The Surface Breaks - Louise O'Neill

Hardcover, 320 pages

Published May 3rd 2018 by Scholastic

YA Fiction /Fairytale re-telling

Library

My Thoughts:

I have read 2 of her previous books, and yes those were dark, but this one was more dark depressing.

Gaia is a mermaid. They are meant to be pretty and sweet and without a thought in their head. But she wants to see the surface and what lies there. Her sisters are all nice and follow their father's lead (oh I can never watch the Little Mermaid again, her dad is an ahole!)

There are also Rusalkas in the seas and they live with the Sea Witch. These Kingdoms have a truce at the moment. Oh and if you do not know your lore Rusalkas are women who have died in water and come back as Rusalkas. 

As you know the story Gaia will eventually go up to the surface for the love of a human boy. And omg this girl was a brainless idiot. She was in love with someone she saw once and she thinks that he will love her back just like that ?! She gambles everything on it. Oh this story is crazy. So yes I was not the biggest Gaia fan cos she was so silly.

Oh and ALL MEN are rapists. Or at least give of a rapey vibe. Not the man she meets, but he is a narcissist. I was not a fan of this, not all men are rapey creeps. I wish there had been some normalcy.

I liked the book, and it felt depressing. I know the real story of course, not the silly DIsney version so I knew what to expect. But throw in all rapey men with incest and pedo vibes. Ugh, what a depressing world.

Conclusion:

Still, an interesting re-telling.

Cover

Nice

Blurb

Deep beneath the sea, off the cold Irish coast, Gaia is a young mermaid who dreams of freedom from her controlling father. On her first swim to the surface, she is drawn towards a human boy. She longs to join his carefree world, but how much will she have to sacrifice? What will it take for the little mermaid to find her voice? Hans Christian Andersen's original fairy tale is reimagined through a searing feminist lens, with the stunning, scalpel-sharp writing and world building that has won Louise her legions of devoted fans. A book with the darkest of undercurrents, full of rage and rallying cries: storytelling at its most spellbinding.