Book Review: When We Believed In Mermaids by Barbara O’Neal

It’s the time of year for light hearted beach reads. Add this one to your summer reading list.

When We Believed in Mermaids tells the story of Kit and her older sister Josie. These girls grew up in idealistic Santa Cruz, cliff side with their parents and the family restaurant. One day a teenage boy, Dylan, shows up at their doorstep and become a defacto brother and parental figure. Kit and Josie’s parents had a tumultuous relationship. One a neglectful alcoholic and the other attending to a revolving door of side women.

With little supervision, Kit and Josie are practically raised by Dylan and their family dog Cinder. He teaches them to surf, gets them to school, and makes sure they get new clothes when their old ones are outgrown. Dylan comes with a murky past and unexplained scars. He tells the young girls ridiculous stories to go with his wounds. They idolize him.

As Josie reaches her early teen years she begins acting out. Staying late at the restaurant sneaking drinks with the regulars, going out with the local boys, and smoking weed with Dylan. Kit remains bookish and innocent.Their lives change dramatically once Dylan has an accident that ends his life. One day while their mother and Josie are out to town, a strong earthquake hits destroying their home and their beloved restaurant. Their father is lost to the wreckage.

Flash forward to the present day, Kit is an ER doctor who lives with her cat. When not at the hospital she surfs or checks in with her now sober mother. Several years earlier she lost his older sister Kit in a Parisian terrorist attack. After believing she was dead after these years, Kit and her mother believe they saw Josie alive and well in the background of new footage of another disaster in New Zealand. Kit goes to New Zealand to find her missing half with the hopes they have found their dead daughter and sister. While there she finds more than just her sister, meeting a handsome Spanish gentleman.

This book looks at a family wrought with trauma and how life and relationships go on despite the past. Family can be forgiven, secrets can be revealed, and it is never too late to start again. A tender-hearted read that is jus light enough for poolside reading.

3/5 STARS