Dagmar H. Mueller » Boarding School for Mermaids – A Dolphin for a Lifetime « Illustrated by Franziska Harvey 10+, March 2011 192 pages, 13.0 x 20.0 cm ISBN 978-3-7855-6857-6 hardcover 9,90 € (D)

Alani is in great distress! She was abducted from the boarding school Coral Crown and brought to the underwater capital Aquamarina and is now kept hostage in one of the palaces. But why? Does this have anything to do with the secrets around her origin? The papers she finds on the desk of her kidnapper point in that direction. On top of all that Alani finds out from a letter that someone at the boarding school has it in for her. But who could that be? Alani is alarmed.

A blessing in disguise: dolphin Finn whose life was once saved by Alani comes to the rescue: he takes the little mermaid safely back to Coral Crown where she is finally reunited with her best friend Tay. Their favourite sport of dolphin polo soon makes all the worry go away. Alani and Tay are having a good time with the boys from the neighbouring Redriff School and even the posh glitter girls from the dorm don't seem as bad as they had seemed on their first encounter. Alani almost forgets that someone at Coral Crown doesn't wish her well but with the help of all her new friends she is able to solve this problem and identify the wrongdoer. 

Key Points:

- adventure and friendship are the main topics of living at the mermaid boarding school
- authentic characters make it easy for girls 10+ to identify with the characters
- various witty and colourful details make the underwater world come to life
- the mermaids have to face the same problems that all other teenage girls: spots, boys and arguments with class mates
- benign illustrations by Franziska Harvey make the series special