Into the Forest discussion

Here is the place to discuss retellings, traditional tales, or books that contain sea and/or water creatures. Examples include mermaids, kraken, kelpies, Loch Ness, Leviathan, Lusca, Umibozu, encantado, rusalka, and more.

I am going to go with Selkies for this challenge.

Michele wrote: "I am going to go with Selkies for this challenge."

I love selkie folklore!

I will be reading this one

The Blue Salt Road

I think I'll read Fathomfolk for this prompt.
Really recommend The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea if anyone needs insipration! ;)

I read Breathe and Count Back from Ten by Natalia Sylvester as one of my picks for this category. It doesn't have actual mermaids in it, but it uses the mermaid fairytale to tell a story set in contemporary times. I really enjoyed it! It would be a good pick for someone who doesn't love fantasy.

Some books I’ve read that fit this prompt are:
The Changeling Sea (features various magical sea people) and Something Rich and Strange( fae that are sea creatures) by Patricia A. McKillip
River Mumma ( a River goddess) by Zalika Reid-Benta
The New Moon's Arms ( selkies) by Nalo Hopkinson
Tithe ( Kelpie) by Holly Black
The People of the Sea by David Thomson( folk legends about selkies)
The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan (selkie)
Undine by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué
The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse (features a bad ass lady captain who turns into a mermaid)
The Wild Ways by Tanya Huff (Selkies)

That’s all I can remember now, but I’m sure I’ve read more.
I don’t know yet what I will read for this challenge.

Some others:

The Salt Grows Heavy: Mermaid, horror
Chlorine by Jade Song: Mermaid. Weird? Defies category.
The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey: Caribbean folklore
The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag: YA graphic novel, Selkie
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh: Sea god, sea beast, YA fantasy
Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore: YA, Mexican alebrijes
Tidesong by Wendy Xu: MG graphic novel, sea dragons
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant: Mermaids, horror
The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen: YA graphic novel
A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow: YA contemporary fantasy, sirens
Things in Jars by Jess Kidd: Historical fantasy, mermaid
The Deep by Rivers Solomon: Fantasy, mermaid
Circe by Madeline Miller: Historical fantasy, lots of Greek myth sea creatures
The Merry Spinster: Tales of Everyday Horror by Daniel M. Lavery: Horror short stories, mermaid
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater: YA historical fantasy, kelpies
Swim the Moon by Paul Brandon: Contemporary fantasy, mermaids
Mermaids & Medicine Women by Basil Johnston: Indigenous American mermaid folklore collection.

I read A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall for this challenge and it's such a lovely cozy fantasy written in letters. I highly recommend it!

I read The Reyes Incident. I was excited because it's a sapphic mermaid horror but ultimate, it was just messy. Only 2 stars.

Jamie wrote: "I read The Reyes Incident. I was excited because it's a sapphic mermaid horror but ultimate, it was just messy. Only 2 stars."

That's too bad!

You've probably read or heard of these, but other queer mermaid horror/horror-esque books I've loved are Into the Drowning Deep, Chlorine, and The Deep by Rivers Solomon. There's also The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw, which I liked but didn't love.

Margaret wrote: "Some others:

The Salt Grows Heavy: Mermaid, horror
Chlorine by Jade Song: Mermaid. Weird? Defies category.
The Mermaid of Black Conch and Mermaids & Medicine Women! I read them a while ago but see I rated them both 4 stars.

I saw my library has a copy of The Mermaid of Black Conch so it will be my choice for this section!

I read that one a while ago! I liked it; it's interesting.

Margaret wrote: "I read that one a while ago! I liked it; it's interesting."

Yes, your review made me want to read it!

I read Fathfomfolk for this one and it was utterly enthralling. Definitely recommend it.

Erin Darrow wrote: "I read Fathfomfolk for this one and it was utterly enthralling. Definitely recommend it."

Oh good to hear! I want to read that one.

I think I'm gonna go with A Sweet Sting of Salt, which seems to be a sapphic retelling of The Selkie Wife. It looks like it came out only a couple months ago, so I'll let y'all know how it is if you're interested!

kelchie wrote: "I think I'm gonna go with A Sweet Sting of Salt, which seems to be a sapphic retelling of The Selkie Wife. It looks like it came out only a couple months ago, so I'll let y'all kno..."

That's on my TBR! Looks good.