20 books you’ll absolutely want to binge at the beach this summer

The Mermaid – Christina Henry

Summer is the prime time for stories about sea creatures, and Christina Henry’s The Mermaid perfectly fits the bill. Like most mermaid tales, Henry’s features a protagonist who longs to leave the confines of the ocean. She wishes to learn more of the human world and to even see it for herself.

Luckily for Amelia, she falls in love with a human man who captures her in his fishing net. Using magic, she is able to join her love on land for many years. The two live happily on a cliff near the shore, until one day, the sailor does not return home.

After this, lonely Amelia is sought out by P.T. Barnum, who wishes her to be an attraction in his museum in America. She agrees, under the assumption that she’ll be able to come and go as she likes. But she soon realizes that it will be harder to leave Barnum’s clutches than she imagined.

True to Henry’s typical fashion, this novel is likely to cover some dark themes in spite of its whimsical nature. If you were a fan of Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook or Alice, this will be right up your alley. The Mermaid comes out on June 19.