Mermaid by Michelene Esposito

For eight-year old May and her older sister Kate, the day that their mother commits suicide is a day that changes them forever. Unwilling to let that tragedy destroy them, each girl makes her own path through life. May grows up to be responsible and watchful, while Kate becomes reckless and dangerous.

Then one day Kate disappears and it is up to May to take a journey through her mother's past in order to find her. May's journey will not only lead her to Kate, but to the discovery of the choices and compromises, emptiness and fullness, the beauty and the pain of love that all women must face.