A very nice debut book. It is well written and will appeal to kids who like oddball mystery, magic and friendship stories.

Anthoni has the universal wish of most kids in her age group--a True Blue Friend. Unfortunately, her mom's quest for success in her cosmetic franchise has them moving too much for friends. When her mom decides they will spend the summer at a summer “resort” so mom can redesign her business plan and Anthoni has the universal wish of most kids in her age group--a True Blue Friend. Unfortunately, her mom's quest for success in her cosmetic franchise has them moving too much to find friends. When her mom decides they will spend the summer at a summer “resort” so mom can revamp her faltering business plan, Anthoni is excited. Even though the Showboat Resort 's glory days are in the past, there is the potential to find a True Blue Friend, maybe more than one. Plus, there is the mystery of the mermaid in the lake. Was she real?? Recommend this to all middle graders especially those search of a friend to share the ups and downs of growing up. Great summer read! Thank you Farrar Straus Giroux for the hardcover and Netgalley for the arc.

Anthoni and her mother are spending the summer at The Showboat after skipping out on their landlord and unpaid rent. Mom has been doing great selling Beauty and the Bee cosmetics but seems to be in a real slump. Anthoni is determined to make a True Blue Friend and has set her sites on Maddy who she met years ago even though Maddy doesn't seem like she wants to be friends with Anthoni. Meanwhile Anthoni starts spending time with DJ and they discover all kinds of interesting things about the Showboat and its owner Charlotte Boulay.

I really enjoyed the rundown resort setting and the fact that Charlotte and her family were vaudeville stars. I am not sure how many kids know what vaudeville is, but it is a good history lesson. I also enjoyed Anthoni's single minded focus on finding the perfect friend as she doesn't realize she is making lifelong friends in DJ and Charlotte along the way. I thought mom was portrayed very realistically as she is going through a slump both personally and professionally. Good story about making friends during a summer vacation.

A beautifully descriptive tale follows a mother and daughter’s struggles as they attempt to find themselves.
A planned idyllic reward vacation at the once famous Showboat resort of the mother’s youth is dashed upon arrival when they find a rundown resort with no other vacationers. Eleven year old Anthoni doesn’t give up on finding a friend though as she stays true to her mom’s sales techniques for her mom’s cosmetics products business. The story takes some interesting twists as Anthoni and newfound friends investigate a local legend about the Boulay Mermaid of Thunder Lake adjacent to the resort.

The book does a great job tapping into kids' imaginations, perceptions and fears. Taking place in summertime, the story provides mystery, thrills, and a lesson about what makes a best friend.

What a wonderful read! I was captivated by the mystery of a potential mermaid. The author does a great job creating fun characters and a plot line centered around true blue friendship. I really appreciated the goal planning that was an essential part of this story.

Anthoni Gillis is a sweet 11 year old hoping to find her true blue friend. However, due to the nature of her mother's work, she is often traveling and unable to create lasting friendship. She ends up at a resort, that is all but what she thought?

Will Anthoni find a true blue friend while she is at the resort? Potentially a mermaid?

Readers and fans of Kate DiCamillo and katherine Applegate will find this an enjoyable read.

I had the opportunity to read a NetGalley digital ARC of this middle grade novel in exchange for a review. This book tells the story of Anthoni Gillis, an eleven-year-old girl who has no True Blue Friends. Her mother moves from town to town trying to rise up the ladder of success selling Beauty and the Bee cosmetics. Hoping to sell more of her products, her mother takes Anthoni to the Showboat Resort for the summer. As Anthoni tries to make a True Blue Friend, determine if there’s truth to the local rumors about the Boulay Mermaid, and help her mother bring her business back to life readers will get a great summer novel full of swimming lessons, back yard barbecues, and relationship drama.
I think that middle school readers looking for a vacation read and who enjoy friendship drama will enjoy reading this book. Anthoni is a quirky girl who enjoys comic books and friends who are strange in a good way. There’s a lot about the characters that ring true for this age group. This book has some good take-aways for adolescent kids who often have a difficult time determining who their True Blue Friends are.

Sometimes, the things we need are right in front of us, most especially when we need it the most. Anthoni Gullis is no exception. Maybe a Mermaid is an adorable MG novel that follow Anthoni and her mother, an MLM cosmetic seller as they travel to her mother's long ago favorite vacation spot. When they arrive, they find that things are not what they seem, the inn is in shambles and the townspeople have gossip galore.

This book was perfect on so many levels.
The cover is gorgeous. It is easily what pulled me. I knew nothing about this novel before hand.
The writing is brilliant for a debut. It's quirky, catchy and propels the reader forward. Anthoni's voice is strong, brave and decisive. The Characters are hilarious, multi layered and relatable. From Athoni, Maureen, Charlotte, DJ and more - they all had an arc that contributed in some delightful way to Anthoni's own character arc. It was easy to fall back into the curiosity and innocence of a child's view.

