The Surface Breaks: a reimagining of The Little Mermaid

Author: O'Neill, Louise, Escobar, Paola

Interest age: from c 12 years

Published on 2 May 2019 by Scholastic in the United Kingdom.

30 years after Disney's The Little Mermaid movie was released, it's

time for a feminist reimagining for a new generation.

'A masterpiece' Marian Keyes 'A fierce torrent of a book, raging

and forceful and gripping. I was swept away' Kiran Millwood Hargrave

'Her prose cuts and rages and her vision of the Sea Witch

is truly transformative' The Observer. Think you know the story

of the Little Mermaid? Think again... Deep beneath the sea, off

the cold Irish coast, Gaia is a young mermaid who dreams of freedom

from her controlling father. On her first swim to the surface,

she is drawn towards a human boy. She longs to join his carefree

world, but how much will she have to sacrifice? What will it take

for the little mermaid to find her voice? Hans Christian Andersen's

original fairy tale is reimagined through a searing feminist

lens, with the stunning, scalpel-sharp writing and world building

that has won Louise her legions of devoted fans. A book with

the darkest of undercurrents, full of rage and rallying cries: storytelling

at its most spellbinding.