Book excerpt: Normal is Never Coming Back Jade is totally confused. As in, "will this be a leg-day or a tail-day?" kind of confused. Even worse, it's been forever since her first kiss with Luke and now—nothing. Not even a text message. Sigh. But Jade doesn't have time to figure out the weirdness of boys and how to use her shiny new tail. (Seriously, being a mermaid should come with a handbook.) She has to come up with a plan to get her missing mermaid mom back on dry land. The only problem is...Jade is afraid of the ocean. But even aqua-phobic mer-girls have to take the plunge sometime... Praise for Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings: "Bravo to Hélène Boudreau for hitting the bull's-eye with a fresh, affectionate, watery twist on the classic coming-of-age-story."—New York Journal of Books "The author keeps suspense high...while tapping straight into young teens' angst about friends, enemies, and boys."—Kirkus Reviews