• Home
    • facebook
    • instagram
    • bluesky
    • goodreads
    • mail
    • ko-fi

Heise Reads & Recommends

A School Librarian Sharing Books & #ClassroomBookADay

  • Heise Reads & Recommends
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Recommended Reads
  • #ClassroomBookADay
    • What is #ClassroomBookADay?
    • Getting Started with #ClassroomBookADay
    • #ClassroomBookADay Resources
    • #cbadSpotlight
    • #ClassroomBookADay Book Recommendations
  • Resources
    • Slides & Docs
    • Author / Illustrator Interviews & Guest Posts
  • Consulting
    • Published Works
    • Conference Sessions & Presentations
    • Workshops & Webinars
    • #ClassroomBookADay Presentations

THE VICIOUS DEEP by Zoraida Cordova

May 11, 2012

Title: THE VICIOUS DEEP
Author: Zoraida Cordova
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Number of Pages: 384
Source of Book: Hardcover from publisher at IRA Convention

For Tristan Hart, everything changes with one crashing wave.

He was gone for three days. Sucked out to sea in a tidal wave and spit back ashore at Coney Island with no memory of what happened. Now his dreams are haunted by a terrifying silver mermaid with razor-sharp teeth.

His best friend Layla is convinced something is wrong. But how can he explain he can sense emotion like never before? How can he explain he’s heir to a kingdom he never knew existed? That he’s suddenly a pawn in a battle as ancient as the gods.

Something happened to him in those three days. He was claimed by the sea…and now it wants him back.

This was a fun book that I read in a day. It was a unique take on the “I didn’t know I was a special paranormal creature” type of story what with being told from a male point-of-view and the contemporary merfolk spin to it. THE VICIOUS DEEP has aspects of a best friend romance, a war for the sea, high school drama, fights with fantastical sea creatures, family support, newfound royalty, a championship battle for control of the throne, a deadly storm, fantastical creatures, mermaid lore, Coney Island, and a wittily sarcastic main character full of guy humor.

I actually really enjoyed reading this story from Tristan’s point-of-view. There were some literal laugh-out-loud one liners for me and I found myself caught up quite often in his character and come backs. Even if his character was a bit of an, self-admitted, um, let’s say “popular with the ladies” kind of guy. I’m not sure how completely accurate a portrayal it is of what a teen boy would be thinking, but it was definitely entertaining. I will be waiting to have some boys read it and hear what they think though. There are a few mature word choices throughout, so it definitely skews a little more teen, but he’s really funny and it’s not too graphic. I also liked the secondary cast of characters quite a bit on both the high school human side and the merfolk Sea Court side. I loved Tristan’s parents, too – they’re present and understanding and caring and supportive, which I’ve come to appreciate more and more in teen books.

I just really enjoyed THE VICIOUS DEEP. It was a fairly predictable structure for this type of story, but told with an entertaining voice and creative background lore, which made it stand out in the sea of books out there (pun intended!). There were a couple of things in the writing that were a little irksome for me: one was the jumping around in time-sometimes it was hard for me to figure out what had passed, and the second was the use of “go” and “goes” in place of said. Now, I know that is what people use in casual conversation, and it doesn’t bother me there, but reading it in writing was very jarring to me and it was used quite a bit – I could do without it for sure.

I will definitely be waiting for THE SAVAGE BLUE to come out to find out if Tristan will be successful on his mission and to find out if he gets the girl in the end and to learn what ultimate decision he will make on taking over as the Sea King. THE VICIOUS DEEP almost seemed to end in the middle of the story, not in a horribly cliffhangerish way, but just that there is definitely more to the hero’s journey and it would have been too long of a book if it had been included in this one.

«
»

Filed Under: Other

  • facebook
  • instagram
  • bluesky
  • goodreads
  • mail
  • ko-fi

Search

select

shop

Subscribe

statement

Views expressed within these pages are personal & do not represent that of my employer.

