Fathomless

Continuing to recast classic stories in a dark, contemporary setting, Pearce offers a haunting version of The Little Mermaid, set in the same world as Sisters Red. Lo used to be human, but she barely remembers that life, growing more accustomed to living undersea with her "sisters" as an "ocean girl." Lo has been told that the only way to regain her soul is to make a human boy fall in love with her%E2%80%94and then drown him. When a teenage guitarist named Jude falls into the ocean, Lo saves him and meets Celia Reynolds, who has the psychic ability to read a person's past. Celia sees Lo's former life as Naida (a girl with connections to a character from Pearce's Sweetly), and as both girls fall for Jude, "Naida" is no longer content to remain an ocean creature. As with Pearce's previous books, the sibling relationships in this story are just as dominant as the supernatural elements. Lo's struggles with her inhumanity, her two selves, and the expectations of Celia, Jude, and her sisters are especially poignant. Ages 15%E2%80%93up. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. (Sept.)