The book Coral, by Sarah Ella, is an emotionally heart-wrenching story about a girl, a boy, and a mermaid. The girl, Brook, has extreme depression and anxiety. She is put in a facility to help her cope with it, though she doesn’t think it will help. She isn’t planning on staying long anyway, she wants to kill herself. The boy, Merrick, has a hard time with his father, the owner of a very successful company in San Francisco. His father is controlling and is too hard on Merrick and mean to his little sister, Amaya, and his mother. When Amaya tries to kill herself, Merrick feels it’s his father’s fault. He feels like he isn’t in control of his own life. The mermaid, Coral, is different than everyone else around her because she has the Disease. The Disease is emotions. Mermaids are supposed to be soulless creatures who kill sailors. She stands out in a society where blending in is vital. She feels even more alone when her oldest sister, the only one who really understands her, is at risk of being taken away by the Red Tide. When all three meet, they must save each other in order to truly understand themselves. Merrick must talk Brooke off the ledge. Brooke must help Coral see that she is not alone in the world. Coral must help Merrick understand that his father might not be the problem.

I really liked this book a lot. I thought the view that the author took on mental illness was really interesting and made it easier to understand. There was a quote in the book that I couldn’t find but it was along the lines of; you wouldn’t tell a cancer patient to just get over it, so why do people tell this to people with mental illnesses? I have firsthand experience with this because I have anxiety and depression and I have been told to “get over it”. It really helps to have a good support system of family and friends who you can rely on to be there for you and help you through the hard stuff. Brooke feels very alone until she meets Hope who helps her by reminding her that “You are not nothing, and neither am I”.

Coral, by Sarah Ella, is magnificent and definitely tear-inducing. I would recommend this book to anyone who has a mental illness or wants to learn more about what it’s like to live with mental illness every day. I would also recommend this book to anyone who likes an emotional love story, and mermaids.