American Mermaid

More about the book

A brilliantly funny and razor-tongued debut follows a writer lured to Los Angeles to adapt her feminist mermaid novel into a big-budget action film, believing her heroine has come to life to seek revenge for Hollywood's violations. Penelope Schleeman, a broke Connecticut high school teacher, is surprised when her debut novel, "American Mermaid," about a wheelchair-bound scientist named Sylvia who discovers her withered legs are remnants of a powerful tail, becomes a bestseller. Lured to LA by promises of easy money, Penelope is tasked with co-writing the screenplay for a major studio alongside two male hacks. As the studio pressures her to transform Sylvia from a fierce eco-warrior into a teen sex object, strange occurrences unfold. Threats emerge in the screenplay draft, and siren calls lead people into danger. When her partners attempt to kill off Sylvia in a false cinematic ending, tensions escalate. Is Penelope losing her mind, or is Sylvia truly among us? The story explores a young woman's journey through a world of casual smiles and ruthless calculation, as she discovers a beating heart in her fiction—a creature she’ll do anything to protect. This comic and insightful tale features two female characters in search of truth, love, and self-acceptance as they navigate their worlds without losing their voices.