Book Review: American Mermaid by Julia Langbein

My Rating: 3.5⭐️ 

The primary narrative follows former high school English teacher Penelope “Penny” Schleeman as she moved to L.A. after the rights of her debut novel, "American Mermaid” is acquired by a Hollywood Studio. The money and the fame propel Penny into a new life, distinctly different from form her low-paying job in New Haven, Connecticut wherein she could barely make ends meet. Hired to co-write the screenplay with a professional screenwriter duo, she struggles to protect her source material and her MC, wheelchair-bound asexual scientist Sylvia from being rewritten into a more “cinematic” adaptation. But Penny has very little say in the process. As the narrative progresses, and Penny is gradually pushed out of the project on account of some mysterious modifications being made to the script that the others involved in the project believe are being made by Penny, the lines between reality and fiction begin to blur.

Julia Langbein’s American Mermaid is genre-defying, unique, entertaining, creative and exhausting! I was left feeling as if I had read a book much longer than 330+ pages! The author blends two narratives (three if you include the continuously evolving screenplay) to create a cleverly crafted novel that touches upon several themes – self-acceptance, feminism, stereotyping of women in media, and environmental concerns among them. Penny’s introduction to the movie-making process, her experiences in L.A., and her interactions with the screenwriters were entertaining and provided much-needed comic relief between the pages of her novel which was more intense and dealt with darker themes. Sylvia is an interesting character and I enjoyed the trajectory of her character in Penny’s novel. Following the two storylines did prove to be a bit taxing primarily because the excerpts from Penny’s novel are quite detailed and overshadow Penny's storyline (I think we practically read the full novel and I did like it, maybe a bit more than the primary narrative before it ventured into world domination territory) and the descriptions of Penny’s experiences with the rich and famous in Hollywood become a tad tedious around the halfway mark. The introduction of Derek into Penny’s Hollywood storyline felt forced and unnecessary. But the pace does pick up towards the end as the author blends the narratives and we venture into some intense territory.

This is an impressive debut that will appeal to many readers. There is a lot to like about it. For me, however, this book falls into a category wherein I enjoyed the concept/premise of the book a bit more than the book itself.

Many thanks to Julia Langbein, Doubleday Books and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This book is due to be released on March 21, 2023.