This book was so hard to follow. The author begins the novel with three different characters in various places in their lives that have no relation to each other, and I felt like the back and forth between their points of view was exhausting to keep up with. It really put a damper on the novel, especially considering how short it was.

"The Little Mermaid" is absolutely one of my favorite movies. When I heard about Coral, a loosely based Little Mermaid retelling, I was super excited to say the least! Let me preface this by saying that this book comes with a ton of warnings: depression and anxiety, suicide ( including talk of suicide, suicide ideation, and successful suicide), death of a parent, eating issues, and more. The author has done a great job at letting readers know ,in advance, that this book deals with a wide array of mental health issues.
I love that it shines light on such issues. However, it was all too much. I was left with a feeling of not knowing the characters. Sure I knew which mental health disorders they were dealing with,a s well as their internal struggles, but as we know in the real world, those disorders do not define us. I wanted some depth. I wanted to KNOW the characters. Overall, this was a raw, dark tale.

Actual Rating: 2.5 Stars

* I received an advanced digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

Netgalley kindly provided me with an ARC of Coral by Sara Ella, a story that starts out fantasy but ends up delving into the very real issues of teen depression and suicide. In intersecting chapters, Coral follows the story of three teens: Brooke, who has recently been checked in to a mental rehabilitation home called Fathoms Ranch; Merrick, who is struggling to find his mother after his sister Amaya attempts suicide; and Coral, a mermaid princess who must deal with the repercussions of losing her sister to the mysterious underwater disease called Red Tide. When these three plotlines collide, readers are left to wonder whether hope can win out against the darkness.

The best part of this book is the frank, real way in which Sara Ella approaches mental illness. She first acknowledges its presence, as when Brooke looks at those around her and wonders, “Maybe that young woman with her designer bad and eyes glued to her phone suffers from...mental illness. It has many faces. And most of them look pretty normal. You’d never know the person is slowly dying inside.” Ella is also careful to point out that depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other mental illnesses are true illnesses, not things that can be overcome by sheer willpower. In one of my favorite lines from the book, Merrick’s father remarks that “No one would ever tell a cancer patient to ‘just get over it.’ Why people think they can tell those with a mental illness as much is baffling.” In a world where those who suffer from depression are likely to be told that it’s just a “passing phase,” words that legitimize their pain and remind them that they are not alone could be a lifeline to readers.

For these reasons, I really wanted to love this book, particularly since I know there are a number of frequent patrons in my library who could benefit from seeing a protagonist struggle with issues similar to their own; however, I just couldn’t get there. I didn’t find Coral’s plot line particularly compelling, especially due to its constant references to seemingly childish things--such as standing “three shark fins” away from her sister--as well as its complete departure from the mermaid realm about midway through the novel. I also found myself confused by the intersecting plot lines, picking apart what was real and what was fantasy. I worry that readers who need the core message of this book, that depression is a real disease and must be treated as such, would get lost in these points and lose interest before letting the more poignant scenes speak to them.

Consider for purchase in libraries with active book clubs who could go beyond some surface issues to delve into the intricacies of this very worthy message.

Unfortunately this one was just not for me. I wanted a more true to the original retelling with lots of imagery and a more fantasy vibe to it. I was a but blindsided by the turn the story took and while the writing was beautiful it just wasn't what I normally enjoy reading. I do think that the topic of mental health and all of its affects on the sufferer and their family is an important topic, but I don't think the little mermaid was the right story to try and tackle that topic with.

This was a hard read. It holds true to the dark vibes of Grimm's Fairy tales but maybe has too much dark truth of reality for me. I understand the need to tackle the truths of mental illness and depression but there was slightly too much for me. That said, I think had I read this in high school I would have felt validated.

I enjoyed the weaving of the different stories and the reveals along the way. The fantasy elements were well done and well balanced with the real world.

Wow, this one had A LOT going on! I really enjoyed the more magical parts of the story, although all of it was well written and intriguing - I guess I'm just partial to mermaids! The cover is gorgeous and the story definitely didn't disappoint.

Wow I think it is safe to say that I wasn't expecting this book, I thought that this was going to be an imaginative slant on The Little Mermaid, and whilst it is that it is also a book of emotion and complex issues. As I say I wasn't expecting that but I definitely needed to read it.

I'll start by saying that the author has taken the time to write trigger warnings for this book so if you need them I would give those a read before diving in. This book at its heart is a very moving story about mental health issues, I don't think I have read a book that has managed to explore it so profoundly before and have to give Sara Ella a lot of credit for handling the subject matter with such care.

I definitely felt very emotional reading this book, I could feel the peaks and troughs of the story and at times I will admit that I struggled with continuing on occasion, purely because I would feel so angry about a situation or upset for a character. I think this speaks volumes about how well this book has been written because it is not always easy for me to feel that intensely about a story. I'm also glad that even though I had to take a wee break here and there that I came back to the story because even though it can be heavy reading at points it is also very hopeful and has a lot of positive and important messages.

