The New York Times best-selling series "An easy sell to girls looking for a friendship story with more than a touch of make-believe." — Kirkus Reviews When Emily Windsnap discovers an old diamond ring during a class hunt for trinkets, how is she supposed to know that the ring is half the key to unlocking an ancient curse by Neptune himself? Now, with the ring stuck firmly on her hand, Emily finds herself under a new curse: in just a few days, she’ll cease to be half-human and half-mermaid and must say good-bye to one parent forever. Can she possibly find the other missing ring that will break all the curses? Is there anyone who can help her — before it’s too late? This quick read is light and charming but also heartfelt. —VOYA Should be an easy sell to girls looking for a friendship story with more than a touch of make believe . —Kirkus Reviews Kessler combines the whimsy of life as a mermaid with the problems of an average middle-schooler …Plenty of dialogue and Ledwidge’s soft, dreamlike line drawings add textual and visual interest, making for a zippy story in an attractive package. —School Library Journal What will most delight readers are the details of undersea life , from course work in hair brushing to ‘scale polish’ for decorating tails. —Booklist Liz Kessler and book mention in article “CBC Plans Online Venture with Girl Scouts” —PW Children's Bookshelf I’m a fan of Emily Windsnap. She’s smart, she’s spunky, she can be brave, but mostly she’s just an ordinary teenaged girl that just happens to have a tail . —AmoxCalli blog A complex story with deepening questions about love and its meanings, anger and its consequences, redemption and hope for the future…couched in a lushly detailed story about underwater life that should capture the attention and hearts of girls who love adventurous, romantic tales encased in charming fantasy elements. —Kidsreads.com Liz Kessler lives in England, and has worked as a teacher, journalist, and editorial consultant. She says she first knew she wanted to become a writer at the age of nine, when she had a poem published in a local newspaper. The Tail of Emily Windsnap, her first children’s book, grew out of a poem she wrote about a mermaid. It’s midnight, and as light as day. A full moon shines down on the ocean, making the waves dance as they skirt the edges of the tiny island, lapping on jagged rocks and stony beaches. A chariot glides through the sea, tracing a circle around the island. Solid gold and adorned with jewels on every side, the chariot is pulled by dolphins, each decorated with a row of diamonds and pearls along its back and head. Inside the chariot sits the king of all the oceans: Neptune, grander than ever, a chain of sparkling jewels around his neck, his gold crown glinting above his white hair, his trident by his side. His green eyes shine in the moonlight as he looks across at the island. He is waiting for his bride to appear from the castle that stands above the rocks, half hidden by mist, its dark windows gleaming in the bright night sky. “Go around again!” he demands, his voice booming like thunder. His words send ripples bouncing away from the chariot. The dolphins draw another circle around the island. And then she is there, smiling as she steps toward the water’s edge, her eyes meeting his, their gaze so fierce it almost brings the space between them to life. A bridge between their two worlds. A small flock of starlings approaches the water as she does, circling the air above her head like a feathered crown. Twisting her head to smile up at them, she holds out a hand. Instantly, one of the birds breaks off from the circle and flies down toward her open palm. Hovering almost motion-less in the air, it drops something from its claw into her palm. A diamond ring. As the woman closes her hand around the ring, the starling rejoins the other birds and they fly away into the night, slinking across the sky like a giant writhing snake. “I give you this diamond to represent my love, as great as the earth itself, as firm as the ground on which I stand.” The woman flicks back shiny black hair as she reaches out toward the chariot to place the ring on Neptune’s finger. A twist of the trident, and a dolphin swims forward. As it bows down to Neptune, it reveals a pearl ring, perfectly balanced on its brow. Neptune takes the ring. Holding it out in his palm, he speaks softly. “And with this pearl, I offer you the sea, my world, as boundless and everlasting as my love for you.” He slides the ring onto her finger. “This is a most enchanted moment. A full moon at midnight on the spring equinox. This will not happen for another five hundred years. It is almost as rare as our love.” She smiles at him, her white dress wet at the bottom where she stands in the sea by his chariot. Holding his trident in the air, Neptune continues. “These rings may only ever be worn by two folk in love — one from the sea, o