I am thankful for being able to read this novel but it didn't suit my taste very well, it's not one that I can personally recommend.

True Rating: 3.75/5

Thank you to NetGalley & Thomas Nelson for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

**TRIGGER WARNING**

A young girl's road to recovery from depression and witnessing suicide, this story was very raw and real and tackles mental health issues on another level. The female protagonist crafts her own story of what she's been through through writing, the male protagonist matures through his losses. The author was brutal when depicting these issues of suicide, loneliness, depression, abandonment, guilt. I am glad this was done in a YA novel, however, because it is so real I fear for readers going through similar issues as there really is no "happy ending" and you don't get to see a happier mood until the very last few pages. With that said, I also had a very hard time following the story - I couldn't tell if there were more than 2 characters and when I realized in the end that the female protagonist created a whole other world to deal with her depression, that's when it clicked but I was still left very confused with it all.

BOOK REVIEW⠀
BOOK: Coral
AUTHOR: Sara Ella
@saraellawrites⠀

A retelling of the Little Mermaid, this book was not really what I expected and honestly… I had issues with it. There is definitely a mental health overtone to this book so if any of that triggers anything, best to steer clear.


I wish I could say I loved this book, but I can’t because of the tone. That is not to say that is poorly written. Quite the contrary… it’s beautiful and the topic is important. The creativity with which this book is approached is very appreciated. But I usually go with breezy, non-heavy books so this one was not for me. But I know MANY people who love these types of stories so if this appeals to you, give it a chance.


Short Synopsis (from Goodreads):
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?

I received this book for review purposes from NetGalley. ⠀

I think it’s an important book with its subject matter, but the way the book was written was a little jarring.

This is a heavy book. Suicide, anxiety, depression; these are not topics that are easily tackled. I think Sara Ella does a fantastic job of getting these very sensitive subjects across in this book. It's a very real feel for a book about mermaids. The characters are not very fleshed out other than their mental illness, but I think that was the point. Sara Ella didn't flesh out these characters in a traditional way instead focusing on their anxiety or depression, which makes complete sense to me since when you are going through those things little else matters anyway.

Overall, I like this book a lot and I think it is important for young and old readers alike. I just had a hard time with the writing style and the perspective jumps.

Coral is everything I needed and wanted from a book. It was a beautiful retelling of the Little Mermaid that is unafraid to speak about mental illnesses in a respectful way. The individual stories made for such interesting discussions and everything emerged together in the most unexpected ways.

Coral is the youngest sister in the royal family. She is going to join her sisters in the mermaid ballad as soon as she will be sixteen. As much as she is concern about this event, she worries about her sister that suffers from a Disease. She tries to support and help her somehow, but before she gets closer to her the Red Tide takes her right out of her hands. She cannot resign herself to live without her. Because of her disobedience to her father during her birthday party, he orders her to leave the castle. Her grandma is on Coral’s side and helps her during this hard time. The best way to do so is to take her away to the world of humans.

Merrick’s life isn’t as easy as it seems. His family has everything: money, class, prestige life but things like love and closeness are lacking. His father is very strict with the rules that include him and his younger sister. The hate he feels toward his father deepens when his sister tried to commit suicide. At the same time as he arrives at the hospital to see his little sister, his mom decides to leave them all for good. He can’t understand how she could do it at the time they need her the most. He decides to get his sister and run away far from the father and try to find their mother.

Brooke is in a bad place for a long time now. She is sent to the recovery place where people are supposed to help with her loss. She feels worthless and alone. Instead of trying to let people in she pushes them away. She doesn’t want to heal. She just wants to disappear in the blue sea weaves far from the pain and loneliness. One accident helps her to look differently in her life and shows her a new way how to live again.
The story brings all of them together and helps to understand the importance of family, friends, and life. Not everything looks like we see it. They need to let people in to understand they are not alone.

My thoughts:

The first time when I started to read this book, I was sure I am holding a fantasy book in my hands. However, with the time I found out how wrong I was. Instead of a beautiful fairy tale about mermaids, this book was based on the mental health issues and teenage suicides. Don’t let it push you away because the story is worth reading even if it’s not fully about mermaids we love.