This was not just for children though! The constant reference to MLM thinking, list making and quips about needing to find your people. The references made me giggle, and while I have never done an MLM, I know many people who have so it was easy to understand the concept.and comments surrounding it.

My biggest issues with the novel is that there really wasn't enough inclusive diversity. There were only a few non white characters and they were not properly introduced - much of their introduction was focused on their skin color and not their personalities or beings in general. That just didn't' quite sit well with me. The other thing that bothered me was the timeline. It wasn't exactly consistent. Charlotte was super old, but was a mermaid when Anthoni's mom was younger, 20 years ago. The showboat's history didnt' quite line up, and neither did the town gossip time line.

Those were the biggest complaints for me, and they still did little to dampen the way I felt about the book. This book is adorable, fun, and quirky. Anthoni is definitely the friend I needed when I was her age!

Fun, well paced story of a young girl trying to make a True Blue Friend. I liked the people she met and it made me happy reading it.

MAYBE A MERMAID, by Josephine Cameron, was a sweet little adventure story about finding a True Blue Friend, and creating a summer to remember. I loved the constant references in Anthoni and her mom's life relating to the direct sales business. This book grabbed my attention, and I really felt everything Anthoni went through. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an escape from reality for a little while.

This excellent middle grade fiction book is about Anthoni, who lives with her mom. Her mom sells make up and beauty products and has worked really hard at setting goals and then achieving them. They decide they are going to spend the summer at the resort where her mom used to spend summers but they are disappointed a number of levels. Number one, it turns out that her mom didn't really meet her goals and so they're in a bit of a bind financially. Number two, the resort has seen better days, in fact, they appear to be the only guests. And number three, the friends they hoped to reconnect with are really different (and maybe kind of meaner) than they remember. It's a great story about friendship and what makes a good friend with a super fun piece of vaudeville thrown in for good measure. I think the kids are going to like this one a lot.

When a girl has a name like Anthoni Gillis (named for her grandfather), life probably won’t turn out like it does for regular people. But Anthoni and her mom know how to set goals, reach objectives, and make things happen.

For the last five years they’ve had one goal—help her mom reach Queen Bee level at the Beauty and the Bee cosmetic company. When they reach that goal, they’ll get to spend the summer at the Showboat Resort—where true blue friends meet.

And Anthoni has always wanted a true blue friend. Her mom’s job requires that they move a lot. And although her mom has equipped her with the skills for making friends, a girl dreams of having at least one true blue friend.

When her mom tells her that the girl she laughed so much with when they knew each other years ago lives in the resort town, Anthoni just knows they’ll rekindle the friendship.

But things don’t always turn out the way a girl expects. The Showboat Resort has no other guests (and doesn’t offer refunds). Maddy acts standoffish and Anthoni can’t decide if she wants to be friends, much less a true blue friend.

Even worse, her mom hasn’t been exactly truthful about her progress towards Queen Bee. But then, nothing about the summer seems to turn out the way Anthoni expected.

This debut middle grade novel lives up to its cover and will be a delightful summer discovery for readers. You can't help but root for Anthonie and the quirky cast of characters she meets at the Showboat Resort. Maureen Boulay alone is worth the price of admission. Readers will learn along with Anthonie lessons about friendship, loyalty and looking below the surface for the truth. Highly recommended!

Thank you to Macmillan and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Great characters and a fun setting make this book an enjoyable read. This is a sweet story about a young girl searching for her True Blue Friend (who happens to be right in front of her the whole time) while trying to navigate some tough financial circumstances that even her very best hustle can't quite keep at bay. The mystery of the hotel care-taker and her vaudeville past was icing on the cake. A fun, sometimes serious, story that will appeal to middle grade readers.

I LOVED this book. I had to say that first. I got this book as an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest Review. It's not so much a mermaid book. but that is alright. I liked the characters and description. It felt like it could be anytime. Because how kids develop friendships doesn't really change. And their need for a connection. It reminded me a bit of Joan Bauer's books like "Hope Was Here" (She was just a random book I picked off the shelf to build up my readers advisory muscles. You can't really recommend the Dark Tower Series to grade school kids no matter how obsessed you are) I can't wait to read more from Josephine Cameron.

A very interesting story that was not able to sustain my attention for the totality of the narrative. An admirable attempt.