I will admit that from the start I was wondering when or if our three main characters Coral, Brooke, and Merrick were going to make an appearance in each other's storylines, but I certainly did not predict the way it was going to play out. Each character felt so different at the beginning of the book and each has such a hard journey to follow, I think this is one of the things that I most admired about this book that we get to see how their perspectives change and that they can accept that they may not have always seen the whole picture.

Coral is billed as a Little Mermaid retelling and it is in some ways, you can see a lot of influences but it is vastly different in others, but I quite like that it takes some events and themes from the original and then runs in a different direction. I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to have more time in Coral's underwater kingdom. I feel that is where the author's writing was at her best, the descriptions were amazing and I was fascinated by the colours being different sounds and feelings.

I also quite liked the contrast between Coral's world and ours and how this made ours look a little dull and flat but how that turns around as each of the characters find each other until they are all in a better place than when they started.

Coral is a book that you need to take your time over because there are some parts that can get a little confusing but it is a novel that will have you engrossed and pull you through a range of emotions. Definitely make sure that you have some tissues on standby and that you are prepared to take the time to invest in this beautiful story.

First let me say that I appreciate Sara Ella's note at the beginning of the book regarding the content. I didn't find this book particularly disturbing or bothersome. Instead as a mother and grandmother it made me more keenly aware of the hourly battles our young people deal with. It challenged me as a grandparent to really pay attention to my grandkids in a way I never have before.

It is a truly emotional story that is gripping from beginning to end. Even with the darkness of the loosely retelling of the Little Mermaid I believe it is a great read that will open up discussion in a way that is positive. I would recommend reading this with your teen.

This is a big emotional read. It deals with emotional trauma and the many faces of mental illness in the most original way possible. Reading it was sometimes confusing, but in the end, it felt like I was wearing the story like a blanket. It's a part of who I am now. Depression, anxiety... it's an illness. Nothing is what it seems at first glance. You can't never know what's inside everyone's head, what they are thinking and feeling, beside their smile. The most important part of the story, for me, is to understand that whether you think you're not worthy enough, you MUST remind yourself that you ARE NOT nothing, you ARE enough, and you ARE important.

I'm totally getting that tattoo, btw.

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

This one was a DNF for me. I just couldn’t get into the storyline and did not connect with the characters. I really wanted to like it but it just fell flat for me. I would like to attempt to read it in the future

I have been really enjoying re-tellings this year, so I had to read Coral!
There are some very in-depth explorations of mental health and depression in this book, so make sure you prepare yourself beforehand.
The three main characters made it a little unclear where the plot was going next.
However, there were a lot of strong emotions in this book. If you are looking for an emotional read, this is for you.
The cover was just beautiful by the way!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for me to review!

Got about 30% in and couldn't keep going. Makes me really sad, as the cover and concept are great, and I applaud Sara Ella for trying to make mental health a bigger issue in YA. However, the way it was executed just wasn't for me. Too much telling and no showing, and the plot was so far nonexistent.

Also a note for the publisher, I know this is just an uncorrected galley, but you HAVE to make it readable. Coral's sections were all one big paragraph practically, it made it such a chore to get through. I don't want that to effect my rating, but when I can't even comprehend the text due to the formatting, that's a big problem.

Coral by Sara Ellis, a tale of a mermaid and two other humans, traveling the world of emotions and society norms. This was a DNF for me; the cover is gorgeous but the story just never grabbed me.

I really wanted to love this book. The concept was great and I typically really enjoy retellings, but the pacing and the structure felt so off to me. I think including mental health struggles inside works of fiction, and ones for young people, is awesome. Just didn't work for me.

I recieved an e-arc of this book from Netgalley for review.

Before I started reading this I expected a completely different kind of story. I was expecting The Little Mermaid but once I started reading it was nothing of the sort. Coral was raw, honest and beautiful. Sara Ella did an amazing job with this story and talking about mental illnesses. You could tell how personal and how much she put her heart into this book. I really related to the characters and sew myself in them. Coral, Brooke, Merrick and Amaya I think everyone can relate to someone in this story. The book felt a little slow at point but it was well worth it in the end. This book just feels too real with the emotions and how life can get so messed up sometimes. I really applaud Sara Ella for touching on a tough subject that most of the world likes to ignore.

Trigger warnings include
Suicide
Anxiety
Depression
Cutting
Abuse

I couldn’t get into the story. The only thing I found interesting was Coral’s ability to see feelings in the things around her. With Brooke and Merrick their stories didn’t seem that interesting. The plot was bland and I couldn’t relate to the characters. The characters weren’t fully developed.

DNF at 10%

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

"The colors made sounds and the sounds created colors."

I had a really hard time with Coral from the start. I love losing myself in new worlds, but everything about this book was perplexing. I felt like this story followed a different set of rules, but had no idea what they were. Coral can see sounds and hear colors (synesthesia, I think), but her explanations only furthered my confusion. She said certain colors were loud, but never seemed overwhelmed by them. How is that possible? She's surrounded by color, so wouldn't everything make noise? Like, all the time? Did she not suffer from sensory overload?

"The bedclothes were ruffled and her pillow slept in the sand."

