Coral

Title: Coral

Author: Sara Ella

Genre: YA

Publishing Date: Nov 12, 2019

Length: 384 pages

About the Book:

There is more than one way to drown.

Coral has always been different, standing out from her mermaid sisters in a society where blending in is key. Worse yet, she fears she has been afflicted with the dreaded Disease, said to be carried by humans—emotions. Can she face the darkness long enough to surface in the light?

Above the sea, Brooke has nothing left to give. Depression and anxiety have left her feeling isolated. Forgotten. The only thing she can rely on is the numbness she finds within the cool and comforting ocean waves. If only she weren’t stuck at Fathoms—a new group therapy home that promises a second chance at life. But what’s the point of living if her soul is destined to bleed?

Merrick may be San Francisco’s golden boy, but he wants nothing more than to escape his controlling father. When his younger sister’s suicide attempt sends Merrick to his breaking point, escape becomes the only option. If he can find their mom, everything will be made right again—right?

When their worlds collide, all three will do whatever it takes to survive, and Coral might even catch a prince in the process. But what—and who—must they leave behind for life to finally begin?

Taking a new twist on Hans Christian Andersen’s beloved—yet tragic—fairy tale, Coral explores mental health from multiple perspectives, questioning what it means to be human in a world where humanity often seems lost.

My Review:

While Coral was a gripping story it was also an incredibly difficult read. The trigger warnings are fully accurate and much needed for this one. I was excited to pick this one up after enjoying The Unblemished series by this author, but I wasn’t expecting anywhere near the amount of dark content it contained. I was fully sucked into the story but it was to a level that I would say was too much for me. It takes the reader down a very dark tunnel into the world of severe depression and mental health issues including suicide. I heavily relied on my tissue box through  most of it. If you know me at all you probably know that I am not a fluffy reader, but after finishing this one I was desperately clinging to something as fluffy as I could get my hands on to help bring me up from the emotional low that I was left with. Considering this was published by Thomas Nelson I was expecting a faith element that would give hope despite the darkness but I didn’t see faith mentioned at all and that greatly saddened me. Especially with how deep this novel went emotionally, faith had the perfect opportunity to lead/point the reader to Christ and yet it missed the mark. I appreciate the author’s hope to share awareness of mental health and emotional trauma and believe that she was able to create a story that will undoubtedly help develop empathy in a powerful way. I just can’t stress enough though that the trigger warnings are nothing to ignore or take lightly.

*I received a copy of this book through JustRead & NetGalley. Thoughts and opinions expressed are mine alone.

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