A lovely story, about grief, healing from trauma, and finding your place in the world. I think the ending may have been a little bit predictable and also anti-climatic, however, I did find myself eager to read this and immersed in the warm vibe of it. I will say, I was hoping this was going to be more "real" magic than it actually was, but hey, Not all mermaid stories can have real mermaids.

Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand is not a typical mermaid manga. It follow a girl whose parents are separated, while she searches for a merman who saved her life. The children characters are adorable. For the most part, though, their voices are not very distinguishable from one another. The story takes a turn for the weird when the children try to enter a forbidden area and uncover a potential conspiracy. Magical realism is woven into the tale, leaving readers wondering whether this is a fantasy or just a figment. The book's reveal is satisfying and not what I expected. As a person, I enjoyed this title. Unfortunately, my teen patrons are looking for something with more action than this contemplative, conspiratorial story, which means my library will not be picking it up.

This is such a gentle and tender story.

Toki and her father move to her mother's hometown after her mother leaves them both for another guy. Both Toki and her father are drowning in grief, but the focus is more on how this sudden betrayal affects Toki. The small snapshots we get that show her father's grief and hurt make me wish that we got to see a little more of him, but it's enough as is it to really feel for him. That being said, this manga doesn't vilify the mom either. Not really. We just honestly don't have enough context to understand what happened between Toki's parents. Because this is Toki's story. She's telling it to us and as a 12-year old, she just doesn't have all the facts. And that is okay. What matters is she is hurt and eventually she's going to have to work through that.

There's also Yosuke. Seven years later he's still hoping to find some trace of his brother who went missing at sea. He wants to believe that his brother could be out there alive somewhere. Toki and Yosuke are almost instantly drawn to each other through their grief and they become good friends who support and comfort each other.

I love the soft and delicate handling of the difficult topics presented in this manga. And I love the mystery of the town merfolk and the god of the sea who blesses their sleepy coastal town.

Tokiko has just moved to her mother's home town from Tokyo to live with her father and grandmother. She remembers visiting the town long ago, when she was very small, and she remembers wandering into the ocean and being saved by a mermaid. Years later, she wants to know if her memory is real. But how will she figure it out without sounding crazy to her new friends?
Komori creates a very believable world of a young girl dealing with so many emotions. Her parents' marriage has fallen apart, she has had to move to a new town, make new friends and understand the different culture of a small fishing village compared to her old life in Tokyo. With the feel of a Miyazaki film, Komori brings her town and characters to life with charm.

I couldn't get through it.. it was too reserved and slow moving for me. Might pick up later in the book, but I got too sleepy to continue