Kiera Cass Gets a Second Chance at a First Novel With The Siren
An ancient debt. A forbidden romance. A heroine blessed, and cursed, with seductive powers that could save her life…if they don’t destroy her.
If you’re a fan of Kiera Cass’s The Selection, all of this probably sounds familiar in the best possible way. But that just goes to show that long before the Bachelor–meets–Hunger Games action of that series made her a YA star, Cass had found her ultimate wheelhouse as a writer of stories that speak to teenage girls—and to a world that’s simultaneously fascinated by and fearful of them.
The Siren
Hardcover $19.99
The Siren
By Kiera Cass
In Stock Online
Hardcover $19.99
That’s why we’re so excited about The Siren, a polished update of Cass’s very first, self-published book. The Siren tells the story of Kahlen, a young woman who was saved from drowning in order to join the ranks of the Ocean’s mythical temptresses. It’s not the worst deal in the world—100 years of immortality in an impossibly beautiful body, after which Kahlen will be released from service and given a second chance at life on land—but things get complicated when she falls for one of her would-be victims, a human dude named Akinli.
We caught up with Cass by phone to find out more about the rerelease of her first novel, and came away with a few good reasons why you should definitely add this one to your TBR pile.
It’s a rare retelling of an author’s first work.
The Siren was originally written and self-published in 2008, when, as Cass puts it, “I had no idea how to edit.”
“If you look back on something you wrote years ago and still think it’s perfect, you’re failing as a writer,” she said. “I had learned so much, and I was just like, oh, all the things I would have done if I knew what I was doing! It was really cool to get this second chance, to go back and update it.”
Fans of the original shouldn’t worry; the essential story remains the same. But seeing the development of Cass’s craft in this second chance at a first novel is fascinating in its own right.
The original cautionary tale about OMG DANGEROUS FEMALE SEXUALITY becomes all about empowerment.
The conflicted relationship girls have with their bodies and burgeoning sexuality is a familiar theme in Cass’s work, and The Siren not only tackles it head on, but resists pushing the idea that there’s only one right way to handle it.
“Teenage girls have a hard time of it,” the author said. “No matter what you do, your gender and your sexuality will always be used as a card against you in some way. So to own it, to use it, to have some control over it—the girls in this book do that in different ways. I think it’s cool to explore the different ways you see yourself, and other girls see themselves, and not judge them for it. Because we’re told to do that, to give other girls a hard time. Literature is a safe place to explore that.”
The love story isn’t about infatuation, it’s about love—and not just the romantic kind.
The Siren has all the dishy, delicious trappings of a supernatural romance, but its swoonworthy love interest isn’t just a cute boy; he’s a good man, and his connection with the heroine is refreshingly real and healthy.
“Akinli wants to know Kahlen. He wants to make jokes and make her laugh, and it’s only when that happens, when it goes past a physical, superficial thing, that it becomes real for her,” Cass explained.
Not only that, but The Siren is ultimately much bigger and broader than a boy-meets-girl romance. If you’ve been looking for a great supernatural love story in which the female friendships aren’t overlooked or underdeveloped, this is the one: As important as Akinli is, Kahlen’s connection with her sister Sirens and powerful matriarch is just as rich, and just as vital—as is the relationship she develops with herself.
That’s why we’re so excited about The Siren, a polished update of Cass’s very first, self-published book. The Siren tells the story of Kahlen, a young woman who was saved from drowning in order to join the ranks of the Ocean’s mythical temptresses. It’s not the worst deal in the world—100 years of immortality in an impossibly beautiful body, after which Kahlen will be released from service and given a second chance at life on land—but things get complicated when she falls for one of her would-be victims, a human dude named Akinli.
We caught up with Cass by phone to find out more about the rerelease of her first novel, and came away with a few good reasons why you should definitely add this one to your TBR pile.
It’s a rare retelling of an author’s first work.
The Siren was originally written and self-published in 2008, when, as Cass puts it, “I had no idea how to edit.”
“If you look back on something you wrote years ago and still think it’s perfect, you’re failing as a writer,” she said. “I had learned so much, and I was just like, oh, all the things I would have done if I knew what I was doing! It was really cool to get this second chance, to go back and update it.”
Fans of the original shouldn’t worry; the essential story remains the same. But seeing the development of Cass’s craft in this second chance at a first novel is fascinating in its own right.
The original cautionary tale about OMG DANGEROUS FEMALE SEXUALITY becomes all about empowerment.
The conflicted relationship girls have with their bodies and burgeoning sexuality is a familiar theme in Cass’s work, and The Siren not only tackles it head on, but resists pushing the idea that there’s only one right way to handle it.
“Teenage girls have a hard time of it,” the author said. “No matter what you do, your gender and your sexuality will always be used as a card against you in some way. So to own it, to use it, to have some control over it—the girls in this book do that in different ways. I think it’s cool to explore the different ways you see yourself, and other girls see themselves, and not judge them for it. Because we’re told to do that, to give other girls a hard time. Literature is a safe place to explore that.”
The love story isn’t about infatuation, it’s about love—and not just the romantic kind.
The Siren has all the dishy, delicious trappings of a supernatural romance, but its swoonworthy love interest isn’t just a cute boy; he’s a good man, and his connection with the heroine is refreshingly real and healthy.
“Akinli wants to know Kahlen. He wants to make jokes and make her laugh, and it’s only when that happens, when it goes past a physical, superficial thing, that it becomes real for her,” Cass explained.
Not only that, but The Siren is ultimately much bigger and broader than a boy-meets-girl romance. If you’ve been looking for a great supernatural love story in which the female friendships aren’t overlooked or underdeveloped, this is the one: As important as Akinli is, Kahlen’s connection with her sister Sirens and powerful matriarch is just as rich, and just as vital—as is the relationship she develops with herself.