• Age: 10 to 14
• Grade: 5 to 9

Normal is Never Coming Back

Jade is totally confused. As in, "will this be a leg-day or a tail-day?" kind of confused. Even worse, it's been forever since her first kiss with Luke and now—nothing. Not even a text message.

Sigh.

But Jade doesn't have time to figure out the weirdness of boys and how to use her shiny new tail. (Seriously, being a mermaid should come with a handbook.) She has to come up with a plan to get her missing mermaid mom back on dry land.

The only problem is...Jade is afraid of the ocean. But even aqua-phobic mer-girls have to take the plunge sometime...

Praise for Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings:

"Bravo to Hélène Boudreau for hitting the bull's-eye with a fresh, affectionate, watery twist on the classic coming-of-age-story."—New York Journal of Books

"The author keeps suspense high...while tapping straight into young teens' angst about friends, enemies, and boys."—Kirkus Reviews

Hélène Boudreau's profile page

Hélène Boudreau writes fiction and non-fiction for children and young adults from her home in Ontario. Her debut middle grade novel, Acadian Star, was released last fall and was recently nominated for the 2009/2010 Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award.

"This novel had wonder, excitement, scary moments, and just enough teenage interaction to bring back lots of memories of school friendships and first loves." — The Writing Room