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Based on the story notes at the end, I see what idea the author started out with. Unfortunately, I don't see it realized on the page. I would rather read non-fiction on the current state of the ocean, its inhabitants (and the leading theories on how to help it/them). I do not have an interest in tragedy porn as a method of raising awareness. And then there's the excessive violence against females and muddled messages around gender. NO.

To clarify, if this was about marine mammals, among others, suffering as a result of humanity's effects directly and indirectly on the ocean, WHY also take on the theme of abusive patriarchal societies as a form of corruption via recounting repeated physical and sexual abuse of females? Why simultaneously make so much of the story about sex/fertility/mating?

Why insinuate the sexual characteristics/genital changes, also referred to as “transitions” of one wrasse is a result of changing water chemistry/mutation (not exactly a positive framework!) and that their acceptance of their hermaphroditic state (alluding to intersex or trans identity? either way it feels weird) is proclaimed by a polyamorous free for all. I think it's supposed to feel sex positive, and maybe it's my ace agender viewpoint interfering, but as gender affirmation goes, it feels like a narrow, uncomfortable standard. Just, so much of this book gave me the ick. 🤷🏼‍♂️

I think my most charitable read of this book is it tried to do too many things in too short a space, though considering the levels of violence involved, there's no way I would have gotten through a longer version.

Even if you are lacking an awareness of how humanity has polluted the ocean, big culprits being not just oil and plastic, but sonar, how our affects on climate change also have secondary effects on that environment; even if somehow you missed how damaging misogyny is for society as a whole, let alone all those who identify as women, I would not suggest this book as the way to learn about those issues.

And if it's not supposed to be a teaching moment, it just feels grossly gratuitous in the name of evoking a reaction in the reader. 

⚠️ Ableism, SA, animal death, animal cruelty, animal experimentation, mentions of suicide, suicidal ideation, body horror, depression/grief - mental health concerns - self-destructive behaviour, PTSD