What a fantastic Meta tale with a Mermaid set front and center in this book within a book. Our school teacher turned Novelist, Penelope, heads to LaLa land in hopes of landing the big bucks on her surprisingly successful book entitled, American Mermaid, as it is adapted into a feature film.
Penelope herself has been subsidized by her parents for which she resents them, the money, and for what they stand. Conversely, it is not lost on the reader that Penelope is seriously dazzled by the rich and famous of Hollywood and wants a piece of that pie for herself.
Penelope is very protective of Sylvia, the mermaid and main character of the book. As the book morphs into a screenplay, the more Sylvia is changed into something more fitting for a Hollywood blockbuster. Penelope scrambles to protect Sylvia's character while odd things begin to happen. Told in alternating chapters of excerpts from American Mermaid, and the ongoing plight of its author, Penelope, it sometimes gets a bit muddled if not confusing. However, it is so richly packed with witty, feminist observations and goofy characters the reader just hangs of for the ride.

Thank you to Doubleday for my early copy. All opinions are mine own.

This was WILD. I'm not really sure if I loved it or was just confused by it. I'll say that it's unlike anything else I've ever read.

Go into this blind and be prepared for something unexpected.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

It took me the first 50 or so pages of American Mermaid by Julia Langbein to get into it but once that happened, I couldn't put it down. What a completely unique and interesting story. I didn't want this book to end and I love it when that happens. It's written so beautifully and enjoyed that we got to read parts of the book that was being adapted, as well.

I will be recommending this book to everyone and I cannot wait to talk about it.

English teacher Penelope finds herself the "toast of the town" in Hollywood when her first novel, "American Mermaid" is optioned for the big screen. Moving from Connecticut to LA, Penelope is determined to participate in the creation of the screenplay. Being assigned two young male screenwriters with which to work, Penelope finds that her story of woman power and self determination is quickly becoming a mermaid story for 12-year-olds and her smart, empowered protagonist is now a live action sex toy. As Penelope loses control of her work, she is convinced that her mermaid, "Sylvia" is actually real and is causing all kinds of havoc with the script. Is Penelope losing her mind? Is there an explanation for the sudden script changes that she and the others have not made? Is there more to Penelope's own story beside that of the meek and mild English teacher? Plenty of ideas and causes to investigate among these pages both in Penelope's story and that of her heroine, the mermaid Sylvia.

I really tried to give this book an honest effort, but this hot mess was a DNF for me. Was it trying to be edgy? Funny? Angsty? I’m honestly not even sure what I just read.

Wow! This was something else. Interestingly, I can see this working as a mini-series perhaps a bit better than it did a book (if you've read the book, you'll get why that's interesting) - it sagged a bit in the middle. But overall, what a creative, fun, read! I'm not totally sure who I'll recommend it to, but I will recommend it.

I think the concept for this book is original, but I liked the premise more than I actually enjoyed reading this book. One of the big things that was missing for me was that for the most part I didn’t find it all that funny. That is subjective and other readers will find this more humorous and more entertaining than I did. There were also points when the plot was either confusing or dragged a bit for me. The main character, Penelope, was definitely just confusing to me, and I never got a handle on who she was or why she was doing anything, and that became tedious.

Again, this is a unique plot and I appreciate that. I know this book is going to appeal to many readers. I liked how chapters from the book that the main character wrote are interspersed throughout; I think that really worked with the parallel storylines. I also liked the ridiculous characters and the bizarre reality that is the movie business in Los Angeles.

Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley and the author for the chance to review American Mermaid. I enjoyed this . Sarcastic, funny and a book within a book is always a good theme for me. I am interested to see what else Langbein has in store for us.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this title. This book was very well written, and it's impressive that the author created basically two intertwining novellas. There was definitely some solid dark humor in here, but make sure you're into magical realism before diving in to this one. Pun intended.

American Mermaid by Julia Langbein
Available on March 21st.

American Mermaid is a story within a story. Penelope is a Connecticut teacher. While drinking one night, she wrote a book about a mermaid named Sylvia. The book proved to be a success. Penny relocates to LA in order to network with people that can help her advance her career for the Hollywood adaptation of her book. Things turn awry when Penny starts believing Sylvia is real and is upset by the scriptwriters' changes, including Penny herself.

Penny's Hollywood struggles are interspersed with experts from her book. The first half of the book is enjoyable, but then it takes a different turn that was a bit tricky to keep up with. This book is worthwhile, but probably not a topic for all readers.

American Mermaid is a debut for Julia Langbein. It will be a pleasure to read more of her work in the future.

Thank you NetGalley, and Doubleday Books, for sharing this incredible book with me. Your kindness is appreciated. 3/5

#American Mermaid

I love a story within a story and this one delivers. I thought about it long after I finished, and will definitely add it to my stack of things to reread when I am in a slump. Looking forward to more from this author.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Doubleday Books and #NetGalley. Thank you to the publishers, NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

A shockingly beautiful debut novel. It’s a tale that’s hard to put down. The writing is funny, unique and brilliantly executed. Pick this up for your next book club read.

American Mermaid follows Penny, a high school English teacher-turned best-selling author through her lackluster Hollywood experiences as a screenwriter. Within the chapters of this book are excerpts from the book she wrote, American Mermaid. This is the real story, it seems.

I could not get into the main plot line. Penny is one-dimensional and boring, as are the other characters. The book she wrote is where the real excitement is, but even that doesn’t move as quickly as I would like. I did really like Sylvia and Dr. Masahiro.

