Mera Tidebreaker by Danielle Paige

Illustrated by Stephen Byrne

Mera is the princess of Xebel, a kingdom stuck under the thumb of Atlantis.  While fighting and demonstrating against the Atlanteans, Mera is also trying to prove that she can rule her kingdom without Larken, the man her father is forcing her to marry. When her father gives Larken a mission to kill the missing Atlantean prince to secure his place on the Xebel throne, Mera decides to take the mission upon herself. But, Arthur turns out to be a nice person, not at all the heartless Atlantean she assumed he would be.  

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This is mostly a romance about how Mera and Arthur begin to have feelings for each other, which anyone familiar with Aquaman should have seen coming.  However, the speed in which they fall for each other in this story leaves much to be desired.  I had initially thought this story was going to be about Mera being an awesome warrior, but that only took up a small portion of this story.  The ending is rather anti-climatic and very rushed, and I'm not entirely sure it concluded everything the way it should have. Despite all of these things, this was a decent story for the age group, and a good introduction to Mera for those unfamiliar with her from the comics or the movie.

I didn't care as much for the two-tone coloring throughout.  I thought it would have been more interesting if the portion of the story on land was either a different color palette or in full color to contrast it with the underwater portions.

This story is part of DC Ink's line, which is geared towards young adults.  This volume would be fine for middle- through high-school audiences, as there is nothing risqué or adult about it.

Sara's Rating: 7/10
Suitability Level: Grades 7-10

Tags: Rating: 7/10, Suitability: Middle School, Suitability: High School, Graphic Literature, Superheroes, Romance