Happy Pub Day‼️ Special thanks to the author, @bloomsburybooksus #BloomsburyCreatorCircle for gifted copy & @librofm for my gifted ALC.

Hurricane Arlene swept through the town of Mercy, Louisiana leaving behind nothing but grief, devastation, weird animal mutations, and red algae that consumes everything. Noon and her mother sail through the waters daily in search of seafood and her missing father and brother. When she’s forced to help a local self-appointed leader hunt for the monster they believe lives in the water. Noon will soon discover the truth about herself and the ruins of Mercy.  

This was an interesting story but it didn’t really hit like I wanted. Yes I was influenced by the cover don’t judge me. But I didn’t like how some of the themes overlapped each other. I also couldn’t understand whether or not the sudden overflow of red algae was a manifestation of Noon’s trauma. Or if it was brought to land by the storm and had an attraction to her in someway?

Overall, the book was okay there were a lot of moving parts. The pacing was decent, she did amazing with the world building and painting a vivid picture of the characters. Focusing on themes of trust, sexual trauma, gender identity, mother-daughter relationships, and body dysmorphia Tran brings to life a haunting story through the eyes of a young girl who questions her place in the world and the monsters that live within us.