Details:
Title: The Surface Breaks
Author: Louise O'Neill
Publisher: Scholastic
ISBN 13: 978-1407185538
Synopsis:
Deep beneath the sea, off the cold Irish coast, Gaia is a young mermaid who dreams of freedom from her controlling father. On her first swim to the surface, she is drawn towards a human boy. She longs to join his carefree world, but how much will she have to sacrifice? What will it take for the little mermaid to find her voice?
Review:
This was the worst book I have read so far this year. It was sold to me as a feminist retelling of The Little Mermaid but I couldn't see any sign of feminism at all. In fact in the first 100 pages I got really sick of the degrading attitude to women, sexual assault against a minor, the fat shaming and the homophobia. I skim read the rest of the book and it didn't really get any better. The main character seemed to grow a backbone in the last 20 or so pages but only to the extent of deciding revenge against all men was the only way forward. It was lazy, boring writing and there was nothing new or interesting about it. Such a shame as I was really looking forward to it.
This was the worst book I have read so far this year. It was sold to me as a feminist retelling of The Little Mermaid but I couldn't see any sign of feminism at all. In fact in the first 100 pages I got really sick of the degrading attitude to women, sexual assault against a minor, the fat shaming and the homophobia. I skim read the rest of the book and it didn't really get any better. The main character seemed to grow a backbone in the last 20 or so pages but only to the extent of deciding revenge against all men was the only way forward. It was lazy, boring writing and there was nothing new or interesting about it. Such a shame as I was really looking forward to it.
I gave this book 2 out of 5 stars.
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