Have you ever had a good thing right in front of your face and you didn't realize it? Anthoni Gillis is in this exact situation. She has a plan to get a True Blue Friend, one that will always be with you through thick and thin, but so far in her eleven year old life, she has not found one. Her mom sells Beauty & Bee cosmetics and she is working her way up the company; however because of her success they have always moved around and Anthoni has never been able to make a true blue friend. When her mom surprises her with a summer trip to Thunder Lake and the Showboat Resort, where her mom grew up, Anthoni assumes it is because her mom is about to advance in the company. She soon finds out that it is completely the opposite. Her mom has not been following their plan and is slowly loosing control of her business. Antoni is furious with her mom but she meets Maddy, Juile, Kurt and DJ and instantly knows that Maddy is going to be her True Blue Friend. Little does she know that things are not always as they seem - when it comes to her friends and when it comes to the crazy lady, Charlotte, who runs the Showboat Resort. Will Antoni work her plan and make Maddy her True Blue Friend? What about DJ? He has been by her side the whole summer, but when he is pushed aside by Antoni's plan to make Maddy her True Blue Friend, will he be able to overcome his hurt feelings? Can Antoni's mom get her business plan back on track or will they be forced to come up with another plan? Don't miss this endearing story of family, friendship, and the persistence to get what you want out of life!

This is such a precious story of a girl who just wants a friend and then doesn't realize it when one is right in front of her face. It's also a story of a girl with a concrete plan and finding out that not all plans work out like you think. I love Antoni's work passion and her passion to find a friend. I also love that when her plan doesn't go the way she expects it to, she doesn't give up on her plan, she just reevaluates it. This is a must read book for 2019!

I really enjoyed this book. A different, sweet book where I couldn't guess the ending. Highly recommend!

Maybe a Mermaid is an excellent book for middle-schoolers. It has mystery, intrigue, friendship and was easy to read. Anthoni Gillis, an eleven-year-old girl, is heading to Eagle Lake for a much needed vacation with her Mom., Carrie Gillis. They move a lot because of her mother's job as a home-salesperson for Beauty and the Bee cosmetics. She was so good at it that they won a Beemobile ( a yellow hybrid car wit black stripes and fuzzy antennae), but sales have been dropping and she's got to meet her quota to move up to the next level. Anthoni helps with setting up goals and reminding her mother of their plans and the Beauty and the Bee way to accomplish them. The Gillis Girls are staying at the Showboat Family Resort where Carrie had the Best Summer of Her Life, 6 years in a row. Anthoni (named after her Grandfather) is looking forward to making a True Blue Friend and reconnecting with her childhood friend, Maddy Quinn. Nothing is as they remember it, though, including the manager, Charlotte Boulay, a former vaudeville performer. The Gillis Girls spend the summer trying to regroup, make friends and for Anthoni, learn to swim. She learns a lot more then that from DJ, the unusual boy next door, and her old friend Maddy, who's dream is to see a mermaid. Anthoni makes some big mistakes along the way, and learns a lot about herself, her mother and Charlotte Boulay...and mermaids!

I loved this book. I think middle schoolers will love it too - it was a fun read.. The story was inspirational without being preachy. There is something for everyone to identify with and something great to take with you when you're done.

Anthoni Gillis and her mother have moved frequently as her mother moves up in the ranks of Beauty and the Bee cosmetics. When her mother moves up a level, she takes Anthoni on a long-promised vacation to Showboat Resort at Thunder Lake, a place she spent six "perfect" summers at when she was a girl. When the two arrive, the whole place is in disrepair and is being run by Charlotte Boulay, the now elderly daughter of the owners. Anthoni's mother reconnects with her childhood friend, who isn't really interested in spending time together. Anthoni hopes that she and the daughter might become True Blue Friends, but that doesn't work out either. Instead, Anthoni starts hanging around with DJ, and the two discover some secrets about the resort and Charlotte. Back in the day, Charlotte was the Boulay Mermaid, but how she managed the act is something Anthoni doesn't understand. Since Anthoni's mother's business is not doing well, the two plan to move to Chicago when their time is up at the resort, and Anthoni hopes she can make a friend before they go. When she tells a potential friend that she can show her a REAL mermaid, Charlotte graciously agrees to help, but when the show almost ends in disaster, Anthoni is forced to face some difficult truths.

Strengths: I am a complete sucker for run down resorts and especially Storybook Forest theme parks. The setting was awesome, and I didn't even mind the horrible flashbacks I had to swimming lessons in the lake! Anthoni and her mother's various positive mantras were great fun, and I also had some Amway flashbacks-- my parents sold it briefly, and I helped with the various demonstrations of the products. Anthoni and DJ had just the right level of supervision that they were safe but were able to get into some trouble! The inclusion of information of vaudeville was fun. There should be more middle grade novels about vaudeville!
Weaknesses: I couldn't pin down the timeline. Charlotte seemed like she would be about 90, but the mother would have been at the resort about 20 years ago. I didn't think about it too hard, but something seemed not quite right.
What I really think: I liked this, but I'm not sure how much appeal it would have. I have reached the point in the year where I have no budget left. If I got a copy of this for free, I would put it in the library, but I'm not entirely sure I'll buy it. And yes, I get a LOT of books that I send to other schools because I know my students just won't pick them up.