Content levels
Trigger warnings
Positive tags
Hero archetypes
Heroine archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Themes
Synopsis
"For Lewis and Wren, their first year of marriage is also their last. A few weeks after their wedding, Lewis receives a rare diagnosis. He will retain most of his consciousness, memories, and intellect, but his physical body will gradually turn into a great white shark. As Lewis develops the features and impulses of one of the most predatory creatures in the ocean, his complicated artist's heart struggles to make peace with his unfulfilled dreams. At first, Wren internally resists her husband's fate. Is there a way for them to be together after Lewis changes? Then, a glimpse of Lewis's developing carnivorous nature activates long-repressed memories for Wren, whose story vacillates between her childhood living on a houseboat in Oklahoma, her time with a college ex-girlfriend, and her unusual friendship with a woman pregnant with twin birds. Woven throughout this bold novel is the story of Wren's mother, Angela, who becomes pregnant with Wren at fifteen in an abusive relationship amidst her parents' crumbling marriage. In the present, all of Wren's grief eventually collides, and she is forced to make an impossible choice." -- Provided by publisher.
Is Shark Heart appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 16 and up.
This literary fantasy explores profound grief, body horror transformation, and intergenerational trauma including teen pregnancy and abusive relationships. While violence is not graphic, the emotional weight and mature themes around terminal illness, loss, and impossible choices make this appropriate for mature readers.
What to know going in
This book has mild violence, mild sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include child abuse, domestic violence, death of a loved one, and grief (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Adult readers will find a deeply moving meditation on love, loss, and the transformations we undergo in life and relationships.