First published 2010
The narrator lives in a harsh seaside town where her grandfather fills her head with peculiar words as he works his typesetting job. She's awkward but fearless, drawn to a war veteran who returned from Iraq thirteen years older than her and deeply changed by what he saw overseas. Her dead father once told her she came from the water, and she believes completely that she's a mermaid. The old stories warn her that love between mermaids and humans always ends in tragedy, but she can't stop herself from wanting him. Growing up in this remote place hurts too much, and what she does to numb that pain gets her locked up. Her method of escape becomes the kind of story people will retell for generations.
Genres: literary-fiction, fantasy, contemporary, magical-realism
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Iraq, Seaside Town
Period: 21st-century
193 pages · Paperback · Corsair
Content warnings: mental-illness