Deep Water by Lu Hersey, reviewed by Kelly McKain

So, last month I was laying in my garden lounger making sure I got every ray of this amazing summer sun that I possibly could, and looking for a book that would enthrall and hook me. Well, I certainly found one! This thrilling and un-put-downable YA novel from Lu Hersey had me absolutely gripped from the first page, and when I had to stop reading it to, you know, feed my family and that kind of thing, I was thinking about it, and about when I could get back to reading it!

Malorie Blackman clearly felt the same, because Deep Water is a winner of the Mslexia novel prize, which she judged, and she says of it: ‘Outstanding … I raced through it.' Praise has also been heaped on the book by The Independent ('excellent'), Julia Eccleshare (‘Such an accomplished, tightly-shaped book, with a depth of information’), Elen Caldecott (‘It has a lovely, mythical quality’) and Julia Green (‘Outstanding and lyrical writing’).

So, what is this amazing, incredible book actually ABOUT, you ask me! Urgh. Hmm. I kind of don't want to tell you. Which I know is not very helpful in a book review. BUT if the aim of a book review is to bring fantastic books to the attention of readers WITHOUT giving the plot away and spoiling the whole thing, then I'm fulfilling the brief... I'll just tell you that the back cover blurb says: 'Danni never knew about her family's strange legacy until her mum disappeared. And now the only way to save those she loves from a living hell is to embrace her incredible new gift - however impossible it seems. A compelling and beautiful story of family secrets, elemental magic, and the deepest mysteries of the sea.'

Investigating and finding out Danni's family secret along with her as she discovers it herself, and makes sense of the strange things happening to her, will pull you along through the first half of the book. Travelling with her as she steps into who she is destined to be and sets out to face the powerful forces that want to destroy her will propel you through the second half. And I'm absolutely not going to say any more than that because it was a total thrill to dive into Deep Water and I'm not going to spoil that for you!

Deep Water by Lu Hersey is published by Usborne, e-book also available.

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