Vivid characters, a dash of romance, and ratcheted-up stakes keep readers invested in Bernstein’s gripping coming-of-age novel. Sixteen-year-old Ell Gossamer has always struggled with her human-mermaid hybrid identity. When Ahr and Per, her two mothers, mysteriously disappear, Ell is quick to realize that her own life is also in danger. She immediately flees home with little more than a mysterious family keepsake, a book called Dreams of Song Times. But the danger is far from over. Bernstein’s writing is assured, pacing swift, and she develops her fantasy settings in vivid detail, with the action picking up later in the novel. Ell is a compelling heroine, relatable in her vulnerabilities as she tries to make sense of herself, her identity, and the world she lives in. This riveting tale, with its convincing plot twists, will satisfy readers who crave something original and unique in their story.  

What Dreams of Song Times does so well, is highlight the individual stories of marginalised people without preaching. It's unequivocal in its approach about the plight of Indigenous Peoples, LGBTQIA+ and Black Lives. It handles, delicately, the way that societal expectations can have repercussions on the lives of immigrants, even within their own communities.

The author takes a variety of hard hitting topics – colonialism, racism, among others – and presents them in an impressively relatable way that helps young adult readers understand the impact of these “isms.” Ell’s voice is very strong, especially notable given the first person narration that both grounds the reader in her story and keeps her own personality still front and center, which can often be difficult to achieve in first person narratives. The prologue is especially impressive as it quickly introduces the reader to Ell while also cluing the reader in to what is to come, creating an eagerness to turn the page to find out what has lead to this moment.