City News
The Siren by Kiera Cass
Review by Christina
Kahlen’s world is turned upside down in an instant. In her last moments, she cries out in desperation to be saved from her fate. To her surprise, the Ocean answers.
From that moment, Kahlen’s life is not her own. She becomes a servant of the sea. Her voice becomes a deadly weapon used to lure stray ships to their deaths at sea to feed the Ocean. 100 years as a Siren, and then she will get a chance to resume the life she lost at peace. She will not age. There will be no memory of her life as a Siren when she returns.
Kahlen accepts her service and becomes an obedient and dutiful daughter to the Ocean. She isn’t alone in her duties, as her Siren sisters are there to share the burden they all have to bear. She struggles with every sinking, trying to find a balance in her new life as a bringer of death, never letting herself be overcome with grief. That is, until Kahlen meets Akinli...
I would rate The Siren a 9/10. This book was so captivating that I finished it in one sitting. The fantastical world Cass built was astonishing. I love how she describes the Ocean to have human feelings too. The Ocean felt grief, sorrow, and love for her daughters. Cass explores the problems with immortality when Kahlen describes her sorrow for having life pass by her but not being able to live in that life. She dreams of love and of experiencing the world, not just observing on the sidelines.
The conflict Kahlen experiences between love and duty is interwoven throughout the novel. While we all have duties and responsibilities we would shrink in favor of our passions, the reality is we must find a balance between what we want to do and what we must do. While we are not bound by servitude to the Ocean, there are many strings, or maybe ropes, that ground us from indulging in our passions.
My only qualm about The Siren was how unrealistic their romance came to be. Akinli’s faithfulness and love seem to blossom out of nowhere. Their mutual attachment seems too good to be true. Though I am a hopeless romantic, it’s hard for me to believe love like Kahlen and Akinli could come by as easily in real life. I do understand why Cass must make their romance fast-paced in order for the story to fit in one novel. I would recommend The Siren to any fantasy or romance lovers. The world-building is original and fantastic. Never before have I read a book about girls who sang sailors to their deaths other than in Greek Mythology. Then to read it from their point of view!