I received a complimentary copy of Coral by Sara Ella from Thomas Nelson through Netgalley. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Coral will be released tomorrow on November 12th.

First, I'd like to make it clear that this book is much more about mental illness than it is about mermaids. Coral deals heavily with the subjects of depression and suicide. This could be triggering for some people, so I wanted to specify that first in case anyone just looks at the cover and thinks it's a fun mermaid adventure. It's not.
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This book follows three characters: Brooke, a girl who has just entered a care facility for those suffering from mental illness, Merrick, the son of a wealthy businessman with a complicated family, and Coral, a mermaid princess who fears she has the same "disease" as her older sister.
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In Coral, Sara Ella uses the story of The Little Mermaid to address topics surrounding suicide and depression. I love fairytale retellings and I admire the idea of using one to address mental illness, but I found Coral difficult to read. The three characters and their stories are all connected, but the timelines don't match up throughout the story, which made the story feel stilted and confusing to piece together. Ella leaves a lot of things vague in order to keep the reader guessing and allow for "surprise twists" later in the book, but rather than making me want to read more to unravel the story, the vagueness just left me frustrated. The characters often felt one-dimensional to me and it was hard to relate to them or grow to like them. I loved the idea of this book, but I was left feeling disappointed. I found the second half more enjoyable and straightforward than the first, but this book still didn't sing for me.

Trigger warnings for suicide, attempted suicide, death, abandonment, anxiety, and depression.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the EARC.

I expected this to be more of a little mermaid story set in modern day and that is so not what this was. This follows 3 characters all experiencing suicide and depression in different ways. We have Coral, a mermaid princess, who’s sister is struggling with emotions, her people believe that emotions are only for humans and not for merpeople they see emotions as a disease. Coral is very close to her older sister and seems to also be suffering from emotions as well. We also have Brooke who lives in the human world and is suffering from depression and enters into therapy. And we have Merrick and he comes from a rich family. His sister suffers from depression and has attempted suicide and as this happens his mother vanishes and as Merrick goes searching for her he comes across Coral.

I have to say that this felt very rushed and the time jumps did not help. I didn’t feel a connection to any of the characters I tried I really did and I almost could with coral but towards the middle I just couldn’t care at all. I really felt very confused towards the middle because I thought this was going to be a fantasy retelling of the little mermaid but then realized in the middle towards the end what the author was doing and by that point it was to late and I wasn’t enjoying it. I feel really bad because I do really appreciate what the author was doing but this just didn’t do it for me.

Review contains spoilers for the book.

Coral by Sara Ella was a book that did well to convey the seriousness of themes including mental health, anxiety, depression, and suicide, but it wasn’t a book that I thought did well with its characters, plot, and pacing.

Going by the description given for the book, it sounded like Coral would be a modern retelling of the famous fairy tale of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen, whose quotes are littered throughout this book in a thoughtful way, but the description didn’t stress enough just how dark this book really was.

I’m someone who actually enjoys reading books that are darker and loaded with angst, but even this was too much for me at times, especially past the halfway point of the book. As a retelling, Coral didn’t do enough to be one. It’s very brief, and I just expected more out of this book with The Little Mermaid than what I actually got.

Coral is told through the POVs of three different characters: Coral, Brooke and Merrick. I had no trouble distinguishing one from the other, but when all three POVs came together, several times I was confused and unable to tell what was going on. It didn’t help either that the pacing of this book was faster than I would’ve wanted. There were chapters that moved at a very slow pace, then chapters that moved at a very fast pace.

The pacing just wasn’t balanced enough, and because of it a lot of important events were skipped out on. We didn’t get to see things, such as Coral adapting to not living as a mermaid anymore and being out of the palace and how the relationships between Coral and Merrick and Brooke and Hope developed more. Having this development would’ve slowed down the pacing and would’ve made me feel more for these characters than I did.

