He knew then, without any other proof, that she was a mermaid, a real mermaid, and far from wanting her in Barnum’s tank, he wanted her to return to the ocean or to her cottage on the rocks or just go anywhere but there, for Barnum would take all of her magic and twist it out of her until the enchantment was gone, and Levi was afraid for her, so afraid.

When I heard that Christina Henry was writing a story about a mermaid, my first thought was that, as well-known as she is for fantasy retellings, it would be a retelling of The Little Mermaid; that idea intrigued me enough on its own, but when I learned that this was actually to be a historical fiction about the Fiji mermaid in P.T. Barnum’s American Museum, I was totally hooked and knew I had to get my hands on this one. What a fascinating and unique story idea, right?

Freedom was far more intoxicating than safety could ever be.

Not only is the entire plot so magnificently singular and fresh, but its execution? At risk of gushing, it’s flawless. Christina’s writing is so atmospheric, especially in the beginning of the story, where I constantly found myself thinking I could practically taste the salt in the air and hear the waves crashing against the rocky Maine shore.

Women who did what they liked instead of what other people wished were often accused of witchcraft, because only a witch would be so defiant, or so it was thought.

Hidden amidst the whimsy and fantasy, she occasionally hits you in the gut with a powerful quote or observation on the human condition and society’s endless flaws, and you find yourself wondering if you’re reading a historical fairytale or a tongue-in-cheek lesson on feminism and acceptance. Amelia is headstrong and powerful, in part because nobody’s ever told her not to be, and she understands something that many women have stripped away from them at a young age: that taking care of herself and surviving will always be more important than protecting a man’s ego.

“Do not mistake the revelation of my body for the revelation of my heart. My heart keeps its own secrets, and they don’t belong to you or anyone else just because you’ve seen me with a fish tail.”

There’s also a running theme of a woman’s autonomy and how heavily Amelia clings to her freedom; despite the pains she’s been through in life, her greatest adversary at any given time is whatever the greatest threat to her independence. She refuses to be shamed for the shape of her body or exposure of her skin, for her feelings and desires, or even simply for the ways she views the world.

“Until I became a human, nobody ever told me there was something wrong with my body.”

One thing I would like to mention, as I know it is a hard topic to read about for many people, is that there is a brief subplot in the book regarding Amelia’s infertility and how badly she wants to bear a child. As a woman who has also struggled with infertility, I didn’t feel that there were any particularly heavy or triggering scenes, but I wanted to offer a fair warning in case anyone needs to mentally prepare themselves before reading about those struggles.

“Why is a girl less valuable than a boy?”

Even if none of the themes I’ve mentioned here have convinced you to pick up a copy of The Mermaid, let me leave you with this: at the end of the day, under all of its necessary and skillfully woven social commentary, this is a gorgeous historical fantasy tale with remarkable, three-dimensional characters, a plot that never grows stale or slow, and a protagonist that you can’t help but love and root for.

All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to Berkley for providing me with this finished copy in exchange for an honest review!

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