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aksmith92's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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.
Content Warnings
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
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Abortion
lauren_shilling's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- 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
This book blew me away. I had just gotten out of a reading slump, so I was a little wary of picking up a book that was this long, as I tend to stick with shorter books when I'm recovering from a slump. However, I decided to read it anyway because it was a five star prediction, and it had been calling to me for a while now. I am so glad I chose to pick it up! It was a five star, as I predicted, and I am so happy about that! This book was heartbreaking and beautiful and just full of so much emotion. I loved all of the characters, and I loved seeing all of the stories that unfold over the course of this book. Wren and Angela were my clear favorite characters, I thought their stories were told beautifully, and I felt so much for them and their experiences. I think hearing most of Wren's story and her experience with her husband's mutation into a great white shark was so heartbreaking, and then when we hear her mother, Angela's story, it tied so much more of Wren's character together while also allowing us to get to know another woman who's story is just as impactful. Everything about this book was incredibly executed, and I loved every second of it. It's also super quick to get through! There are a lot of pages, but the chapters are very short. The longest one is only about three or four pages long. A lot of them aren't even a full page long. This not only makes this book a quicker read than you might think because of the page count, but it also lends itself really well to this story. I think for me, the honest simplicity of how it was told make the very complex emotions and experiences I was reading about seem so real. I'm not really sure how to explain it, but it was so well done. It's a very honest book, and it feels so real, even as it talks about things that don't happen in the real world. I felt every second of this story, and it was so incredibly well done. Probably one of the best books I'll read this year.
Content Warnings
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
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
2.25
this book was not for me. I get what the author tried to do, but to me it wasn't successful. I was annoyed at a lot and overall didn't really enjoy the reading of it. Kind of a bummer.
Best part for me was Margaret B Finnegan 😂
Best part for me was Margaret B Finnegan 😂
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
Minor: Infertility and Miscarriage
tabookish's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
agucwa's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness and Grief
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
mxyfrzn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Abortion, and Pandemic/Epidemic
mdavis26's review against another edition
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
breanneporter's review
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I’m not totally sure how to rate this one. It’s a very quick read and an interesting concept written in a fairly unique style, but I’m not sure I’ll be taking much away from it, and I was a bit disappointed by the ending. Shark Heart takes place in an alternate version of our timeline where humans can undergo mutations into other animals, and follows newlywed 35-year-olds, Lewis and Wren as Lewis transforms into a great white shark. It flashes back and forward through time, to both Wren’s and Lewis’ (but mostly Wren’s) childhoods and young adulthoods, and shows us the before, during, and after effects of Lewis’ transformation.
It’s certainly a whacky concept but it was an interesting thought experiment and I liked the format of the novel, which had short chapters and various “scenes,” as if from a play that Lewis was writing. I really liked Wren’s backstory and how her past was gradually revealed to us. I was engaged and interested to keep reading, but was disappointed by the ending.I didn’t particularly like Lewis’ final chapters, taking place in the ocean with the other human-turned-shark character, which I found just slightly too strange and cringey (I think the exaggerated audio narration may have played a part in this assessment) I also think the ending was a cop-out, with Wren being surprised by a pregnancy and giving birth to a daughter that becomes her whole reason for living. I’m not sure what it really said about love and grief in the end, or perhaps I’m just not sure it said anything new or interesting about either one. Also I hated the tiny pregnant woman storyline so much.
All in all it’s a fairly enjoyable short read and time will tell if it leaves a larger impression on me.
It’s certainly a whacky concept but it was an interesting thought experiment and I liked the format of the novel, which had short chapters and various “scenes,” as if from a play that Lewis was writing. I really liked Wren’s backstory and how her past was gradually revealed to us. I was engaged and interested to keep reading, but was disappointed by the ending.
All in all it’s a fairly enjoyable short read and time will tell if it leaves a larger impression on me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
emilywemily6's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was weird and intriguing and I couldn’t put this book down. I loved how the book has some theatrical scenes sprinkled in. I could really see how Lewis and Wren fell for each other, they loved each other so much. I loved the prose and the questions it brought up (explicitly or implicitly) about love, change, and terminal illness. While I appreciated Angela’s story, I wish it hadn’t felt so separate from Lewis and Wren’s story; it kind of took me out of the book a little, especially with how much time was spent on Angela’s life before Wren was born. Though by the end of that section I saw how it was all connected; I wish the author had taken a different direction in connecting these stories together. And I loved the ending but wanted more! I will think about this book for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic