A Review of Coral
Coral has always been different, standing out from her mermaid sisters in a society where blending in is key. Worse yet, she fears she has been afflicted with the dreaded Disease, said to be carried by humans--emotions. Can she face the darkness long enough to surface in the light? Above the sea, Brooke has nothing left to give. Depression and anxiety have left her feeling isolated. Forgotten. The only thing she can rely on is the numbness she finds within the cool and comforting ocean waves. If only she weren't stuck at Fathoms--a new group therapy home that promises a second chance at life. But what's the point of living if her soul is destined to bleed? Merrick may be San Francisco's golden boy, but he wants nothing more than to escape his controlling father. When his younger sister's suicide attempt sends Merrick to his breaking point, escape becomes the only option. If he can find their mom, everything will be made right again--right? When their worlds collide, all three will do whatever it takes to survive, and Coral might even catch a prince in the process. But what--and who--must they leave behind for life to finally begin?
I received this book in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley. I was excited to read a retelling of The Little Mermaid with a modern day, mental health twist. There was a lot promised in the summary I received so I’ve been itching to dig into the story.
The world set up in Coral is a unique and fun twist on the usual mermaid/human dynamic. From the first glimpse into Coral’s life, we see a unique perspective, where words and feelings turn into colors and all emotions are completely outlawed. Her species relationship with emotion and the ominous “Red Tide” the comes along with it really drew me into the story. The worlds of Brooke and Merrick were more familiar and relatable, but still enjoyable to explore.
There was a lot going on in the plot of this story, as you can see from the long summary above. I appreciated the author’s scope of work and her attempt to address mental health concerns in a modern setting, but I’m not convinced that the story played off as intended. The reference to The Little Mermaid felt stretched, even with my knowledge of the original Hans Christian Anderson version, and the subject matter was much darker than I intended when I picked up this book.
With three main characters, all of whom had their own point of view and separate worlds, this novel felt crowded. And since the perspectives shifted from third to first person, depending on whose point of view we were in, I also was left confused, especially in the opening chapters. The changing perspectives also made it difficult to feel connected to any one character, as we didn’t get to spend much time with them.
Coral is heavy book which used The Little Mermaid as a basic template to address mental health and suicide. I do recommend this book to those who are interested in reading about those issues and will not be triggered by scenes that discuss these issues in detail. I’d also warn readers that this is not a traditional adaptation of a fairy tale, so do not pick up this book hoping to read in that genre.