Shark Heart by Emily Habeck

The Cover of Shark Heart by Emily Habeck

Dates: Jan. 1 - Jan. 2

2025: 1/100

Rating: 3.5/5

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There are certain books that I read because, well, everyone is talking about them and everyone is raving that the book changed their lives. I wanted Shark Heart by Emily Habeck to change my life, instead it was just an average read that I will remember more as being a let down than anything else. The allegory of mental deterioration (i.e. Dementia, Alzheimer's, etc.) as the physical change from human into animal was a compelling premise. It was, however, for being the advertised premise of the book, under explored and handled near nonchalantly. Avoidance is how people deal with bad news, but for it to work in literature there needs to be a "come to Jesus" moment. There is no moment where Lewis and Wren discuss Lewis's disease for what it is, and how this loss is effecting them/will affect Wren moving forwards. I would have loved a further exploration of what turning into a shark was doing to their relationship. This book falls into the trap of "thing happens, thing happens" without the needed reflection of characters reacting in between each event.

The internalization of the characters almost works well, and is almost something so profound that it hurts. I picked this book up to cry about love and loss, but nothing was as moving or as deeply profound as reviews and online discussions had lead me to believe. Lit-Fic as a genre is entirely hit or miss, and while I do not think that Shark Heart was entirely a miss, the only thing saving this book from being a miss -- and rated lower than a 3.5 -- is how beautifully and well written it is. Emily Habeck, especially for a debut novel, did such a good job with language that made me keep wanting to tern the page. However, the discussion that me and girlfriend ended up having was what was missing rather than what was happening.

Up Next: The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

Kiley A. Olchaskey (she/they)

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