Mick Bogerman's How to Rid Your Swimming Pool of a Bloodthirsty Mermaid is Hypnotic!

Yesterday I talked about Slug Pie story #1, How to Navigate Zombie Cave and Defeat Pirate Pete, so now we're ready for part 2 of my Apology For Playing Hooky on My Birthday Double Pack! Same author, same series.

Sea-Monkeys.

A simple concept, really...

As long as you don't misfeed the little guys, that is.

Cover art by Kat Powell

Slug Pie story #2, How to Rid Your Swimming Pool of a Bloodthirsty Mermaid, is a YA horror book written by Mick Bogerman.

So What's it about?

After his brother nearly drowns in the ocean, Mick decides that it's time to give Finley swimming lessons. As luck would have it, he knows the perfect place to teach him: The home of wealthy P.J., a boy that will happily agree to let the brothers use his pool... as long as Mick agrees to mow his ginormous yard for him. 

Things should have went well. Sure, the work is tiring, but the pool is amazing. Unfortunately, when the boys see a note from P.J. asking them to feed his Sea-Monkeys, telling them that the food is in his father's Bentley, they grab the packet out of a silver cylinder -  

From the wrong car. In goes the "food," which turns the Sea-Monkeys' water a strange, cobalt blue. 

And that's only the beginning of the changes that occur....

As with Slug Pie story #1, this ebook is written with sections broken into "steps" rather than chapters, written in first person, and includes a list of materials the boys will want to have the next time something like this happens.

And yes, I'm still in love with that overall story structure.

It makes it feel personal.

What I forgot to mention in the first ebook's review, however, is that there's one more bit thrown into these works at the very beginning that I thoroughly enjoy: Mick Bogerman's Warning Note to Parents. It includes fun statements such as, 

"As far as romance, you will find absolutely none in this story,

Because that would be stupid."

Both Slug Pie stories have these preview notes. How'd I possibly forget about that?! Well, all of you know that I'm incredibly scatter-brained, so let's just leave it there, shall we?

Bloodythirsty Mermaid flows even more smoothly than How to Navigate Zombie Cave did. The storyline grabbed ahold of me and kept me reading, and at an even faster rate than book 1. I thought a zombie infested cave with a rising water table was cool, but a bloodthirsty mermaid with hypnotic abilities, creepy red skin, and a strange case of overwhelming modesty? Priceless.

I was in love, I tell you. Love.

This one was a... 

Treasured Tome!!!

And I was aware that this would be the case by about 30% through the book. At least, I think that was the point that I became aware of the fact. You see, the mermaid had me so enthralled that I didn't really pay attention to how far I had gotten.

I was completely under her spell. 

Sure, she had razor sharp teeth and a mouth large enough to swallow a person's head in a single bite, and sure, she devoured rotten vegetables and loads of fish and spam. She pulled a few people under water and kept them there, and yes, the thick, brackish water that her mere presence caused was rather unattractive...

But I love her just the same.

She isn't your standard mermaid. Cruel, animalistic, and definitely not beautiful, she's a far cry from the normal idea of a mermaid that we're accustomed to. And that's ok.

Awesome, even.

Now, before you get too excited, please remember that this is a YA horror novel, and it's written for readers in around 4th to 6th grade. Don't expect something written for people accustomed to rated R horror movies, because you won't get it.

Even a bloodthirsty mermaid can turn out to be scary for young readers, but not too much so, and Bogerman did an excellent job of ensuring that it fit the age group. 

Indeed, I was so impressed with this ability that I'm planning on recommending that the librarian at my daughter's elementary school look into making a copy available for students. I think it's something that she'd like to add to the collection. This story is one that I would have pointed out to kids looking for scary books back when I worked in school libraries.

It feels like the kind of book that would get a reluctant reader interested in reading more of their own accord, and that goes a long way.

How to Rid Your Swimming Pool of a Bloodthirsty Mermaid can be found on Kindle and Nook.

***And don't forget to check out the review of book 1!***