
Member Reviews

Mera is the princess of the underwater kingdom Xebel, which is under the control of the kingdom of Atlantis. The king of Xebel has chosen a successor to his crown, as long as he can kill the prince of Atlantis - Arthur Curry. Mera is upset and angry with her father for always seeing her as a princess first, and never a warrior like her mother. In order to secure her rightful place on the throne of Xebel, Mera steals away and decides to kill Arthur herself and win her own crown. Above water the people are much different than how she has been taught, and while getting closer to Arthur Mera learns more about herself.
This is not a love story, however, but a coming-of-age tale about a strong and independent young woman learning more about herself through perseverance and grit.

I usually do not read graphic novels, but I am glad that I have read this one. Although pretty predictable, I found this book to be a fun read. This is a book that I would recommend to others.

I have just recently started reading graphic novels and I enjoyed this one. I am a big fan of retellings and this is a Little Mermaid retelling done very well. The illustrations helped the story along and seemed appropriate to the events happening.

Mera Tidebreaker gives us a fabulous origin story of Mera warrior princess . Written by the wonderful Danielle Paige author Of Dorothy Must. Die ,Mera has romance , intrigue and background of the princess. For fans of Aquaman a must read

Ms. Paige rocks the Graphic Novel genre with her take on Mera. It is a great novel for young adults, but for comic book fans it takes the character to the forefront. What at great story on a less known character! #Mera #NetGalley #Edelweiss

Mera: Tidebreaker is the kind of YA graphic novel I have wanted for the longest time! I wish it weren't an origin story, but I get that the aim is to be accessible to readers who may not know anything about the DC Universe. That being said, I loved, loved, loved this book! I fully expect the teens in my library to check this out like hotcakes. DC Ink, keep doing this!

I loved this story! Totally a different POV in the Aquaman world and so much girl power. I was obsessed with this even being an adult. My first foray into middle grade novels, this did not disappoint.

Cute origin story, but the insta-love between Mera and Arthur was really jarring. Very fast-paced and the characters seems rushed and one-dimensional, but I'm not sure it could have been done better at 186 pages. I would have rather read a longer (like, twice as long) story that took more time to develop Mera's relationships and maybe a bit longer than 4 days for her to change trajectories so completely.

Well-developed artwork and an engaging storyline combine in the story of Mera. Danielle Page brings this character to center stage eloquently and beautifully.
This is a fine example of the quality work produced by DC Comics and a book I would gladly share with readers young and old.

Mera: Tidebreaker is a a mash-up of The Littler Mermaid and Romeo and Juliet, but Ariel/Juliet is on a mission to murder Eric/Romeo. Spoiler alert: she falls in love instead.
This DC universe graphic novel is along the same vein as the DC Icons series and Rainbow Rowell's The Runaways series putting a fresh face on beloved superheroes as Mera: Tidebreaker is the origins story of Aquaman and Mera. (Danielle Paige is the author of the popular Dorothy Must Die series.) I'm not familiar with the original DC comic books or Aquaman's MO at all, but Mera: Tidebreaker was a bit love triangle-y. I'm not sure if that's a close adaptation to the original or if it's Paige's proclivity as a YA author, but it is a little tired at this point, 10 years post-Twilight.
Either way, what bothered me most about this graphic novel was how shallow the story/plot and the character development is. Yes, Mera is a dynamic character and has a change of heart, but it was so quick. I suppose that is --partially-- the nature of graphic novels and why (reluctant) readers like them so much, but as someone who is still struggling to come to terms with the medium, it was hard for me to immerse myself in the pages and the story. It seemed like there wasn't enough inner wrestling and cognitive dissonance happening to be authentic to the massive change of heart Mera has.
Arthur is similarly one-dimensional. I think, though, that that stems from the fact that graphic novels are limited in what goes on in a character's head, as well as the minimal little tics and nonverbal communication readers are privy to from narration. That falling into the shoes of the protagonist just doesn't happen for me in Mera: Tidebreaker; I never felt for Mera or Arthur.
That being said, I will probably order it when it comes out next spring since there will be the Aquaman movie being released in 2019, too. Movie/novel duos always do well.

This was a refreshing jump into the Aquaman story-line while approaching it from a different angle than expected. Mera is a quasi-superhero that all young women can look up to as she faces tough decisions on what she wants to do with her life beyond her father's urging.

I really enjoyed this book. I am not a reader of superhero books and do not know anything about Mera and Aquaman. However, since this is an origin story you don't need to know anything! It had great artwork and I enjoyed the bit of teenage romance. I would hand this to 12+, especially if they are into superheroes. I also think it's a good segue for those who don't know superheroes.