Reviews

American Mermaid by Julia Langbein

gbrolsma16's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

The premise was intriguing and the addition of excerpts from the fictional book within this book was an unexpected layer. But it felt a little lacking in character development, and sadly that’s because half of the book was the “book”. It was more of a nuisance at times and took away from the main story. It was worth finishing I suppose but the ending felt forced and quick.

literarycrushes's review against another edition

3.0

American Mermaid is a fun & sarcastic takedown of Hollywood adaptation culture, but one that’s very much in on the joke. Penelope is a high school English teacher who wrote a novel for which she received a small advance that she was perfectly happy with… Until an influencer posts her book (also called American Mermaid) on his feed, and she finds herself whisked off the L.A. by her super-agent, Danielle, to co-adapt the film’s screenplay with two interchangeable film-bros named Randy and Murphy.
The novel is told in a semi-experimental style, with some sections told in script dialogue style and interspersed with sections of the faux novel being adapted about an adopted suicidal mermaid. While I thought these variations were interesting, these breaks pulled me out of the story, and I had a difficult time getting back into it. But I absolutely loved Penelope’s rye sarcasm and dry humor in her descriptions of the absurdities of what was happening to her. Her resentment over giving up teaching rivals only her resentment of her father for having the audacity to offer to pay for things even though she’s masquerading as a self-sufficient adult – a valid argument, sure, but one that becomes hilarious in her words. Had fun reading this overall!

tmt99's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

rachelblair's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

hansan537's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

alyhertel7's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

bryn_cavin's review against another edition

dark funny reflective medium-paced

3.25

yell4danielle's review against another edition

emotional funny medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

Very unique story 

madelinerosebrose's review against another edition

3.0

Weird but overall good? Its split between the making of “American mermaid” the movie, and excerpts of the “American mermaid” novel itself. The novel is way more interesting and I would have preferred that story on its own.

trippalli's review against another edition

medium-paced

2.0

A modern take on trauma writing converting literature to movie scripts and the challenges. Strong female character goes through well. Also introducing us to world of mermaids. That is right with confusing relationships, memory gaps and some violence. I would say this book was not my cup of tea but others might like it and it was really feminist which was nice