Lucky is a mermicorn—half mermaid, half unicorn—who lives in an undersea world full of magic. As with the other books in the series, the delightful storytelling and sea-related puns make this a fun and joyful story perfect for readers stepping into early chapter books. In this volume, Lucky is trying to come up with a super-scary costume for a contest being held during his favorite holiday, Scary Splash (think undersea Halloween). He decides to go as the Great Ghost Shark, the biggest, scariest creature in the seven seas—or so the legends say. Since Lucky has no “sparkle” (magic) of his own, he uses the magic shells he was given by King Poseidon in the first book, plus some help from his friends Echo, Ruby and Flash, to transform into a shark. What happens, though, when a real giant shark crashes the party? And will Lucky finally find his own magic?
This is mostly a tale of adventure, friendship, and fun, but author Jason June weaves in a light message about not dressing up in costumes that play on stereotypes and can hurt others’ feelings. He also includes a scene in which one character respectfully asks another if it’s okay to give her a hug, and the other character says no—a nice modeling of how to ask for consent in a book that isn’t “about” consent per se.
Queer content is light in this volume, although we again encounter Echo’s two dads, introduced in the third book, and again, no big deal is made of the fact that they are a same-sex couple. The series’ sparkly aesthetic, though, continues to convey a definite flamboyant queer vibe. And Lucky, who (as we learned in the first book) likes to draw and appreciates when his mane has “just the right swirl,” feels at the very least somewhat gender creative. Jason June describes himself on his website as “a genderqueer writer mermaid,” so that vibe seems deliberate. Readers LGBTQ and not will also appreciate the series’ messages of finding oneself and supporting one’s friends.
