florian, who still had Mr. Lam's blood on his sleeve, smiled into the darkness.
Excerpted from The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
In a world divided by colonialism and threaded with magic, a desperate orphan turned pirate and a rebellious imperial lady find a connection on the high seas.
The pirate Florian, born Flora, has always done whatever it takes to survive—including sailing under false flag on the Dove as a marauder, thief, and worse. Lady Evelyn Hasegawa, a highborn Imperial daughter, is on board as well—accompanied by her own casket. But Evelyn’s one-way voyage to an arranged marriage in the Floating Islands is interrupted when the captain and crew show their true colors and enslave their wealthy passengers.
Both Florian and Evelyn have lived their lives by the rules, and whims, of others. But when they fall in love, they decide to take fate into their own hands—no matter the cost.
Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s sweeping fantasy debut, full of stolen memories, illicit mermaid’s blood, double agents, and haunting mythical creatures conjures an extraordinary cast of characters and the unforgettable story of a couple striving to stay together in the face of myriad forces wishing to control their identities and destinies.