There wasn’t much to Coral, Brooke, or Merrick either aside from what they were each going through in their lives. Their personalities were never given a real chance to be shown. When it was revealed that all three of these characters were important to each other and the plot, it didn’t have as much of an impact on me as author Sara Ella probably wanted. It’s like everything came together but without giving the reader enough time to understand it all.

Overall I’d still recommend Coral, but I’d be very careful about who I’d recommend it to. It’s such a heavy book that for anyone wanting to read it, I’d say that they should be aware of what they’re going into first.

I was expecting this book was a fantasy retelling but it was much more than that. It took me a week to read this because the story was raw, heartbreaking and full of emotions. But it was written beautifully. I really loved it and author's note was amazing too.

All I can say about this book it is that I didn't expect it coming. I thought would be a cute retelling of The little mermaid or just another fantasy. I never was so wrong! The story is not a fantasy, it is the cruel reality.
The main key of the book is mental health. The author is trying to show the world what means to have a mental health problem by calling it a disease. Because this is the truth. By reading this book you would understand that having a mental illness is not something minor, it is not something that can disappear because you say so.
I really enjoyed the book even if at the beginning I was a little confused why there were 3 stories and why 2 of them were written in the 3rd person. But you will understand why in the middle of the book.
Coral is a heartbreaking book. I cried, I smile and again I cried. Maybe this book is not the book I want to read. But it is the book you need to read.
Thank you JustRead and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't like this at all. It was boring and I couldn't keep my concentration. It was very different than I expected. The mental health rep was very well done but I didn't like the story

This one's writing and ending were REALLY confusing. I really liked Coral and her story but the other two MCs were MEH. I ate this arc up like Halloween candy but it's ultimately forgettable.

I believe the mental health descriptions are accurate and believable, but I'd definitely not push this book on everyone due to the content.
I expected it to be more a little mermaid re-telling than what it was.
I didn't get the changes between the character's viewpoints and this part was poorly executed.
It felt too long and drawn out for me, but kudos again to the author for tackling such a topic.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC. All opinions about this book are my own.

Wow! This book was much deeper than I expected. I came into this only knowing that’s it a YA retelling of The Little Mermaid. Sign. Me. Up. What I didn’t know is how in depth it would be, and how mental illness would be the main subject, weaved into all of the character’s lives. This book is extremely triggering at points, with self-harm and suicide being events at the forefront. But reading how the characters respond, hurt and heal was very realistic and I think this book would be really helpful to those who maybe don’t understand mental health issues. The overlying messages of you are not nothing and you are not alone are also extremely important.

I'm not sure how to feel about this book, to be honest. On one hand I love the idea of tackling mental health with a Little Mermaid retelling. It's something that hasn't been done. On the other hand, the Little Mermaid is my favorite Disney story so I guess I'm a little picky.

The story was generally good - I love how the mental health stigma was portrayed in this world.

Unfortunately the bad outweighed the good for me. Brook is the only POV told in first person and that drives me absolutely bonkers. There's also a thing about how only the women can have the disease, insinuating depression doesn't affect men. A lot of times throughout the story, I even found myself wondering what was going on.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this one about 60% in. Thanks to Netgalley for letting me read it.

honestly didn't expect this book to be about mental illness or how well it showed it and it was pleasant surprise to see the theme in the book. I like how it shows mental illness in a different way compared to other books and it explains it really well for those who haven't experienced it. I like how it was 3 stories intertwined with each other and while it was confusing to start with once you got into the book things became clearer. I loved the character of Brooke and how she struggled with finding her place above the water. It was a great reimagined tale of The Little Mermaid and it's definitely not your typical fairy tale.