This author is good with words, but at times, tries too hard. She goes on and on, with paragraph-long sentences at times. I wanted to like the book. I wanted to care more.
Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

American Mermaid is weird. And even more weird is the fact that in a story about an author that writes a story about a young woman who discovers that she’s a mermaid and her adoptive human father wants to destroy the world, the mermaid story feels more cohesive than the author’s life in LA. If the book had only been about Sylvia, the mermaid, it probably would have still been pretty offbeat, but I feel like it would have been easier to stay engaged with. As Penny, the author, flits around LA, going to parties, getting drunk, getting high, and getting lost in the diaspora that is Hollywood I regularly felt myself tuning out, getting completely confused, or desperately hoping for more mermaid excerpts. In all fairness, Penny starts losing her mind (and her dignity) the further the reader gets into the story, so it’s not that hard to get lost. Between the parties that accomplished nothing, and the passive aggressive arguing with the bro-twin screenwriters (that remind me why I spend WAY more time reading books than watching TV) I couldn’t get into this storyline at all. The best thing I can say about it is that it lays bare all of the banality that exists and how much gets stripped out of good stories for the sex appeal that brings eyeballs to screens. This story may appeal to those that like quirky books that get pegged as literary, but it was just not the right type of book for me. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

AMERICAN MERMAID by Julia Langbein // When Penelope’s book about a wheelchair-bound woman who discovers she’s a mermaid is optioned for a film, she leaves behind her teaching job and heads to LA to work on the script. I really liked the first half of this book - Penelope is a fish out of water (ha!) who is dazzled by the culture shock of LA and starts to seriously spiral. But the constant interjections of excerpts from Penelope’s book (which I hated) became really annoying for me and the second half just fizzled. Penelope is a strange person and I really hoped her strangeness would lead somewhere surprising and bring everything together, but it didn’t for me.

Thanks to @doubledaybooks for this #gifted ARC. Out 3/21/23.

Penelope, a teacher from Connecticut, writes a book about a mermaid called Sylvia which ends up becoming a huge hit. With the book set to be adapted into a big Hollywood movie, Penny relocates to LA to mingle with the right people while helping write the script. However, things don't go according to plan when Penny starts believing Sylvia has come to life and is mad at the scriptwriters, including Penny herself, about the changes they're making.

I enjoyed the writing style and I really liked the first half. It's funny and a little out there but enjoyable to read while dealing with issues like climate change, feminism, and the entertainment industry. The chapters alternate between Penny's life and excerpts from her book American Mermaid. The further I got into the book, the harder it became to really follow along though. I honestly didn't really understand the ending - maybe the intention was to leave the reader confused about what was real and what wasn't but I couldn't tell if Penny was having a psychosis at the end or if mermaids were actually real.

While I greatly enjoyed the first half, this probably isn't really my type of book.

This took me a long time to finish. The premise was great but it didn't come together the way I'd like. I enjoyed the book within the book more than the writers story itself. I applaud the ambition of the story but I didn't get what I'd want for the time invested.

This was very quirky and offbeat! It follows a young writer as she sells her book to "Hollywood" and moves out to LA to help work on the screenplay. Interspersed through her story are chapters from her book. I loved reading those. Her book is about a disabled girl who tried to commit suicide, and when she falls in to the ocean, finds that she is actually a mermaid! She finds out her Dad is not the kind man she thought she was. The ending kind of fell out for me, though, the last few chapters seemed a bit confusing and I wasn't sure what was happening. But the author's voice is very fun and I will read more from her!

I’m so sorry- I’m positive there are people who will love this book, but it wasn’t for me. I couldn’t get into it and it was confusing for me to read. It didn’t work well for me to read about a woman writing a book that is the same as the one I was reading. Was it nonfiction or just another story?
I didn’t finish it , so my 1 star rating is because it was DNF and Netgalley made me put a star rating.
I applaud the author on publishing her art and give my best wishes to her and her future readers!

In this wry social commentary, broke teacher Penelope writes a hit novel and is swept away to Hollywood by the promise of big money if she will help turn her book into a movie. But before long, the movie industry has twisted Peneope's feminist story is twisted into a sexy action flick and her message is gutted. But the story won't die quietly--mysterious things start happening to the script and the people involved. Could the mermaid possibly be more than a figment of Penelope's imagination?

Julia Langbein is a wordsmith! Every word crackles and flows into the next to create a rhythmic, cohesive whole. So much of this work was a social commentary: men trying to conquer nature; men trying to conquer women. The narrative posits that society teaches women not to trust themselves and their own inner voices, preventing them from being their best selves and accessing their own power. We watch as Penelope trudges through an isolated, depressing life, barely squeezing by and lacking meaning and connections--feeling different and alone and left chasing shallow things that give a false sense of security. And her mermaid protagonist feels the same--like something's wrong with her which makes her isolated and alone. Both feel a distinct asexuality in a world where society tells women that men have a right to their bodies. The mermaid world in Penelope's book, however, lifts up a matriarchal society immune to the sexual power and destruction that men hold, where mermaids lure men to their deaths through the promise of pleasure, and then gutting them as cleanly and carefully as humans gut a fish. In the end, the superpower is really the love of women for each other and for their offspring, a deeply resonant truth about society and self. I can see this as an excellent book for a university class or a thinking group of people who want to examine and improve society and how we treat each other and the planet.