Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a restful weekend and are ready for the week ahead.
Today I wanted to share my review for Coral by Sara Ella. The premise of the story presents itself as a retelling of The Little Mermaid, but rather than a retelling, I find that Sara Ella instead incorporated the spirit of Hans Christian Andersen. In the original story of The Little Mermaid, Andersen channeled the themes of unrequited love and isolation to show the harsher elements of life. In her latest work, Ella's elegant narrative style brought forth this morality tale of the past and wove it into a present day fairy tale where the staircase leading to a happily ever after is a glass staircase littered with fractured shards.
The steps may seem clear, but a closer look renders distorted images where characters such as Brooke show that life itself is not always a wonderful fairy tale. By incorporating the narratives of very real persona's, Ella's incorporation of mental health issues, depression, and angst provide readers with an emotional journey that is paramount for today's modern age. This is a difficult read in the sense of how you come to empathize with the individual narratives of the Coral, Brooke, and Merrick as you undergo their painful moments and the hardships of life that encounter their paths.
Coral is a profound, thought provoking read that takes you through life's darker, underwater moments and finally brings us to the surface where the light filters through. Waves still crash upon the shore, but by the end of the story, we find that the same ocean that we feel oppresses us, can lead us to safer shores that heal us and allow us to see undistorted light above water.
DREAM CAST
India Eisley as Brooke Jordan
Veronika Bonell as Coral
Cody Christian as Merrick
ABOUT THE BOOK
Coral
by Sara Ella Publisher: Thomas Nelson Release Date: November 12th 2019
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy,
Retellings, Mermaids, Fairy Tales
Synopsis:
Multiple award-winning young adult author Sara Ella reimagines The Little Mermaid in a powerful and unexpected way.
Sixteen-year-old mermaid Coral has always been different, standing out from her stoic sisters in a society where blending in is key. Worse yet, she fears she has been afflicted with the dreaded Disease. Said to be carried by humans, the Disease imposes emotions on its victims, causing them to commit unspeakable acts. The growing illness inside her, while terrifying, fascinates her very core. Where others see danger, Coral sees life. Could it be the colorless merfolk who are truly ill?
Above the sea, seventeen-year-old Brooke Jordan has nothing left to give. A homeless girl abandoned and forgotten, the only thing Brooke can rely on is the ocean. Her aching feet find refuge within the cool and comforting waves, while her broken heart grows harder with each passing day. When Brooke's and Coral’s worlds collide, everything alters in an instant. From learning to stand alone, to discovering the strength it takes to rely on another, the girls find that living requires taking that first painful breath. Each must make sacrifices, and when it comes to finding true love? Let’s just say the boys in their lives must learn to swim if they’re ever going to survive the storms.
Battling the odds against them, the girls will do whatever it takes to survive. But what must end for love and life to finally begin?
Taking a new twist on Hans Christian Andersen’s beloved fairy tale, this modern-day story explores mental health from several perspectives, questioning what it means to be human in a world where humanity often seems lost.
BOOK LINKS
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository | B&N | Kobo | iTunes | Google Books
ABOUT THE BOOK
Once upon a time, Sara Ella dreamed she would marry a prince and live in a Disney castle. Today, she spends her days throwing living room dance parties for her two princesses, raising her little prince to be a king, and conquering realms of her own imaginings. Oh, and her husband is definitely more swoon-worthy than any Prince Charming.
Sara’s UNBLEMISHED trilogy has received high praise and multiple awards, but none as rewarding as the love and support she receives from her readers every day. Her new story CORAL, a reimagining of THE LITTLE MERMAID, releases in the fall of 2019.
When she’s not on deadline, Sara Ella can most often be found fangirling on Twitter, Instagram, or her YouTube channel. She may or may not be obsessed with #Bookstagram, and she has a serious condition known as “Coffee Snob-itis.” She believes “Happily Ever After is Never Far Away.”
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