Monstrous Beauty

     There are 3 main characters in my summer reading book, Monstrous Beauty. It starts off with introducing the readers to a mermaid named Syrenka. Syrenka is a dynamic character as the story proceeds. In the beginning she has resigned herself to a lonely existence, with the only company being the rest of the mermaids. But then she falls in love with a human named Ezra. Ezra is the next main character, who is introduced to us as he discovers Syrenka. Throughout the book, Syrenka and Ezra bond and Syrenka decides that she wants to be human. She changes from the laid-back and resigned mermaid to a determined one. She tells Ezra the conditions of becoming human and fights for that right, eventually winning and being able to devote her life to Ezra.

     Ezra is a dynamic character because at the beginning he is lost. After the death of his father Ezra's life is at a standstill and he doesn't know how to move on. After meeting Syrenka for the first time, clarity blooms in his life. He studies her, marking out her species in his scientific journal. Every day he spends with her, he falls a little more in love. By the end of the book, Ezra is logical, willing to do anything to save Syrenka. Even sacrificing himself so that she may live on.

     The third main character is Hester, who by far is the most important. Hester lives a few generations after Syrenka and Ezra. And the book during this part takes place in modern times. Hester is a dynamic character because at the beginning of the book she, as Syrenka once did, has given herself a life of loneliness, as illustarted in this quote by Hester. “I haven’t got any lovers, smart aleck.’ She startled herself with the thumping emptiness she felt in her chest as she added, ‘I can only ever be alone.” (Fama 117) For her family is cursed, every women in her ancestry has died after giving birth to their first baby (a girl.) But when she meets Ezra one day (which is explained further in the book) she decides to fight for her life to live. She digs into her family's past, piecing together the mystery that is her family. By the end of the book Hester has fought for her happiness and chosen her own destiny. 

     Within the development of the characters, the story delves into the theme. The layers of Hester's past revealing that taking someone's life into you own hands can result in disaster.

 

Book Review

This is a summary of the book, discussing some of the elements that are incorporated in the book. 

Video

This video ties to an article video that connects to my theme. Its about a mother who sacrificed her life so that her child could live and my book's theme is about protection. And many elements in the book deal with the mothers giving their lives to their children.