The Siren

by Kiera Cass

Overview

#1 New York Times bestseller

From Kiera Cass, author of the Selection series, comes a captivating stand-alone fantasy romance.

Kahlen is a Siren, bound to serve the Ocean by luring humans to watery graves with her voice, which is deadly to any human who hears it. Akinli is human—a kind, handsome boy who's everything Kahlen ever dreamed of. Falling in love puts them both in danger . . . but Kahlen can't bear to stay away. Will she risk everything to follow her heart?

The Siren  was previously self-published; this edition has been completely rewritten and redesigned.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062392008
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	05/02/2017
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	12,362
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.70(d)
Age Range:	13 Years

About the Author

Kiera Cass is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Selection series and The Siren. She is a graduate of Radford University and currently lives in Christiansburg, Virginia, with her family. You can learn more about Kiera’s books, videos, and love of cake online at www.kieracass.com.

Editorial Reviews

Cass’s immensely readable debut novel is a less drastic Hunger Games, with elaborate fashion and trappings. The fast-paced action will have readers gasping for the upcoming sequel.

ALA Booklist

02/22/2016
Faithful fans of the Selection series can dive into this Little Mermaid–esque story, originally self-published in 2009, but revised for its rerelease. After a shipwreck kills Kahlen’s parents, she is rescued from drowning by the sentient Ocean herself, but must serve for 100 years as a siren, using her beauty and otherworldly voice to lure humans to horrible deaths at sea. Kahlen detests her macabre work but finds some contentment with her siren sisters, until she unexpectedly falls in love with a guileless human, Akinli. Since sirens can’t age, speak, or marry, their romance seems doomed. Kahlen and Akinli are playfully cute, but the chemistry is missing, and readers may question why Kahlen risks so much for a guy she barely knows. The siren world is fascinating if somewhat underdeveloped—e.g. how do these girls have endless amounts of money to use in the human world? However, the sisterly bond between the sirens is touching, and Kahlen is sweet, if docile. Despite the story’s weaknesses, Cass seeds it with enough intrigue to keep readers curious about how this hopeless love affair will play out. Ages 13–up. Agent: Elana Roth Parker, Red Tree Literary. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

As her family is drowning around her, Kahlen is offered a choice by the Ocean: she may drown with them, or she may transform into a siren. Desperate to live, Kahlen agrees to join three other gorgeous girls in a life of silence, solitude, and murder for a century-long sentence. When the text jumps forward eighty years, it is obvious that Kahlen has not adapted well and continues to suffer in her new, mythical life. She constantly struggles with her guilt for the role she plays in taking the lives of thousands of people to feed the Ocean. When Kahlen meets a boy named Akinli, she regains her will to live by focusing on the happiness she feels when with him. Unfortunately, when she begins breaking siren laws to be with him, both Akinli’s and Kahlen’s lives suffer the consequences. This is a decently constructed, romance-filled fantasy that will appeal to teenage readers who are fans of the genre. This is recommended for middle and high schools. Reviewer: Chelley Vukmanic; Ages 11 to 18.

VOYA, June 2016 (Vol. 39, No. 2) - Gene D Nutter

02/01/2016
Gr 7 Up—Kahlen still has trouble adjusting to the life of a siren. After becoming a siren 80 years ago, she is still unable to subdue the disgust and shame she feels while taking innocent lives in order to feed the Ocean. The Ocean is a motherly being who feeds off lives that drown in her waters. Sirens are the few young women whose lives she saves from death in order to keep her fed. Ocean cares intensely for Kahlen. However, when the protagonist falls in love with Akinli, a human boy, her responsibility to care for her sisters (also sirens) and the Ocean becomes a complicated task. Her sisters, along with the Ocean, watch her soul and body deteriorate the longer she is away from Akinli, who appreciates the true Kahlen, aside from her beauty and silence. Overall, the heroine is a meek character, but her muddled past, thoughts, and actions make her slightly interesting. Teens will appreciate her passion for her relationships—whether romantic or sisterly. Secondary characters aren't as intriguing or fully developed. Despite these shortcomings, the novel is fairly well written and offers a twist on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" that romance fans will enjoy. VERDICT A satisfactory purchase for libraries with a strong and faithful Cass fan base.—Briana Moore, School Library Journal

School Library Journal