Sara Ella's Coral is a novel that deals heavily with mental health, and all of her characters are touched by it in some way, shape, or form. Ella's descriptions of depression, anxiety, and suicide are brutal, and so she's placed a trigger warning at the beginning of the novel, one I didn't note when I was eagerly flipping through to the start of the story, and I regretted it. So, since Ella has published her trigger warning note on Goodreads as well as in the beginning of her novel, I'm also posting it below, because it's powerful, and you need to know about it before you start this novel:

"Trigger Warning & A Note to My Readers: For my friends who have experienced trauma, a warning—this story may be triggering. I have done my best to approach the mental health topics addressed in this book in the most sensitive and caring way possible. But even all the research and sensitivity readers in the world would never make it so I could approach every aspect of mental health from every perspective. Your experience is unique to you.

Potential triggers include suicide, self-harm, emotional abuse, anxiety, depression, PTSD, eating disorders, and unwanted/non-consensual advances.

With that said, while some of what I have written comes from research and some from the caring eyes of sensitivity readers who have lived through many of these experiences, other pieces come from my own personal experience with emotional trauma. If you have lost a loved one, I’m with you. If you face depression or anxiety, my heart aches with you in a truly personal way. If you have ever felt misunderstood for these things or simply wanted to escape altogether—I understand.

For the girl who is not okay. For the boy who wonders if it will ever get better. This story is for you.

My hope is that Coral’s tale may be a small pinprick of light in your darkness—a reminder that you are seen. You are loved. You are not alone. You are not nothing, my friend. And neither am I.

Sincerely,

Sara Ella"

I think if I'd read that trigger warning before starting this novel, I would have approached it in an entirely different light, and that is on me, and also why I need all potential readers to be ready for it. This is not a lighthearted tale, even though it deals with mermaids, and readers might think it's going to be specifically a retelling of "The Little Mermaid." It's not. It's not really a mermaid story at all, but rather an in-depth gritty look at characters who are emotionally broken, who are truly hurting for a multitude of reasons. I've read a number of books that tout that they deal with tragedy and mental health, but then find that the author sugar coats it all to create a happy ending. But this is not that story, and Ella does not sugarcoat anything.

I also think that had I read the trigger warning, I would have understood what was happening within the novel much quicker than I did, though the foreshadowing and hints are woven throughout.

What I mean is, Ella does not clearly connect the stories and points of view together for a very long time, which she is doing on purpose, but it is also frustrating for the reader, especially because she continually mentions happenings and starts down a pathway for the story and then just leaves the loose ends hanging for a majority of the novel… so long, in fact, that I nearly put this novel on my “did not finish” pile a number of times, because even at the halfway mark, I was still wondering what the purpose of the story was, and when the exposition would end and the rising action would begin.

The novel starts by introducing us to Coral, “the littlest mermaid” as she readies to turn 16 and take her place within her family. However, the Red Tide is coming for her oldest sister, and it’s bad… and that’s about all we initially know. Throughout the whole novel, we’re given many tidbits of information, but nothing concrete enough to really know what’s going on or what has happened in the past to these characters for us to make much sense of it all, or to begin making the connections needed. And while I think this was done in order to drive suspense, I think for me, it did the opposite, and confused me more than anything else. We jump from Coral to Brooke without much connection, then to Merrick, and round it goes, until suddenly, the mermaid world is no longer discussed and everything takes place on land. It’s here that I began to suspect what Ella was attempting to do with the story, yet the information we’re given is so halted that I felt like I always had more questions than answers as I read. It’s not until near the end that Ella confirmed my suspicions about who these characters are and how they’re all connected, and while I think it was a great plot twist idea, the execution of it fell a bit flat as it took so long and there was so much confusion prior, that it almost just fizzled out for me.

And yet, it works. While I did spend a majority of this novel thinking, “what is happening” and feeling like too much was glossed over and not fleshed out enough, when the plot twist was finally revealed, I felt validated—and this is when the real emotion of the novel hit me. That, and then another part towards the end, which I’m sorry to post about, as it’s a tiny spoiler, but one I feel potential readers need to know about because it is beyond tragic: a child commits suicide. That broke me. I was hanging on pretty well up until that point, but that is something that I did not expect and it really triggered me based on my own personal life, and I just… well, like I said, Ella does not sugarcoat, and she shouldn’t if she’s going to do a book on mental illness that hits home.

