Review of “Maxzyne Goes Aquamarine” by Caroline Lee

Score: 93/100 (9.3 out of 10)

Maxzyne Goes Aquamarine is a fun, adventure-filled middle-grade fantasy novel by Caroline Lee!

The book follows sixth-grader Maxzyne Merriweather, one of those people who “doesn't work well with others” and tends to excel in group projects on her own, preferring to let her creativity and outside-the-box thinking do the talking. As fate would have it, she is assigned to Oliver Martin, the book's know-it-all deuteragonist, a nerdy and overbearing CPR partner. Anyone who has had annoying, uncooperative, or useless group project partners can probably relate to both leads.

In a quest to fulfill a small, little CPR certification, the two stumble into a much bigger, multifaceted crisis that requires them to work together and accept a little bit of the magical, supernatural, mythical, and fantastical!

They soon meet mermaid-like creatures (the freshwater variety being referred to as “Naiaids”), including their queen, Glenys, and her sister, Mira, who reveal that the ecosystems of Liliana Springs & Liliana Lagoon on in peril from multiple sides!

There are actually two major conflicts that keep this book exciting, dramatic, and interesting. On one hand, there is an evil crone—a sea hag—named Sereia who is usurping control of the Liliana waters to be crowned the “Queen of the Aquamarine.” Sereia is arguably the star of the book. She is a charismatic, somewhat-goofy, somewhat-hokey, somewhat-cheesy, yet somehow-still-threatening lead villain. Think of her like Yzma from The Emperor's New Groove or Queen Malagant from A Tale of Witches and Wyverns by S. Ramsey.

There are times when she's menacing (like ordering zombie crabs and snapping turtles to attack the other characters), and there are actually times when she's a bit sympathetic and relatable. Case in point: her motivation for everything she's doing is actually because she's desperate to stay young and beautiful, having been exceptionally gorgeous in her youth. She clings to this like a lot of us would and actually weeps tears that form anemones, which is a nice touch.

It helps to have a well-rounded villain like this.

One of the interesting discussion questions posed at the back of the book is why Sereia calls out the protagonists for speaking disrespectfully to her while being disrespectful herself. The question is raised (to paraphrase): Who is worthy of respect? Are there exceptions?

It made us think of the line from Game of Thrones by Tywin Lannister to Joeffrey: “Any man who must say 'I am the king' is no true king.”

Furthermore, respect begets respect. We tend to follow and respect people who lead by example: people who keep their word, value us, and want the best for us (i.e. most parents and grandparents). We ultimately push back against tyrants and self-serving individuals (people like Sereia). She seems to want to be Queen for her own sake, not to make the lagoon any better.

Anyway, this book also has a strong environmentalist message, particularly addressing the problems presented by plastic pollution and by corporate greed leading to exploitation and depletion of natural resources. In this sense (along with its aquatic setting), this book is a lot like Eye of the Turtle by Gloria Barnett, though much more lighthearted and—arguably—fun.

Another villain in this book is the Westbrook Bottling Company, which wants to exploit the springs for its freshwater while also adding to the environment's mounting plastic pollution problem.

There is literally a Waterbottle Mountain in this book, which serves as the setting for one of its best action scenes.

We do kinda wish that the two conflicts could've collided or been conflated better. Like, maybe Sereia could've used her power and influence to resist or compete against the Westbrook Bottling Company, which is—in all honesty—a threat to her goals (and vice-versa). We were really close to seeing a clash between magic and technology, which also would've been cool.

Maxzyne is a fun main protagonist, especially with how snarky she can be. She playfully teases Oliver throughout the book, though gradually seems to gain respect and appreciation for him.

Oliver is also a good character in that his structured intelligence and book smarts come in handy. There's a nice contrast between Maxzyne's street smarts and Oliver's book smarts. Perhaps Oliver's best moment is when he figures out that Lidocaine can be used to make helping another character more manageable.

Twain is also a cool character—maybe a nominee for “Coolest Character.” Twain is a fire-salamander who is being extorted by Sereia, but ultimately means well. Twain kinda reminded us of Thetrasat, the snake man, from Codex Sohrakia by K.M. Taylor. They actually talk similarly, with a unique hiss.

This is a fun middle-grade action-adventure novel.

Check it out on Amazon!