Liz Kessler: The Tail of Emily Windsnap (Orion 2003)
Liz Kessler has written more than 20 books for children and young adults. In her middle grade books, we can read about mermaids, fairies, time travel and superpowers. The author grew up by the sea and still lives there. She loves the ocean; this is what inspires her the most when she is writing her books. She has also worked as a journalist and teacher, but she has always loved writing and always encourages others to do so. Her favorite hobby (after writing, because even though she works as a writer, she still considers writing as her hobby) is photography, but she also likes surfing, kayaking, fishing and swimming – basically anything that can be done in or near the sea.
The Emily Windsnap series is mostly inspired by her love of the sea and the writer’s belief that special and magical things can happen to anyone. The volumes of the series have already been translated to 25 languages, appeared on the New York Times bestseller list and sold more than 5 million copies worldwide. The first volume was first published in English almost twenty years ago, in 2003.
Emily Windsnap is a completely ordinary girl who lives with her mother in a small seaside town. The family’s only friend is the lighthouse keeper. However, Emily’s life changes when she discovers during a swimming lesson that her legs turn into mermaid’s tail in the water. She then secretly swims out to sea at night to practice her new ability. During her trips, she also finds a friend and has the opportunity to find out what happened to her father.
The author first planned to end the series after 3 volumes, but the readers wanted to know what happens to the characters later, so she decided to continue. The 9th volume of the series was published in 2020. The first three books can be read in Hungarian.