And this brings me to my conclusion—all this to say that this is a good book, although confusing and perpetually dark. Three stars.

I recieved an ARC of this novel, which releases today, from Thomas Nelson Publishing through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review..

**My review will go live on Nov. 11**

I don't even know where to begin with Coral. I didn't see this book coming, and it hit me hard.
I had heard it was loosely based off of The Little Mermaid, so I was a little skeptical, but it was SO MUCH MORE than a retelling of anything. I've never read anything like it.
It is definitely not a book for the light-hearted, as it faces serious mental health issues, something that's not always portrayed correctly in pop culture.
I will warn that it was confusing at some points until you started piecing together the puzzle, but it definitely keeps you on your feet (or fins).

I was given an ARC of this book by NetGalley.
I just cannot rave enough about this book! The first thing I did when I got to work this morning was order a copy for our collection! First and foremost, I absolutely love and appreciate the tackling of the issue of mental health, even thought the author explains she didn't intend this book go that way. Very tastefully done and I really feel that a lot of teen girl who are suffering from anxiety and depression will find that this book resonates with them.
Now, on to the other stuff I loved! I totally loved the nods to BOTH versions of The Little Mermaid (Disney's and Andersen's), but it really pulled more from Andersen's. I really loved that as I think it gets lost in the popularity of Disney's. Another thing I thought was expertly done was the weaving of the characters' stories together and the plot twist of who Coral and Brooke were in relation to each other. (Don't want to give away spoilers!) Other twists and turns were also very well done.
The characters were so well developed and well-written that you truly cared about what happened with them. I love it when I care so much about the characters that I'm laughing and crying along with them. That's how I know I've got a great book in my hands.

I wish I had looked closer at what this book was about before I requested it.

I love retellings of classic fairy tales, and I have been especially fond of The Little Mermaid for as long as I can remember. I found the premise very interesting, the way Sara Ella reworked the concepts of emotions and disease, but I ended up not finishing it because I found the topic of suicide too triggering. I struggled with suicidal ideation as a teenager and still wrestle with anxiety and depression. This simply was not the right time for me to read this story.

I do however respect the author for daring to address the topic of mental illness. I’ve noticed lately more authors advocating for mental health and awareness of mental illness, and I believe it’s a very good way to begin to destigmatize what has been historically a shameful reality for so many.

I REALLY appreciated the author’s note at the beginning, providing a content warning. I wish more authors would do the same when their stories contain potentially triggering subject matter.

When I first went into this I thought it was just a little mermaid retelling. The multiple POVS threw me off at first, and I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it. My first thought was great how do these stories fit together, are they not going to really matter.

We have our three main characters:
Coral who is a mermaid
Brooke who is working on her mental health.
Merrick who wants to get away from his father.
At first Merrick was my least favorite out of the bunch, because all I could think was why was he here? All I wanted was more Coral and her adventures, because it was the most interesting for me. The more the story progressed I was more fascinated with Brooke and how she was just trying to get through the day.

In the end I ended up loving every single character (well besides the dads) and I could feel the struggle they were all going through. Sara did such great work on describing the emotions, and how much that these characters just wanted a different life. Will definitely be buying a physical copy when this comes out.

a very cool book! i didn’t expect to like this one as much as i did. very interested to see where sara ella goes next!

Just look at that cover. It isn’t hard to imagine why I wanted to read Coral by Sara Ella. Between the cover and finding out it has a fairy tale twist, I just could not pass it up. However, if you struggle with depression, mental illness and have certain triggers. You may want to avoid my review.

WARNING! MENTAL HEALTH TRIGGERS!