The book shows the effects of mental illness on the people and that it’s not always how we think how it works. To be honest, I also had no idea that about a few things that were brought in the book. It’s a complicated and hard subject but it should be the knowledge all of us should have.

Going back to the story and its characters, it’s hard to say if you like any of them or not. It’s not kind of characters that all of us can empathize with. They reach a point in their life from which it’s hard to decide what to do next and how to live after what happened to them. Thanks to the people around them as hard as it is, they choose to recover.

I think it’s the first book I read about people that go through the mourning of close people that took their own lives. I know there is a lot of them but this one focuses on this issue and isn’t just a back story. I was surprised how the story went on because I was sure it will be a retelling of Little Mermaid. It was kind of in the beginning, but it didn’t have much connected the story we all love. However, it was a very original idea to tell a story.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Thomas Nelson and Sara Ella for providing me this book. It was a challenge to go through this book without crying but I enjoyed reading it as much as I expected.

** I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.**

I loved this book!! The book follows three people: Coral, Merrick, and Brooke, as they try to find a place in their world where they truly belong. Coral is a mermaid and she has been afflicted with a Human disease called Emotions. Brooke is a Human and has several mental illnesses that she has a hard time managing. Merrick is dealing with a tragedy that sends him to the brink. Their three lives collide with one another and throughout the story, they help one another find themselves. What a fantastic book that's beautifully written and full of hope, whimsy, and dreams. I love how this book took The Little Mermaid and turned it into this story that helps someone deal with mental illness and realize they're not alone.

#coral #netgalley

I received this as an eARC to read for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you toNetGalley and Thomas Nelson for giving me access.

Where to begin? First off, I should state that I actually had to DNF this book at 65%. I tried, promise. I REALLY, REALLY wanted to love this book. A reimagining of The Little Mermaid? Yes Please! But what did I get? A story that had us going from character to character without seeming related whatsoever.

** Usually I can go for this type of writing style. I mean, I love reading books by Dean Koontz and he is the king of random characters that meet in the end for a wonderful story.**

But Coral was a little dry for me. Could I relate to the depression/anxiety/suicidal tendencies? Absolutely. I just couldn't get into the feel of the book. Maybe I can pick this back up in a future date and try again and love it, but for now, this was a complete miss for me.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the author, publisher and Netgalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

An amazing retelling of 'The Little Mermaid'. Emotional and thoughtful with a close look at teenage mental health.

5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.

3.5 Stars
Let me state that Coral is not a re-telling of The Little Mermaid. It’s a reimagining of the beloved fairy tale. While there are elements of the original in Sara Ella’s rendition, most of the story is completely new.

Another quick disclaimer: Please, please, please read the author’s note about triggers at the beginning of the book. If you choose to proceed after reading that, be sure and have some tissues handy.

Ella tackles some extremely difficult topes such as depression, suicide, self-harm, and vague mentions of abuse.
The three points of view—Coral, Merrick, and Brooke—did get a bit convoluted at first, but about halfway through the book, I had an epiphany about the connection between these characters and everything started to click (my hunch was, indeed, spot on).

I will say that while Ella handles her topics with care and consideration, I was disappointed there wasn’t any sort of faith thread in the story. It would have given the overall tone of the book more hope-of-things-to-come filled than the darker overtones.

That said, this story engaged me in the lives of the characters, and my heart hurt for them in their pain, despair, and loss.
Disclosure:
I reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

I liked this book but it was missing something for me. The switch between the POVs didn't really work for me, and the change between first person and third person took some getting used to. Overall I'm glad I read the book, because it's about an important topic, but I feel like maybe it could have gone through a couple more rounds of editing to make it a little better.

A really thoughtful novel on the aspects of mental health and a beautiful ode to Hans Christian Anderson's original 'Little Mermaid' tale. I seriously thought this was such a beautiful book and appreciate how much thought Ella put into recognizing the importance of mental health and how it can affect either/both parties in a relationship. She also was thoughtful enough to give her readers a thorough trigger warning for this book.

The only flaw was the pacing between the chapters, I had to consciously work on the timeline in my head to keep things straight.

3.5/5 Rounded up to 4.

I really enjoyed a great many things about this book. Characters were fleshed out and the plot was well spaced. Some of the secondary storylines could've used a bit more page space but all in all an enjoyable read!

