Emily Windsnap #7 and the Falls of the Forgotten Island by Liz Kessler

My name is Emily, and I swore to my best friend Shona that I wouldn't get caught up in an adventure or put us in danger for a month. Well, that didn't work out. How was I to know I'd find people living on a forgotten island that had only been discovered one year before? Or that the people had been trapped on it for hundreds of years and a prophecy foretold my arrival? They are convinced a devastating earthquake has been gaining strength and will soon obliterate the island. The tsunami caused by the disaster will then surge across the ocean and destroy other islands full of unaware humans. The leader's necklace shows a picture of a mermaid who will lead the island people to safety. I am the mermaid in the picture, and a drawing of my boyfriend is shown in another drawing. I barely survived the journey into the island, and no one else knows I'm here. The islanders believe it's impossible to leave the island, so I guess it's my job to do the impossible or thousands of people will die.

This book is actually the seventh one in a series, but I didn't read any of the others first. I was still able to enjoy it, although I was curious about Emily’s past adventures. She had a history with the god Neptune, but I didn’t know if she had any powers (like Percy Jackson) other than being a mermaid. It was strange to read about a setting where mermaids lived alongside humans; the vacation resort had rooms for both groups. Emily was a semi-mer and could walk around on dry land, while her father and Shona needed to remain in the water at all times. This created some seemingly minor problems. The big conflict in the plot was complicated by Emily's spats with her boyfriend Aaron and her best friend Shona; they were tired of her thinking about herself and getting everyone involved in dangerous situations. However, the prophecies indicated Aaron would end up helping Emily, while her relationship with Shona took more work. Emily’s thinking toward Shona was hard to understand, although it all worked out in the end. I recommend you read the previous books first, but this one was still very entertaining on its own.