Coral is a mermaid and her father is the King. She has two sisters, Jordan and The Crown Princess. Emotions are for humans, not merpeople. The Crown Princess is struggling. Her father doesn’t seem to understand. Coral is the only one who shows any empathy towards The Crown Princess. She has a disease and Coral is showing signs of it as well. On land, Brooke is admitted into a mental health group therapy facility. No matter if those around her try to reach out she still feels alone. Then there is Merrick. He comes from a wealthy family, but they also are torn apart by mental illness. After is mom leaves, he goes to find her, and along the way meets a mesmerizing girl named Coral.

I am so torn. I really wanted to love this book. However, I want to give a HUGE thank you to the author. I love that she took a popular fairy tale and used it to bring awareness to mental health, depression, anxiety, and suicide. The fact that mental health is the sole focus of this book is amazing.

That being said. The book is hard to read. Not the themes. The points of view transitions of Coral, Brooke, and Merrick are so rough. There were many times where I thought I had to re-read the book because I was so confused. There are a few moments where I didn’t even know that the characters changed points of view. That brings me to the characters. We don’t ever get detail about the characters. They are all defined by their mental illness or how it has affected those around them. We don’t really get to know them outside of their internal struggles. This makes the story feel like it has a lack of depth.

This may seem silly. And it may just be me. But personally, I was not a fan of the description. Specifically in the Mer World. (Is that what we call it?) She talks about the seaweed bedsheets or eel gel. I know this is a young adult book, but this felt like something that would have been in a children’s book. Instead of immersing me in this world, it actually made me tune out. Plus, when Coral comes to the surface, she just seems to blend right in like it is second nature. It just didn’t seem believable.

Overall, I really applaud the author for trying to bring a story that we love and bring awareness to mental health. The story just needs a little work. So I rate this book 2 out of 5 stars.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you.

I won’t lie when I say that I requested to review Coral through Netgalley only because of that gorgeous cover. It kind of drew me in and when I found out that Coral had mental health rep in its full essence – and me being a sucker for such books – I was ecstatic to have read this beautiful gem of a book months prior to its release.

Coral is a loose retelling of the Little Mermaid, weaving in it two stories above and under the water. Coral is a mermaid who’s always been different from her sisters, plagued by the ‘disease’ of emotions. Above the see, there is Brooke who is reeling under anxiety and depression, finding her solace in the cool and calming ocean waves. And then there is Merrick, who wants nothing but to escape his controlling father and save his sister from the brink of death. Then their worlds collide and it is a story worth telling.

I did not expect much from Coral at the beginning, having only a vague idea of the original fairy tale. And at the beginning too, I was a bit confused with certain terms that the author used – what was the ‘disease’ that was being talked about? What was the Red Tide? I was curious and confused and totally intrigued.

The story is difficult to get into in the initial stages, I'll agree. It has a fantasy setting and keeps changing between the modern and underwater setting. The POVs also keep changing, but these changes are very smooth and well done. There is a smooth thread that connects the three characters in a pool of fate. .

What I absolutely loved is that little and big climax that Sara Ella put upon us!!! My god, I absolutely loved it. So much. It was just shocking and unexpected and just so well done. I was a bit confused but rereading it gave me the perfect picture of what the author was trying to tell. And show in her story. Ahhh!!! Hats off to that cleverness.

Coral is a beautifully written book with a plot so deep and heavy that it takes some time to get through it. It is an important story that takes on the topic of mental health in the right sense. I loved the mental health portrayal in the story and commend the author for being so gentle with it in her book. And so accurate. She could convey the emotions so well through the use of fictional imagery and kept me guessing the truth of the whole story till the end.

Disclaimer: I received this ARC courtesy of Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. I am grateful for the opportunity to review an ARC for my readers, but this will not influence my final rating. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and based solely on the book. 

