I wanted to like American Mermaid but found the characters unbelievable (especially the main character) and difficult to relate to. Although the writing was ok I’m not sure I would recommend this one.

**Thanks to NetGally and the publisher for an electronic ARC and the opportunity to provide feedback about this book.

I wanted to like American Mermaid by Julia Langbein. The narrative of the “book within the book” was almost more compelling than the main narrative, but the blending of the two at the end was too much. Thanks to Doubleday and NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Penelope Schleeman, a perpetually cash-strapped high school teacher from Connecticut, experiences profound astonishment when her tender debut novel, "American Mermaid," garners unexpected success. The book tells the story of Sylvia, a wheelchair-bound scientist who unveils a hidden secret: her withered legs conceal the remnants of a powerful tail. The novel soars to bestseller status and Penelope is drawn into the world of Hollywood when she's enticed to LA with the promise of easy money. Her mission: to co-write the "American Mermaid" screenplay for a major studio, alongside two mediocre male writers.

Under the studio's mounting pressure, Penelope finds herself compelled to transform "American Mermaid" from the tale of a resolute androgynous eco-warrior into a teenage sex symbol donning a clamshell bra. This disconcerting alteration coincides with a series of bizarre occurrences. Threats materialize in the screenplay draft, and seductive siren calls tempt individuals into peril. When Penelope's screenwriting collaborators attempt to eliminate Sylvia entirely in an inauthentic but cinematic climax, the off-screen situation takes a distressing turn.

Sylvia is an intriguing character, and I relished the trajectory of her character within Penny's novel. The parallel storytelling between the two narratives, however, could be demanding, mainly because Penny's novel excerpts are detailed and sometimes overshadow her own storyline. This debut work is undoubtedly an impressive one that will cater to a broad readership. While there's much to admire, personally, I found myself more drawn to the concept and premise of the book than the book itself.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I saw the word Mermaid and I KNEW I needed to read it! What can I say, I'm easily intrigued. It was a book about a novel the FMC wrote. A book within a book y'all!!! Penelope wrote a book about Sylvia who is wheelchair bound because she is unable to use her legs. Her legs aren't legs but a tail! As Penelope is turning her book into film changes are being made to her book and weird things start happening. She is convinced she has basically brought Sylvia to life.

It sounds like a thriller but it isn't. I would classify it is traditional fiction. I felt like I could relate to Penelope even though I am not a writer or prior teacher. The author did a great job writing her character. When Sylvia found out who she really was and started getting confidence and strength in herself it was pretty awesome!

As I always say I NEVER READ THE SYNOPSIS. It is sooo much better to go in to books blind IMO. I enjoyed every minute of this book and am so glad I had the chance to read it early!! Thank you to @doubleday & AUTHOR for an eARC copy of this book.

review will be posted to IG in the next week or two.

This book has a great concept and a strong start, bus as I read more and more, I began to feel lost and I wasn't enjoying the plot.

I love framed stories, naturally I thought I'd enjoy this one (I love mermaids too), but that didn't happen. I started feeling bored and I was only invested in the story inside the story. I forced myself to finish it and I think I shouldn't have done it.

If you decide to read it, I really hope you have better luck than me with this one.

Thank you netgalley and douebleday books for my digital copy.

When a struggling English teacher writes a feminist novel about an androgynous eco-warrior mermaid, it becomes a surprise bestseller and Hollywood comes calling. But when she moves to LA, she’s pressured to change her heroine into a sex object–and she’s not the only one upset about it. It seems her mermaid is ready to take her own revenge on Hollywood.

I had mixed feelings about this book. I didn’t like the main character or the people she met, and it was hard to care about what happened to her. The book-within-a-book was actually more interesting than the main story–but not to the extent that I believed it was a literary sensation.

DNF
I just couldn't click with the protagonist.
My library did purchase the book but it hasn't circulated well.
Thanks to NetGalley for an eARC in exhange for an honest review.

My first time reading this author so it took a while to get used to the writing style. The book in a book concept was interesting once I was able to figure out which was which. Overall it was an enjoyable read.

“What else, Sylvia wondered, am I doing because I still think I’m only human, because it’s the only culture I’ve known? What powers do I have that I’ve simply never used because I’ve never seen them used, never been told I have them?”

“Decisions happen sometimes without being made precisely.”

Ok, this cover 🤩. I couldn’t look away! Was I gifted an ARC from @doubledaybooks? Yep. Was I gifted the audiobook version? Also yep. Did I also buy a print copy because the cover is just so eye catching and stunning that I NEEDED to have it?! 😁 You guessed it! Yep.

But unfortunately that’s where my excitement ends. What was inside this gorgeous cover struggled to hold my interest. The story was ok. I enjoyed the book within a book style for sure. But I don’t know I just found my mind wandering and wondering when it was going I be over 😬.

“She’d spent so long not knowing who she was, and then that night in Boston Harbor, when she swam for the first time, she’d finally had an answer: she was something strong and beautiful.” 🥰

Thank you for the free #audiobook @PRHAudio and @doubledaybooks and @netgalley for the eARC.