Recent Reads

Loujain Dreams of Sunflowers
Mama in Congress: Rashida Tlaib's Journey to Washington
I Lived Inside a Whale
The Last Slice: A Three Kings Day Treat
Yusra Swims
One Wish: Fatima al-Fihri and the World's Oldest University
Dounia and the Magic Seeds
Nour's Secret Library
Swimming Toward a Dream: Yusra Mardini's Incredible Journey from Refugee to Olympic Swimmer
Eleven Words for Love: A Journey Through Arabic Expressions of Love
Not Yet: The Story of an Unstoppable Skater
The Book That Almost Rhymed
I Am Odd, I Am New
Brody the Lion Sometimes I ROAR!: Helping children with autism, anxiety, and big emtions cope with transitions and changes
Arab Arab All Year Long!
My Brother Otto and the Birthday Party
How Are You, Verity?
We Are a Class
I Want to Read All the Books
The Brightness Between Us

Latest Resources

Instagram Posts

Current commute audiobook: @jordanchiles I'M THAT Current commute audiobook: @jordanchiles I'M THAT GIRL 🤸🏿‍♀️🥉
Following that #BlackHistoryMonth ➡️ #WomensHistoryMonth flow.
#ReadAcrossAmerica Day is Monday. How are you cele #ReadAcrossAmerica Day is Monday. How are you celebrating literacy? If you need some ideas, consider Reading Across the Diverse Regions of America with titles set in various states. 
Grab the link in bio / on my blog.
bit.ly/heiseRAA2024
#WNDB #ClassroomBookADay #LibraryLife #LibrariansOfInstagram #TeachersOfInstagram
Weekend mindfulness task accomplished.✅ Lego wil Weekend mindfulness task accomplished.✅
Lego wildflower bouquet from the niblings. 💕 Headed to my library tomorrow.💐
Current commute audiobook read. "The Small and the Current commute audiobook read. "The Small and the Mighty is the encouragement we all need in an age of doomscrolling and division."
Being reminded of our common humanity & inspired by the hope of it all from America's Government Teacher™️ @sharonsaysso. ❤️🤍💙
#amreading #audiobook #bookaday #ReadingWithMyEars
Wishing I was back here with @jenseiler79 & @msgue Wishing I was back here with @jenseiler79 & @msguerrette!!🫶🏻 Holding tight to the small joys & friendships that will get us through to the other side of all of this.
Kicking off #BlackHistoryMonth with @elaineweltero Kicking off #BlackHistoryMonth with @elainewelteroth's More Than Enough for this week's commute audiobook.
#WNDB #LibraryLife #HeiseReads
It's the start of #BlackHistoryMonth & one way you It's the start of #BlackHistoryMonth & one way you can support diverse books and ensuring that we continue to have Black creatives in publishing is by reading, recommending, sharing, reviewing, and purchasing their books. And if sharing read aloud videos, please seek out ones that abide by copyright and don't take away from their ability to earn an income from their writing & art.
Due to committee commitments this year, I can't post about 2025 books, but I can share my resource from last year. This Virtual Picture Book Read Aloud Library is a Google Slideshow covering 233 titles, in 7 categories, with book covers linking directly to copyright-compliant video read alouds of recommended picture books. 
Categories include:
(a purposeful, intentional start with positive portrayals)
Black Joy & Magic
Families
Natural Hair
Empowering Stories
Black History
Excellence / Innovators / History Makers (Biographies)
Racial / Community Awareness
Use for February and any month! 
Blog Post: heisereads.com/bhm2024-ralib/
Shop Link: bit.ly/heisebhm2024
#ClassroomBookADay #WNDB #LibraryLife #KidLit  #TeachersOfInstagram #LibrariansOfInstagram #TeachersFollowTeachers #HeiseReads
The most exciting day of the year is here - it's t The most exciting day of the year is here - it's the ALA Youth Media Awards announcements! And we get to be in the room where it happens! 
This is like the Oscars / Super Bowl / "whatever big award honor thing you can think of" for the children's literature community.
An extra exciting way to head into the start of my Caldecott Committee year. 🏅
#ALAYMA25 #ALALLX25 #NerdyBookClub #LibraryLife #HeiseReads
Current status. Writing & finalizing #NCTE25 propo Current status.
Writing & finalizing #NCTE25 proposals poolside at my parents' house in PHX with @msguerrette & @jenseiler79 before heading back down to #ALALLX25 this afternoon.
It's too cold to have school, but it's perfect tim It's too cold to have school, but it's perfect timing to get to stay home curled up under my @unhide Marshmallow Blanket in my @softiespjs Marshmallow Slouch Turtleneck Lounger on Onyx Storm release day. 
#amreading #OnyxStorm #bookaday #HeiseReads
Follow @heisereads on Instagram
Copyright © 2025 · Website Design By Jumping Jax Designs