Fairy tale re-tellings are HUGE right now, thanks, in large part, to Disney. Seems everyone wants a piece of that (mouse-flavored?) pie, meaning everyone is clamoring to get a jump on this trend before it goes the way of Terminal Illnesses and Glittering Immortals. This has the unfortunate side effect of making nearly every reboot published lately sound the same. Like when you eat something really spicy and everything consumed afterward is overshadowed by that spice flavor. It's all uniform.
And then there are books like September Girls.
Bennett Madison's Little Mermaid re-imagining hit the shelves a few years before the fairy tale re-tellings truly became A Thing. So it has that advantage. But it would be unique even if it were published today, at the height of the trend.
Dee-Dee isn't sure what she is. "Dee-Dee" isn't even her real name. She doesn't remember that...or anything else about herself or her life before she crawled from the waves onto that Outer Banks beach. All she knows is she, and all the countless Girls like her, are cursed. The specifics of that curse are foggy, but there are certain rules they must all follow:
1. They are spit from the ocean upon their 16th birthday. And they have until they turn 21 to break the curse, which is harder than one might imagine. If they fail, they must return to the ocean (see rule 3). If they get lucky and do break the curse, they are free. Most fail.
2. They must adopt a certain appearance (blonde, beautiful...identical) and a certain demeanor (shallow, flirty, unable to speak unless spoken to first).
3. They must stay close the ocean from which they came, but if they enter the water they will drown.
4. They will begin to forget everything they need to know as soon as they set foot on land for the first time.
Sam escapes to Dee-Dee's beach with his father and older brother, Jeff. Sam's mother recently left the family to go "find herself" and, since then, things at home have been getting steadily worse for the three men. None of the guys begin the story very keen on women and have operating under quite a bit of resentment and false beliefs. This begins to slowly change when Sam and Jeff meet Dee-Dee and Dee-Dee's older "sister", Kristle, and learn about the curse (and the magic) happening at that beach. And, as she gets to know Sam and know herself, things change for Dee-Dee too.
Unlike many of the re-tellings out there, September Girls is no light-hearted bit of fluff (I've often told people I recommend it to that this is not a "kissing book"). Rather, it dives deep to put a unique spin on Anderson's mermaid story and brings to light what that story has always been to me: A commentary on how society typically (and falsely) views women (pretty, silent, submissive) and a cautionary tale about leaving/being forced to leave home for all the wrong reasons. It's a story about identity, about becoming who you're supposed to be rather than what you think is expected of you, and fully accepting yourself for who you really are. It is a story I interpreted as being decidedly feminist. September Girls is disturbing and gorgeous and will stick with you long after you've put it aside. You will either absolutely love it or passionately hate it. There will be no middle ground with this one.
As for me... Of course I loved it! It's one of my favorites. And I encourage you to give it a try.
--AJB
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