Out of the Blue

How old were you when you saw Disney’s #TheLittleMermaid, wished you could be a mermaid and then spent the whole of that summer in a pool or even a bathtub pretending to be one? Yeah, me too. 🧜‍♀️ That same feeling came back to me while I was reading #OutoftheBlue by #JasonJune. This story starts out on a sad note, with Sean getting dumped by Dominic and Crest (aka Ross) being pushed to go on the traditional journey MERPEOPLE go on when they hit 16. Sean and Ross (the human name Crest takes during his Journey on land) meet when Ross washes on shore in #LosAngeles. After a well-intentioned, albeit unnecessary, beach rescue by Sean, the two become quick friends. As part of the Journey, Ross must selflessly help a human in need before they can go back to Pacifica and decides helping Sean get Dominic back is just the ticket. Over the course of one moon cycle (the length of the Journey), antics ensue, connections are made, and people fall in love. Two very important notes though! About midway through the book, there is a twist you absolutely won’t see coming and sometimes happily ever after doesn’t look the same for everyone. This book has some really important themes around non-binary people and living life beyond the binary in addition to LGBTQIA+ themes. As a people, mer don’t have a binary gender construct and everyone uses the singular they. The book alternates first person #POV between Sean and Ross/Crest with each chapter, and June consistently has Ross/Crest referring to new people they come across as masculine or feminine-presenting. As a cis woman, it was a way of thinking that I don’t usually have but is an important and eye-opening way of seeing the world. And now I’m going to throw on a swimsuit and find the nearest pool and pretend I’m a mer. #innerchild