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heshanks'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
5.0
Excellent use of silence/blank space
I often get tired of format swapping, but this moves between narrative prose and play scenes and does it to *fantastic* effect.
Main characters encounter peril but do not perish.
Weird premise, beautifully told.
Graphic: Terminal illness, Pregnancy, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Abortion, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Medical content, Body horror, and Death of parent
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: Blood, Dementia, Violence, Chronic illness, Medical content, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Animal death, Death, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: Abortion and Infertility
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: Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Body horror, Blood, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Medical trauma, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Drug use
Minor: Miscarriage, Abortion, Infertility, Infidelity, Alcohol, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Alcoholism
gpfot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Pregnancy, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Mental illness
stefcornell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
4.25
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death of parent, Grief, Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, and Suicide attempt
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: Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Gaslighting and Blood
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
"Shark Heart" is a heartbreaking story that explores the depths of love and commitment we have for those around us. Lewis and Wren are living their happily ever after and are still in their honeymoon phase of being newlyweds when Lewis receives a strange diagnosis. Lewis will remember mostly everything about himself, but his body will evolve into a great white shark. Wren tries to cope with slowly losing her husband and seeks solace with a pregnant woman who is going through her own situation with someone she loves becoming an animal.
This book was strange, but not necessarily in a bad way. I think this world in which people slowly turn into animals is a great metaphor for losing people to terminal diseases. Wren is experiencing the same feelings someone might feel if they found out their husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Wren is slowly losing her husband, and there is nothing she can do to stop it. She can be his caretaker until he becomes too difficult in his primal state, and she will have to say goodbye.
This is not the first experience Wren has had with people turning into animals, and the novel does explore some of her older memories to provide more narrative on more experiences of what it is like to lose someone to this horrid disease. In this world, not every person becomes the same animal, and some animals are easier to handle than others, allowing people more time with their loved ones.
Although I think this is a beautiful story that really explores love, memory, and identity in a poetic way, it did not land for me. I was never fully invested in Wren's story, and I am not 100% sure why. My heart went out to Wren, and I felt her devastation at watching her husband slowly change, but I was never captivated enough in her story to want more.
This is an interesting book and a great run at a debut.
Graphic: Death, Pregnancy, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Blood, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Violence
miyapomeroy'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? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Medical trauma and Medical content
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, and Medical content
Minor: Abortion
agucwa's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Grief and Terminal illness
Minor: Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Pandemic/Epidemic, Body horror, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Animal death, Abortion, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
mxyfrzn'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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Dementia
Moderate: Blood, Domestic abuse, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, and Physical abuse
Minor: Abortion, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Rape, Animal death, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Suicidal thoughts