Maybe a Mermaid by Josephine Cameron (review)

Anthoni's mother's participation in a cosmetics MLM has meant a lot of moving around to find new clients. Now that Anthoni's eleven, however, she's starting to see through the cracks in her mother's relentless optimism, and their latest move, which her mother sold to her as a vacation, is really an escape from an unpaid landlord. Still, the thought that they are going to spend the summer at the resort where her mother made her fondest memories has Anthoni dreaming of reuniting with Maddy, a girl she knew as a tot, and turning her into what her mother's brochures call a "True Blue Friend." Her carefully laid-out plan, borrowed from her mother's marketing materials for securing clients, meets with a few bumps along the way, but she imagines all will be forgiven if she can help Maddy get what she wants—proof that mermaids exist. Old enough to start seeing the greater context of the life she's taken for granted, Anthoni is an engaging heroine whose fears, desires, curiosity, and agency offer much for young readers to relate to, even when, or perhaps especially when, those qualities lead to social mistakes. The resolution of the mermaid mystery is also pitched just right for the age group, as the technical explanation doesn't completely dispel the capacity for wonder at the illusion. With subtle hints at how kids must find ways to cope with their imperfect adults and a few demonstrations of ethical bravery when it comes to friendship, this solid debut novel will have broad appeal. KC