Thanks Netgalley for this beautiful ARC in exchange for an honest review.... Well thanks Sara Ella, but next time there needs to be only a 6 month gap in between your books, as we (and I mean us feeble human beings) need a steady flow of dreamlike stories, with bad ass girls and boys who need saving only so they can in turn save the girl... I simply love the way Ella tells a story. I love this one, as I have loved the rest, beautiful and strong plot, marvelous character development, honest talk about tough subjects... This, by far, is my favorite retelling, no one twists like Sara Ella!!!!

Sara Ella writes a deep, character-driven story and dives into a tender topic of mental illness which she handles carefully and truthfully. While it is not a re-telling of the Little Mermaid, there are some similarities.

I was given a complimentary copy by the publisher and all opinions are my own.

4/5

Story: ****
Pacing/Structure: **
Writing: *****
Characters/Character Development: ***
Cover: ****

I really liked this reimagining of the story of the little mermaid. I would have liked it even more if the author structured it differently...the perspective changes so often between the three main characters it gets really confusing as you're reading it, & it gets so much worse once you realize you're switching back & forth from different times. I was so frustrated because especially near the end, I had pretty much no idea what was going on. The writing was beautiful though. This is the first book I've read by Sara Ella, but without a doubt I will be reading her past series because I just adore her writing style! The characters were at times bland, & I felt like they were sort of defined by their mental illnesses. I would have loved to have learned more about their outward appearances, their basic likes/dislikes, hobbies, etc. Overall, I really liked this book, but I felt like the pacing & structure of it was so disappointing & put my rating down a star

Content Issues: I wasn't taking notes on it as I was reading, but I do remember some kissing. It was clean for the most part though, & I can recommend this book for 15+ due to heavier themes.

"I am not nothing and neither are you"

Coral is based around a Little Mermaid retelling, but more than that, it's a book about mental health and the paths it can lead us down.  There were some super heavy topics covered and I'd proceed with caution if reading about suicide, self harm or anxiety is difficult for you, but the story was cleverly woven to tie together the fantasy aspects and the real life world.  

Told from three points of view: Coral's, Brooke's and Merrick's, the story takes a while to really come together and can be quite confusing until certain pieces fit.  It was one of those books I wanted to go back and read again once I had all the information at the end! 

There were some truly heart wrenching moments and no part of the character's mental health or grief was glossed over.  It was raw, real and relatable.  The characters' were all flawed and realistic, including the side characters.  For a story with three points of view, I thought the side characters were surprisingly well developed.  

This one has had some mixed reviews, and I think that's mostly because of the confusing nature of the story.  I believe it was meant to be written that way, and ties in with the character's state of mind, but it did leave me wondering if I'd missed something a few times.  It all came together at the end though and I really enjoyed it!

This was a dark version based loosely on a fairy tale. Mental health is the core of this novel and I appreciate the author’s desire to enlighten the reader. Overall this was a beautiful and heartbreaking story.
Many thanks to Thomas Nelson and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Today I wanted to share my review for Coral by Sara Ella. The premise of the story presents itself as a retelling of The Little Mermaid, but rather than a retelling, I find that Sara Ella instead incorporated the spirit of Hans Christian Andersen. In the original story of The Little Mermaid, Andersen channeled the themes of unrequited love and isolation to show the harsher elements of life. In her latest work, Ella's elegant narrative style brought forth this morality tale of the past and wove it into a present day fairy tale where the staircase leading to a happily ever after is a glass staircase littered with fractured shards.



The steps may seem clear, but a closer look renders distorted images where characters such as Brooke show that life itself is not always a wonderful fairy tale. By incorporating the narratives of very real persona's, Ella's incorporation of mental health issues, depression, and angst provide readers with an emotional journey that is paramount for today's modern age. This is a difficult read in the sense of how you come to empathize with the individual narratives of the Coral, Brooke, and Merrick as you undergo their painful moments and the hardships of life that encounter their paths.



Coral is a profound, thought provoking read that takes you through life's darker, underwater moments and finally brings us to the surface where the light filters through. Waves still crash upon the shore, but by the end of the story, we find that the same ocean that we feel oppresses us, can lead us to safer shores that heal us and allow us to see undistorted light above water.