The mermaids of Lake Michigan : a novel

Elise Faulkner is more at home in the waters of her beloved Lake Michigan than on land where her beauty queen mom is always on her back about her lack of a social life; her sister is dating the boy of her dreams; her favorite penpal--the one who wrote about mermaids in Ghana--has gotten married and ended their correspondence; and no one's allowed to talk about her glamorous great-grandmother, the deep-sea wreck diver. Elise is biding her time with books until she can flee. But then crazy Chiara Hanover pops into her life, as does Miguel, a mysterious carnival worker whose dark future has been predicted by a gypsy. Suzanne Kamata is an American, but she has lived in Japan for over half of her life. During that time, she has modeled for a textbook cover, done the voiceover for a TV commercial, and planted trees with the Emperor. She has also written many books and won many awards. Besides reading and writing, she loves chocolate, cats, and figure skating. "A teenaged Elise Faulkner feels more at home in water than on land--where her beauty queen mom is constantly criticizing her and her sister is dating the boy of her dreams--until crazy Chiara Hanover comes into her life and leads her to Miguel, a mysterious carnival worker whose dark future has been predicted by a gypsy"--Publisher's website