Should you read the “Mermaid Princess Amelia” fantasy series by Maxine Foti if you love the Hunger Games?
Written by Mermaid Mara
Mermaid Princess Amelia is a travel fantasy novel, narrating adventures of a mermaid princess hunting artifacts; the Hunger Games is a dystopian novel about a survivor of a killing game taking place in an oppressive regime.
It would look like, “Mermaid Princess Amelia” and the “Hunger Games” don’t have anything in common, but is that really so?
Katniss Everdeen vs Amelia Quintana
“The Hunger Games” is a novel characterized by very strong leading hero. Katniss Everdeen is a fearless young woman, who volunteers to take part in the killing game instead of her sister Primrose. She hates pretty dresses, and claims that she’s not good at “friends.” Not very talkative, she mostly keeps to herself, and can’t even trust her partner, Peeta, although in the end, she develops feelings for him. She’s an expert with bow and spear, and she’s not afraid to fight and kill, to ensure her survival and the safety of everyone she loves, e.g. Rue. And of course, she comes out as a victor.
Even though Amelia Quintana belongs to a completely different world, she’s surprisingly similar. She gets chosen as the mermaid princess of Antemidia, because she voluntarily took part in an election. When Jet Mir asked her to sign a contract to save her best friend, she didn’t think twice, putting the girl’s life above hers. Once she signed for the mission, she continued it bravely until the very end, courageously taking responsibility for her actions.
As a private person, Amelia doesn’t care much about pretty dresses and has trouble making new friends. She doesn’t care for romance too much, yet might have a crush on her karate partner. She’s got a combative spirit and loves martial arts, with her primary discipline being ASA – Antemidian Striking Art.
Last but not least, she faces different dangers in the course of the novel: she survives an earthquake, swims to her sister’s spooky kingdom, and fights ancient demons. Despite everything, she comes out as a victor.
The beauty of sisterly love
“The Hunger Games” tell the beautiful story of sisterly love between Katniss and Primrose. In “Mermaid Princess Amelia,” we’ve got similar tales. Step-sisters Amelia and Lumina were separated early, but destiny reunited them. At first, they were rivals and enemies, but over time, it turned out that Lumina had an aim in fighting Amelia. She did it to protect Amelia from danger. Lumina had the goal of avenge their mother, but she didn’t want Amelia to put her life at risk. Lumina’s desire to protect her sister, was really moving.
Then, there’s also the beautiful story of Mewa and Sawa, true sisters who both fled their mermaid kingdom to pursue their dream lives. You can read more about them here.
Protecting the weaker ones
In the “Hunger Games,” there’s a strong message of our duty to stand up for weaker ones. Katniss first volunteered to protect her sister. Then, she helped both Rue and Peeta. Katniss never turned her back from a good person who was less fortunate. She had empathy for everybody, and this could be seen in the hospital scenes later in the series.
“Mermaid Princess Amelia” is a story written in similar spirit. Even though Jet Mir’s mission requires Amelia to fight against innocent characters (a lot like Katniss), when she sees someone in imminent danger, she does everything that she can to rescue them, even if it puts her at rish. She revealed her mermaid identity to Hansuke, to help him from drowning, and she also went on a lonely journey to the Mausoleum of Lost Symphonies, to save Kamadia.
Panem vs Antemidia
Katniss was born in Panem, a nationalist country divided in several districts. Some were very poor, others – insanely rich. Panem was ruled by President Snow, and controlled by the military. Nobody, not even those close to President Snow, had a saying in the future destiny of Panem, and over time, Katniss became a propaganda marionette: first for the regime, and then, for the guerilla.
Amelia is from Antemidia, a mermaid kingdom. Antemidia is naturally divided into three rings, and the central one, is the richest, while outer ones, seem poorer. Antemidia is ruled by General Asvald, the chief of a Council of Generals. He’s the real ruler, and she’s just his marionette which doesn’t have any powers in telling the future of Antemidia. Also, Antemidia is a country that suffered much during war with Atlantis, and their mantra is “do not forget.”
Even though different, the two countries are connected by pervasive themes of nationalism. Also, both Amelia and Katniss play marionette-like roles in these large, powerful regimes.
Fights to death and bloody massacres
In the “Hunger Games,” a group of teenagers was forced to take part in a killing game for the entertainment of the spectator’s. In “Mermaid Princess Amelia,” there aren’t such subplots. However, it is worth mentioning that Antemidia had its own fights to death. When Amelia speaks about her favorite martial art, she mentions that in the past, people from her country killed each other in combat, just for victory, honor and pride.
Also, the grim history of the Mausoleum of Lost Symphonies, shows us an environment very similar to the Games’ arena. We have demons and a group of prisoners, locked in a secluded, ancient building, filled with mass graves and other creepy features. Nobody can leave because of highly complicated door mechanisms. Once Amelia finds herself trapped in there, she’s got to think of a smart way to free herself, and everyone else.
An unforeseen love triangle
In the beginning of “Hunger Games,” Katniss’ love interest was Gale. However, as she volunteered to take part in the games, she slowly moved away from him, and began developing feelings for her partner, Peeta.
In Mermaid Princess Amelia, we have a similar subplot. Amelia is best friends with a servant from her court, an Antemidian merman named Tony. They weren’t a couple per se, but their friends joked about them being in love with each other, which none of them denied. Still, because of Tony’s frequent professional trips, and Amelia’s mission, the two get separated, and Amelia ended up developing a crush on her karate partner, Taisuke… Which will definitely lead to complicated situations in the next books.
Surprising, wasn’t it? Very. But as you can see, the two famous novels have much more in common than it’d appear at a first glance! Several story elements overlap, and if you loved them in the “Hunger Games” series, you will love them in “Mermaid Princess Amelia!”
Related articles:
- Amelia Quintana- the main character of “Mermaid Princess Amelia and the Lost Symphony”
- The sisterly relationship between Amelia Quintana and Lumina Mond
- Amelia Quintana’s potential love interests in “Mermaid Princess Amelia and the Lost Symphony”
- Antemidia (The Caribbean Sea)
- 5 Top Reasons People Choose, Buy and Read “Mermaid Princess Amelia and the Lost Symphony”
Grab your copy of “Mermaid Princess Amelia and the Lost Symphony” here…
English: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08T6BJ6RG
Spanish: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08Z8GK1JX
Italian: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0953PN3Y7
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