Sirena

Rating:
Summary: Enchanting
Review: "Sirena" was yet another great novel by Napoli, and one of her best! Napoli always manages to take a story we all know something about, this time the legendary Greek sirens, and turn it into something special.

Sirena, a young mermaid, half human and half fish, lives with her many sisters when they are told something important: if they can get a human man to love them, they will become immortal. However, when Sirena sees many shipwrecked men die, she wonders if immortality is worth a loss of life.

When tragedy strikes, Sirena swims away to the island of Lemnos where she finds an abandoned Greek soldier. Will they fall in love, and will Sirena become immortal?

This book was excellent, and I'd recommend it for ages 12 and up. Be sure to read Napoli's other works, especially "Song of the Magdalene"!

Rating:
Summary: Sirena
Review: I have never read one of Ms. Napoli's books before, but I had just stumbled across this book and decided to read it. The book was captivating and I couldn't put it down until I finished it. The story was about a mermaid who wants to become an immortal, but cannot do so until she has the love of a human man. She and sisters have the gift of a beautiful voice that seduces any man that hears it. But when Sirena meets the love of her life (an abandoned soldier on the island of Lemnos), she finds herself reluctant to sing. But by meeting him, Sirena discovers the true meaning of love and strives to have it herself.

Rating:
Summary: Sirena, Sirena
Review: I have read several of Napoli's books, and she has a writing style I've come to appreciate. She sticks with this style in "Sirena", and although I had a bit of a hard time getting into this story, it was good nonetheless.

I didn't like Sirena's character until the end of the book, when she showed she was more mature and wasn't so naive. This book has a lot of references to greek mythology, but it's simple to understand and very interesting. While reading this story, I grew to appreciate the ocean even more, and I must say, if you read this, it would do well to find a beach or fly to one, because you're going to want to lay in the warm sand after!

If you liked 'Zel' or 'Crazy Jack' or any other Napoli book, I totally suggest you read this book.

Rating:
Summary: A fair book
Review: So my friend was reading this book and the cover got my intrest. SOon after I read Sirena and now heres what I think. The overall idea for this story was excellent. I thought Sirena was intresting so I put it in my guide. Now there is a basic conflict here, the reading level for this is probaly around ten or eleven but it has content of like 16 or 17. A really good mythology book would be Troy.
The plot in Sirena was basic, she needed immortality but was not as cruel as her sisters so she swam away. Then this dude who is destined to kill Paris gets abanded on her island. They are all happy until the guy wants to leave because hes tired of just lying in the middle of nowhere with a siren. So on and so on.
I wouldn't tell you to go right out and buy it but if you could check it out from the Library eventually that would be good.
Thanks for your time and check out my lists and guides.

Rating:
Summary: Captivating
Review: I usually regard mythical books and love stories as sappy and stupid. However, I got this book as a recommendation from a friend, read it, and it changed my idea about this genre. I normally go for deep and intertwining, twisting plots -- I used to think that those were the only books that could keep my interest. I admit, I was wrong. Young Sirena captivated me, and involved me in her story.

This book was really good -- at the middle, though, I began to think again that the love story was really lame, but after another chapter or two that all changed. The plot actually had a kind of twist!

Now, the back of the book says that this is for ages 12 & up. I'm 14, and I don't really remember my maturity level at 12, but this book has minor overtones of sexuality and nudity. So, I recommend this very good book to teens ages 14 & up, but if you are a mature 12 or 13-year-old, you should check this out as well. I'm not really sure if it would be appropriate for anyone under that age. Maybe 11, though I'm not sure.

Anyway, this is a really good book, one that fans of all genres can genuinely enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: I cried...it was that good
Review: Sirena is a mermaid who, with her sisters, long for human love to become immortal. Unfortunately, the only humans that actually get close enough to them end up dead, for the sisters are Sirens, mythical creatures of the sea whose beautiful voices mesmerize sea-faring men and cause them to dash their ships amongst the jagged rocks to die a watery death.

One day a ship comes near and Sirena and her sisters sing as usual. The ship crashes and all but 11 men die. When the men realize what has happened, they blame Sirena and her sisters and ultimately kill one of the mermaids.

Sirena is sickened and saddened, so she leaves her familiar surroundings to live alone, vowing that she will never sing again. She happens upon an island where a man has been deserted by his crewmates because he was bitten by a sea serpent--sent by Hera--the Queen of the Gods. Sirena ultimately befriends the man, and the two become lovers. Sirena gets her wish to become immortal, but it is here where the trouble begins...

I don't wish to give too much more away, but I loved reading this book so very much. If you like stories involving Greek Mythology, I recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Destined to become a classic!
Review: This book is awesome! Sirena, one of the sirens (Greek mythological mermaids) is very different from the other sirens. She does not want to kill men in order to become immortal. She would rather live out her days alone and die without having to sing her siren song in order to seduce men into coming closer and destroying their boats---and sometimes themselves. So she takes off to the island of Lemnos, where she hopes to live in solitude. However, her peaceful life is soon interrupted by the arrival of some men, who abandon one of their fellow crew members (who has a fatal serpent wound---the handiwork of Hera). She cleans his wound while he is unconscious (although it doesn't stay clean, unfortunately) and finds food to leave with him. She eventually meets this man, although it is at first to her dismay. Find out what happens in this wonderful tale of mermaids, gods, goddesses, serpents, and other mythical creatures. A must-read for fans of mythology/love stories.

Rating:
Summary: to sing or not, immortality or not, love or not.
Review: Serina was a good, fast pace book by Donna Jo Napoia. I had never heard of this auther before or read any book by her, But I really think she should write some more books about gods, immortails and fantiasy creatures. This book concerns sirena, a mermaid with a very pretty voice, who witnesses the merdure of some men who she and her nine sisters had called to make love with. Throught out her adventures she finally finds love and immortality. This book reminded me of the story " the little mermaid." This was a good book and easy to read. I think I finished it within 2 hours. I reccomend this book to anyone who likes fantasy,romance and dramatic stories.

Rating:
Summary: Strange story¿
Review: Napoli has written numerous enjoyable retellings of folk and fairy tales for the young adult audience. In this book, I felt she faltered. She tells the story of the Greek Sirens (which are pictured to be mermaids).Sirena, the main character, knows that she is cursed, being half-human. The only way to lift the curse is to convince a man to mate with them. Then, she will become immortal. Sirena decides to separate from the other Sirens and finds a castaway alone on an island. They are initially afraid of each other, but begin to fall in love. Will Sirena want to be immortal after falling in love with a human man? I found the story dragging a lot, and perhaps because the story of the Sirens isn't as well known as some of Napoli's other retellings, it seemed a bit boring to me as well. I think she has written better.

Rating:
Summary: Best Read
Review: I got this book from my school library. At first it took me a while to get into it, but it was wonderful nonetheless. Then as I got more into it, I brought it home and couldn't stop reading it! I fininshed reading the book today, and it is definetely, without a doubt, one of the best reads I've ever read, and that there probably is out there! It is probably my favorite book. It's full of mystic, myths, and love. And I absolutely love the ocean, so I loved how the main setting was there. I also found Sirena, the mermaid, a great role model that many can relate to. I highly reccommend this book to everyone. I am definetely going to get my own copy! It is absolutely astounding....