• Age: 10 to 14
• Grade: 5 to 9

Just Your Average Teenage Mer-Girl

The only thing that terrifies Jade more than the ocean is dancing at the Fall Formal. Because Jade has two left feet—er, flippers. Who knew being a high school freshman is even more awkward than being a plus-size aqua-phobic mer-girl? At least her only drama is of the human variety...

Or not.

The Mermish Council has just declared that all land-dwelling mers but return to the ocean. Pronto. But there's no way Jade is going to let her mom, or Luke, her...boyfriend? mer-guy-friend?, disappear into the deep, dark ocean. Again. After all, a girl's got to have a date to her first dance.

If Jade can stop mer-mageddon, finding a plus-size dress that doesn't look like a shower curtain should be a piece of cake.

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 a classic, coming-of-age story."—New York Journal of Books

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

Helene Boudreau's profile page

HÉLÈNE BOUDREAU believes mermaids are just as plausible as giant squids, flying fish or electric eels. She now writes fiction and non-fiction for kids from her land-locked home in Ontario, Canada. Her first book of this series, Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings, was a 2011 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award finalist. www.heleneboudreau.com