This was definitely "sharp" as the reviews allude to. The writing style is edgy and kind of disjointed so it's important to realize up front that the structure feels a bit like a quirky stream of consciousness. I loved the storyline overall and the ironic tone but it was hard for me to follow at times. Overall it was enjoyable and will likely be a popular read. Just important to be able to keep up with the unconventional format! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an eARC of this book!

Including Ig post: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqD6Tuwtgb3/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Such an ambitious novel! Langbein has given us a hilarious and thought-provoking story with multiple layers that reward a patient and open mind. Uses the book-within-a-book structure remarkably well and delivers an affecting story about the intersections of art, business, vision, and compromise.

American Mermaid went to Kauai with me and had a great vacation. I love a book with in a book and this novel serves it up in such a unique way.
Penelope is a former teacher who moves to Los Angeles to co-write the screenplay for her novel. The novel she has written is a feminist, poignant, meaningful story about a mermaid who was found when she was young. And the men she is working with want to turn it into a movie that is none of those things. In Penelope’s book, Sylvia is the mermaid who is “adopted” by the couple who find her, they have her tail turned into legs (that she can’t use), and she’s kind of miserable confined to a wheelchair. In her own LA life, Penelope’s lost her way. Her screenplay is off track, and she’s bouncing from one drunken party to another.
I enjoyed both storylines and the book within the book. Penelope’s life mirrored Sylvia’s in many ways and I liked how both of them wrapped up. It was kind of bonkers, at times I felt like it lost its way a bit, but overall I enjoyed this book. And taking it’s picture on Poipu Beach. 😜

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC. The premise of this book sounded very intriguing, however I really struggled to get into this book. Others may love it, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

I have no idea what I just read 😂.

I started this book earlier in the week, and honestly the writing wasn’t great, and it bounces back and forth between the main story of Penny in LA working on the script for her novel turned movie, and then to the actual novel of a girl who is actually a mermaid.

I don’t have an issue with the back and forth idea where we see snippets of the mermaid novel the main character wrote, but honestly sometimes that was a way more interesting story? And I wanted to just read that?

Penny’s story is supposed to be satire and some sort of Hollywood takedown, but most of the first half of the book is just weird text convos with her co-writers who want to change the story (as we are all aware happens in page to screen) and then she’s at all these parties and I never really got why and she’s meeting all these weird people and weird stuff keeps happening to her.

And her family is republican and their involvement via phone call is a thing for the first half of the book. But then we get to like 60-70% and the weirdest stuff starts happening, and the novel and the main storyline start like…merging? Some of the chapters no longer had the POV labeled and I started to get confused. And again, the main characters mermaid novel storyline was way more interesting.

It was all just sort of weird. Really slow and dragging in the beginning. There’s some funny moments later on, a lot of what the hell is happening? Also what even was Derek’s purpose? Like, I was so confused 😂.

I don’t know what else to say. I didn’t love it, I sort of disliked it but also felt like maybe I just didn’t understand some sort of underlying message it was supposed to be saying? It was really weird. But the cover is pretty.

Thank you @netgalley and Doubleday Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Honestly, you will either love AMERICAN MERMAID or hate it; I don’t think there is an in-between for Julia Langbein’s novel. I loved the cover, but what was inside did not impress me to love it like I did the cover.

This is a neat book because it’s essentially a novel within a novel. We read Penelope’s life and then the story she has written. At times, I was more invested in one over the other, which made it difficult to read because it switched between the life and the novel in every other chapter. It was creative and insightful parallels, but, to be honest, I would sometimes skim a chapter to get to the plot I was more interested in.

While it was a creative book and well-written, in the end, it didn’t pay off for me. I was like, “oh, I finished AMERICAN MERMAID,” and moved on to the next book. I didn’t feel a need to tell people about it or want to talk about it. I was in a bookstore with a friend, and it wasn’t until I visually saw the book that I remembered I needed to write a review.

It’s nothing to remember but a pretty cover.

CW: ableism, suicide attempt, chronic illness, body horror, drug use, medical trauma

I couldn’t get into it. It was confusing, a book written about writing a book then making that book into a movie…

Some parts were funny tho I’ll give it that

The concept of American Mermaid, with the main character adapting her book into a screenplay, was a fun twist on the book within a book concept. The story takes an exciting turn when strange things start to happen as the screenplay deviates more and more from the original book. This was a plot line I hadn't seen before, and I was excited to breeze through the book. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

I found the beginning of the book to be engaging and well crafted, but as the book wore on, I became less and less interested in the plot and characters. I only finished the book because it's difficult for me to leave a book unfinished these days. I really liked author Julia Langbein's writing style and would definitely read more of her work, but American Mermaid was only ok, in my opinion. While this definitely won't go down on my list of favorites, I encourage anyone who is interested to give it a try!

American Mermaid is a book within a book, and I loved the premise. But it was not my cup of tea. I loved the story line around Sylvia, her disability because I am a parent of two who have a disability. But I had a hard time following this one. It seemed like it was long winded, but it was wholly original and interesting.

This is both my typical read lately, but I am sure glad I picked it up. It flowed really well, and I found myself really enjoying it. Turned out to be a very quick read. A+ for creativity.