I got this from Library Thing. Every month, the site offers books for review. You only need to sign up for them. Mostly, they have at least 20 copies for each book. Some books are only available to some countries. Depending on where you live, you will be eligible to review a number of books. I gotten about 50 books from them but haven't been able to read and review everything.
Mercy of the Tide is about four people trying to deal with their own grief. Sam, a senior high school student who is dealing with the death of his mother. Trina, his deaf nine-year old sister who fantasizes about a nuclear explosion as a way to avoid her grief. Sheriff Dobbs, who lost his wife to a drunk-driving accident. His wife was the victim. Officer Nick Hayslip, painstakingly dealing with his demons. These four people will be thrown in together because of the unusual happenings in their town. Will they be meaner than their demons or are they going to be eaten alive?
I never expected that this story will turn out to be a mixture of suspense, myth and folklore and an exploration of human frailties. This is a sad and dark story. Full of sorrow. I think, the one word that could describe this as a whole is Sorrow. The whole story revolves around it, in all its forms. The mythology and folk tale part of it was added into the story with great skill that it becomes an essential part for the whole narrative to be cohesive. I like myths and legends and how one was played out and unraveled in this story was very amazing.
What I did not like about the story was how it started. It was a bit slow and I felt like it was not so essential. I understand the need for the characters to be introduced and how their personalities and deficiencies also needed to be divulge but I think it was done too much. I guess, it also contributed to the build up of the suspense which was really needed to make the story work. I just hoped it was not so dull. Honestly, I rested a bit before I decided to move on with the rest of the story.
I was thankful that the story came full circle and how these four characters are in a way connected to each other was a very fitting ending to the story. Some surprises were revealed and finally secrets were out. As I said, the best thing is the folklore. I loved it. I think it was a very good Native American lore that somehow explains why people die of sorrow.
I give the book 3/5 kiddie slides. This story spoke of how each person may at some point and in one way or another are connected. Like all the characters in this story, their sorrows connected them and that the careless action of one had cause the suffering of the rest. The takeaway here is to always be conscious of our actions. To always make sure to not cause hurt to another person. We always have a choice and that choice along with forethought spells a big difference.
...teenagers, after all--impervious to harm, bulletproof, demigods, and perhaps, because their proximity to childhood, even more powerful than the grownups were.
- Keith Rosson, The Mercy of the Tide -
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