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hocuscrocus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Unfortunately, the book lost me in part 2. It's a lovely story, but it felt like too far a meander from the gut punch that was part one. If it were up to me, I would have had just the first part, about half of the third part, and the epilogue.
All that said, I whipped through this book like wildfire.
Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: Infertility and Abortion
tetrootz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Abortion, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
ekgraham's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy
Minor: Abortion
kelshenka's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
mementomoriiv's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood
Moderate: Physical abuse
karina_dreamsinwords's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Shark Heart follows newlyweds Wren and Lewis as they navigate life after Lewis’ life altering diagnosis where he turns into a great white shark over the course of nine months.
I KNOW what you’re thinking, because I thought it too before picking this up. “Why would I want to read a book like that?” Well my friend, that’s because this is more than just that.. it’s a tale of marriage, motherhood, metamorphosis & letting go.
We see Wren care for Lewis is ways that display true love, as she has to learn to care for him during his transition. The love between the two never falters and watching Wren do everything she can for the love of her life was beautiful, heart wrenching, yet inspirational at the same time.
”The surface of love was a feeling, but beyond this thin layer, there was a fathomless, winding maze of caverns offering many places to see and explore. Wren used to think romantic passion only grew more intense in the depths. But this belief was naive and impractical, a by-product of a certainty-obsessed culture that equates love with longing and views ambivalence as a fatal flaw.
Wren saw that now how passion was delicate and temporary, a visitor, a feeling that would come and go. Feelings fled under pressure; feelings did not light the darkness. What remained strong in the deep, the hard times, was love as an effort, a doing, a conscious act of will. Soulmates, like her and Lewis, were not theoretical and found. They were tangible, built.”
I had to share the whole scene to showcase the absolute beauty that Habeck brings forth through these pages. This story. These characters.
The author managed to weave together this story so beautifully. I am in awe at this debut, how this all came together and how much this story touched me. The exploration of motherhood, love and hope was done so well. I applaud Habeck’s creative genius for delivering such a strange novel that has so much heart at its core. I know I’ll be revisiting this book to relive this story again.💙
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, and Grief
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
aksmith92's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
"Will you let me stand beside you on your plot of earth? We'll tell the weeds to grow tall around our ankles, and when the wind gives us sycamore seeds, we'll raise them as sprouts, seedlings, saplings until they overpower, shade, and nurture us. Our trees will grow for two hundred years or more as our union becomes even more unquestionable and strong. Unquestionable because no one will remember a time when we were not creating our universe. Strong because trees two hundred years old have been great witnesses to it all. Then, one day, we’ll die gladly into the soil we shared, and fungi will take over what was once our bodies. Bouquets of mushrooms, little families, will mark the place of our lives.”
Overall, this book stood out for its unique narrative style, weaving battles of grief, illness, transformation, and change into a tapestry of strange yet poignant events.
The Setup: Wren and Lewis have been married for an extremely short period of time when Lewis receives an unexpected diagnosis after experiencing some odd symptoms: Lewis is turning into a great white shark. Animal mutation is simply part of the story here, and mostly everyone knows someone who has transformed into an animal. There are hospitals for specific animal mutations - Lewis to go into Ocean 1 first. The novel is broken up into three parts: (1) The love story between Wren and Lewis and their journey from when Lewis receives his diagnosis to when he has to be released into the ocean, (2) A flashback from Wren's family and life before Lewis, and (3) Back to present day in Wren and Lewis's new lives. Some of the story is told in play form, and other parts are just plain ole' literary fiction.
What I Loved: Truly, this was one of the more unique stories I've read. Emily Habeck's prose was original and lovely. It seemed that she had a love for poetry and theater and wove those into the sentence structure here. I did have some minor qualms with it along the way, but I truly loved her unique voice and the storytelling. This novel was innovative and intriguing and kept me vested. The characters had distinct voices and their own personalities (which I always look for in books), and I felt their emotions and overall development throughout the novel. The idea of animal mutation was something I hadn't read about before; I appreciated the thoughtfulness around this illness and how it could be connected with plenty of our own diseases (e.g., Alzheimer's, dementia, cancer, etc.) in this world. This story tugged heavily on my heartstrings and made me think a lot about love and change and family and personal growth. I really, really enjoyed this book and believe that it will sit with me for a long time.
What Kept It From 5 Stars? This is likely a me thing, but I sometimes struggle with literary fiction. I find this hard to do, and rarely can an author ultimately achieve it if they are writing literary fiction - sometimes, the sentences and flow feel forced. It's like Emily Habeck was trying deeply to be profound. A dramatic flare popped up every so often where I didn't think it needed to. While I loved the prose, don't get me wrong, once in a while, I wanted to be like, "It's not that deep, Emily Habeck." It was rare enough that it didn't impact the entire reading experience, and once again, overall, I enjoyed this book. However, it was still there, lurking every so often.
I will put a spoiler on this because while I found it predictable, it isn't the most obvious:
Please know BEFORE reading this story - if you are very much into Science Fiction, Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, or the intricacies/details of Magical Realism, and you expect this book to scratch that itch - it WON'T! This is a literary fiction book at its core, and I am finding some reviews of people who didn't enjoy this book that much because they had the wrong expectations of it. I went in knowing it was literary fiction very well; therefore, I think that mindset helped my overall experience with the book. Yes, it had a bit of a magical realism component, but it's not detailed or explained - it's just part of the narrative—food for thought as you decide if you want to read this book. I still recommend you do it because it's excellent!
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found myself shedding some tears, laughing at moments, and intrigued by the storytelling and closure. I found this to be quite well done for a debut novel, and I look forward to seeing what Emily Habeck comes out with next.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood and Gaslighting
theyellowbrickreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Abortion
lauren_shilling's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, and Pregnancy
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Abortion
megan_mac_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
2.25
Best part for me was Margaret B Finnegan 😂
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
Minor: Infertility and Miscarriage