Coral, Coral, Coral. I was confused after the first five pages of this book, which is never a good sign. As I'm well-known to do, I pushed through especially because I wanted to see how mental health was discussed in a book about mermaids. I'm a die-hard fan of mental health books, we all know this. And thank you YA and your vocal fandoms for demanding more mental health discussions in books and more characters with mental illness. A beautiful culmination of this demand for diversity is not just the typical contemporary novel exploring a protagonist's battle with depression, but fantasy and scifi and horror books that star empowered heroes who just so happen to have depression.*

*this being one general of many great specific examples
In Coral, titular character Coral is a mermaid who fears showing symptoms of the Disease, an illness that starts with showing emotions (something mermaids cannot do) and ends with Red Tide. 

 Though a little heavy-handed, Sara Ella makes observant commentary on mental health stigma through her extended metaphor of "the Disease." Mermaids are shamed for showing emotions, and told to use the words "I'm fine" until, Coral is reassured, they will believe they really are. Those who suffer from the Disease are ignored and erased from society as undesirables. I was a bit saddened at the fact that in this world, mermen cannot have the Disease, which gave the impression men cannot suffer from anxiety/depression like women do. 

 Coral's underwater world was rich with its own culture. I think this became an asset as well as a drawback to the book. I was invested in figuring out what Red Tide was, in how mer-people manage emotions, etc. But this was only one third of a three-narrative story. The world-building suffered to the point that I didn't understand certain passages. Later on, I was plain confused. The fantastic elements of Coral's world did not merge comfortably with Merrick and Brooke's realistic universes. 

Brooke and Merrick carried the other two POVs in this book. One thing that threw me off from the start was that only Brooke's chapters were in first person. I very rarely see this in books (I can't name one off the top of my head, to be honest) and I don't personally find it enjoyable. 

 Brooke was antagonistic and frustrating at the beginning. I understood why, since she's in a treatment program and she's distrustful of others. But I also didn't know her. And this made her tough to care for. Why was she in the center? Where was her family? The author withheld this basic information for a long time because it would give away the plot twist ... which I still guessed easily. Once I got more info about Brooke, I warmed up to her and became invested in her journey. 

 I seesaw on mental health treatment plans in books. I'm either "this doctor is too mean!" or "this doctor is way too nice!" In reality, there's no perfect plan so whatever, my thoughts are all subjective anyway. I did think Brooke landed in an idealistic treatment facility, where she was given space when she wanted space and the exact food she wanted, and she even got strings pulled to get into university. But. Sometimes you need a mental health book where things go right for a change. I'm not mad at this. Sara Ella did a great job at showing that there are people out there who want to help, and hear what you need. There does need to be a trigger warning on this book (which there is) for suicide and suicidal idealization because both are very present. 

I almost don't know what to say about Merrick. He gets his moment of limelight near the end of the book, but until then, he does more work moving other characters' stories along. Sometimes I skimmed his chapters, just looking for scenes with his younger sister Amaya. Her story is a sad reality today. 

My biggest wish for this book would have been to make Coral's story its own book, and then Brooke and Merrick and Amaya's another. The mermaid world was unique and creative, but fell flat when Coral journeyed into the human world and suddenly started using cell phones and going to high school and attending group therapy. It felt rushed, and almost like a school assignment, not a mythical being come to life. (Which, okay, I know, but still.) And Brooke/Merrick/Amaya's world would have been all the richer with the focus on loss, and suicide/mental health instead of the confusion about where mermaids fit in. 

rating: Merida, two stars. I had trouble finishing this book. For the above reasons, I think a separation of the fantasy and contemporary would have made this book more enjoyable for me. The attempts to hide details to keep the "big reveal" a secret was also very frustrating. 
representation: main character with synesthesia (I think), main character with depression/anxiety
content warnings: death of a principle character, death of a side character, suicide, suicide attempt, suicidal idealization, child suicide, kidnapping, anxious thoughts, parent abandonment 
read this if you: like books with mental health topics, like books with different approaches to mental health