Mr B's review

In her genre-blending debut novel, Julia Langbein weaves together two stories: a satirical tale of Hollywood corruption, and an eco-dystopian fantasy about mermaids. When Connecticut high school teacher Penny Schleeman is offered the chance to turn her novel, American Mermaid, into a movie, she moves to L.A. and is immediately swept into a world of confusing high-end parties, pretentious creatives, and ruthless producers. But worst of all, her co-screenwriters want to turn her asexual eco-warrior protagonist, Sylvia, into a teenaged sex symbol. As Penny and Sylvia each struggle to fit into a world in which they don’t belong, their stories begin to intertwine, and Sylvia quickly becomes more than just a figment of Penny’s imagination.  – Nethmi