How?? She's underwater, she has a tail, so wouldn't her clothing just be wet all the time? Also, how does one wear bedclothes over fins and whatnot? Was it just a t-shirt, or...?? How do they make clothes underwater? What are they made of? I needed more details!

"Jordan rolled her eyes, crossed to the heavy chamber door carved from old ship wood, and shut it."

Wouldn't the wood deteriorate underwater over time? How did they salvage the material for a door? When I read this sentence, I immediately pictured rotting wood that was soft and mushy.

"Coral freed the bubbles she’d been holding as she examined herself in the mirror."

Does she have gills? Lungs? Coral said they weren't allowed above the surface until they were sixteen, so... ??

"Easy as a kelp pie.”

"Coral’s mouth bowed and her insides turned to jellyfish. She didn’t want Jordan to go, despite how she tended to get under Coral’s scales more often than not."

They don't associate with humans, so why did they have pie specifically? I know it might be nitpicking at this point, but I felt like the author was trying too hard to make correlations between her world and common phrases we use today, which made the story ring false. Her insides turned to jellyfish?? I wish the author had created a language that had terms specific to her characters and the world she created.

I really wanted to see how Coral used merpeople to discuss mental health, but I barely made it through two of the three perspectives. I gave up when Merrick's chapter started, so I can't really comment on his portion of the story. However, I can comment on how Brooke was a very antagonistic and vexing character. She was in a treatment program, but doesn't share why or how she got there. I'm sure this was done to add suspense to her story, but it made her unlikable and unrelatable. She was callous and cruel to a child because she felt bad, and I thought her actions were that of a spoiled brat, and not someone suffering from a mental health issue. We don't know anything about her, so it was hard to sympathize with her feelings and actions.

Side note: I'm not saying Brooke should be likable or friendly, but the lack of information made it hard to understand her. I don't suffer from mental health issues, so I cannot comment on how people with them should be portrayed, but I do know how her character came across and can share those feelings with you.

Coral's community deals with something called "the Disease" that impacts a mermaid's emotional state, and they are shamed for experiencing anything other than cool disinterest. It really bothered me that only merwomen suffered from this "affliction," because it made it seem like mermen couldn't be emotional or depressed. Anyone suffering from "the Disease" was written off and ignored, and I haaated that aspect of this book.

Needless to say, this book wasn't a good fit. I was confused, frustrated, and disinterested in the overall story, which was not a good combination for enjoyable reading. I liked the concept, and I can appreciate what the author was trying to do, but it really missed the mark for me.

Originally posted at Do You Dog-ear? on December 12, 2019.

DNF (did not finish)
This book is horribly formatted and difficult to read. Now that the book is out I will be checking out the book from my library instead of reading this poorly formatted arc.

I feel like retellings have exploded recently, and we are seeing a lot of fairy tales reimagined. What I haven't seen is one that is so original. This is no a typical retelling and shouldn't be approached that way. Coral is much much more than a fairy tale.

I'm worried that some people won't appreciate this book because they are looking for Ariel with some backstory and modern day conveniences. I think that's missing the point of Sara Ella's captivating book.

This isn't a happily ever after, dream come true epic. Coral is a fantastical depiction of real life teenage struggles; the struggles most of us don't want to admit are happening: self harm and suicide.

Sara Ella used The Little Mermaid as the backdrop of a metaphor about mental health, and I or one was blown away.

Don't expect a fast paced, plot driven, action packed YA novel. In form and content, Coral is a tapestry of emotion, intricately woven with fairytale magic. It's the perfect way to confront childhood fantasies with adult realities, which is the definition of being a teenager.

CORAL follows three different points-of-view: a girl who’s reluctantly addressing her suicidal feelings, a boy whose sister recently tried to commit suicide, and a mermaid whose sister seems to be succumbing to a deadly illness. At first I thought the mermaid sections would be a sort of direct retelling of Andersen’s fairy tale, and there are some similarities. But it’s a very re-imagined version of the story with a much broader look at heartbreak and depression how devastating they can be.

I feel like it took me a long time to get this book. It has three different points of view that eventually collide, and I kept trying to guess how they intersected. (Not the way I guessed.) Once they did, it was a little confusing for me to think back through the earlier part of the story and have it all make sense with the new information. Maybe just because it was a direction I didn’t expect? I’m not sure.

I really like the way the story shows how overpowering emotions and depression can be. I felt like it was easy to understand Brooke’s dark feelings, and the connection to the Little Mermaid fairy tale made sense in broad strokes.

Throughout CORAL, there’s a running theme where things aren’t what they seem. Merrick’s relationships with almost every other character surprise him. Brooke’s secrets change things, too. It created a layered feel to the story that I enjoyed. We aren’t always right about people– sometimes even the ones closest to us. So that rang true for me.

Overall, I thought CORAL was imaginative and a powerful exploration of emotions and depression. If you liked Sara Ella’s other books, I think you’ll like CORAL, too. Fans of the Syrena Legacy by Anna Banks will like the blend of mermaids and modern setting, too.