This book was AWESOME for me because I love mermaids. After reading this Alice at Heart, I desperately wanted to believe that this is a true story. The way Ms. Smith told Alice's tale, it felt more like a chronicle of real people rather than a make-believe world.
Alice always knew she was different. She has webbed feet. (As a side note, as a water lover, I had wanted webbed feet.) She's also able to be in water longer than others. When she is brought into a world of her "kind", I yearned to be part of this world. I wanted to be able to have telepathy. I liked how this story wasn't about evil sirens or even a man versus mermaid end of the world crisis.
I recommend this book to mermaid lovers. Be careful, you may end up wanting to be a mermaid too.