The Girl with the Mermaid Hair

December 21, 2009
Sukie Jamieson, the vain yet glaringly insecure teenage protagonist of Ephron's (Frannie in Pieces
) second YA novel, has a lot on her mind. Is her hair—“worthy of worship”—in its proper place? Does the slope of her nose accentuate or detract from her almost-perfect profile? Will star quarterback Bobo, who tells her, “I really like your body-fat ratio,” ever ask her out? Matters get only slightly less trivial when her faux-glam mother returns from an extended stay at the spa with a facelift (but even less self-esteem), and her father gets beat up by an unknown man. Ephron keeps the reason for the assault under wraps for quite a while, and the gravity of Sukie's parents' collapsing marriage is overshadowed by Sukie's complaints about her image and want of friends, and her mother's plastic surgery woes. The parallels to the descent of a certain Oscar Wilde character are obvious, and teens who use this book like Sukie uses her grandmother's antique full-length mirror, which cracks and erodes over the course of the novel, may be similarly conflicted about what they see. Ages 12–up.

July 1, 2010
After receiving an antique mirror from her mother, already-vain Sukie finds herself caught in an isolating world of self-obsession. Discovering a devastating family secret helps her realize that a narcissistic life is not what she needs. Sukie, initially unsympathetic, becomes more likable as the story goes on, leading to a heartfelt ending.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 15, 2009
Grades 7-10 Fifteen-year-old Sukie is a self-observer. She is constantly looking at her reflection or taking pictures of herself with her cell phone. So when her equally vain mother offers her an antique mirror, shes pleased to have one more venue in which to keep tabs on herself. But as the mirror begins mysteriously cracking, so does Sukies tightly controlled life. Ephron, perhaps best known as a screenwriter, brings a cinematic flair to her writing in a story thats as much cautionary tale as it is slice of teen life. Because she writes with so much wit and clarity, its possible to overlook some of the books flaws, including a reveal that even kids will see coming a mile away. Just as she did in Frannie in Pieces (2007), Ephron tries here to incorporate a little fantasy into her story, with mixed results. But when her writing goes over the top (the depiction of Sukies dog, Seor, is both subtle and hilarious), readers will say, Wow! A book for girls who think they know everything and turn out to be wrong.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

March 1, 2010
Gr 7-10-Narcissistic, naive, beautiful, and rich, 15-year-old suburbanite Sukie learns that being real is preferable to being perfect when a series of messy truths (primarily discovering her father's affair) challenge her illusions. The central point of the novelthe teen's vanityis exhaustingly revisited between minor forays into plot-furthering events; probably three quarters of the book's pages are devoted to the protagonist evaluating her pose, stride, clothes, hair, make-up, voice-modulation, etc. Readers may disagree as to whether this makes Sukie significantly realistic and empathetic or simply an over-the-top vehicle for Ephron's message. The only two supporting characters given more than cursory outlines are Sukie's parents, who are also shallow, blithe, and self-obsessed. There is also some half-baked hocus pocus with an image-morphing mirror and an omniscient dog. This title will hit home with some girls and preach others to sleep. Strictly an additional purchase."Rhona Campbell, Washington, DC Public Library"

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