MERMAIDS ON THE MOON

In this wonderfully quirky debut novel, 35-year-old France's mother, Grendy, inexplicably disappears from Mermaid City, Fla., where she has been performing with a small group of former "mermaids," leaving a note to her husband, a minister, claiming she has "to find herself." France leaves her home in Cedar Valley, Ind., and her charmingly offbeat, "downwardly mobile" boyfriend, Bruno, an artist who sculpts wooden dolls, to search for her mother. She remembers Grendy once saying, "Everything gets clear underwater. I'm happier underwater than I've ever been on land. It's my salvation." During France's journey, she, too, finds enlightenment underwater when she befriends her mother's mermaid performers and briefly becomes one herself. She also connects with her nephew, Theo (a young boy being raised by Grendy), who has singular emotional and behavioral problems. Stuckey-French, whose first collection of short stories, The First Paper Girl in Red Oak, Iowa, was praised for its refreshing originality, brings brio and charm to this delightful, unique tale of self-discovery. Her spot-on descriptions sparkle with creativity and humor. One of Grendy's friends has "eyes... rimmed with an unfortunate shade of blue eye shadow." At one point in her search, France is desperate enough to go to a town known for its community of psychics and observes, "There should be a rule against mediums wearing polyester." The author's talent for creating unconventional characters and her clear insight into human nature converge in this page-turning tale centered around a group of older women who become young again as they glide and cavort in a special underwater world where fantasy and reality rarely collide. (June 18)

Forecast:An adorably whimsical jacket lets readers know exactly what to expect from this charming second work.