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scaredygoose'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? No
5.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Death of parent
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: Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Dementia, Abortion, and Death of parent
spellbindingtomes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Alcoholism and Abandonment
Minor: Animal death and Drug use
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: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Abortion, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
kelshenka'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
5.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
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, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
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: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood and Gaslighting
tabookish's review
- 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: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
janicee1223's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Minor: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Grief
wowsmeows'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
4.0
"In this evanescent moment, the love of his life and the moon became indistinguishable from each other, casting everything Lewis feared about the future in the real but temporary light off goodness. Time suspended,
Lewis promised himself to always remember Wren like this, a masterpiece..."
Shark Heart follows the story of newlyweds Lewis and Wren. All seems well in their relationship until Lewis receives an unexpected diagnosis - he's mutating into a great white shark.
I went into the story thinking it would be just linear story following the main characters as they go through the strange process of the mutation, but I was very wrong. We find out about Lewis' condition within the first 10 pages, and we are also told that animal mutations are normal in this world within the book. The story is told through excerpts from a play, flashbacks and poetry. When I initially picked up the book I thought the concept sounded really interesting, so was surprised when it turned out to be more artsy than a traditional story.
Shark Heart is an artistic exploration of grief, loss and how people change, sometimes literally.
Moderate: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail