Really mixed feelings on this one. Put me into a slump and had no real drive to pick it up, as it’s super outdated with some awful misogyny and a slur on page 12. When it was about the shark the tension was great and it was compelling, but any and all people related plot lines were not the one. One of the few times I think I’ll ever say the film is better. 

There is not enough shark in this book. At times, you think maybe some smart commentary is happening but no, this isn’t a particularly smart book. 

2 stars. 

🦈 The vibes:

🦈 My thoughts: 

Where do I even begin? Storygraph told me I wouldn’t like this one and once again Storygraph was correct. 2 stars feels generous- but I will say it’s not that this book is written poorly. It’s just that I disliked almost everything in this book. 

If this book was written to show how terrible humans are- then it did that. But otherwise- I don’t think this book gave me anything good. I’ve seen online a lot of attempts at explaining the moral of the book; some say it’s about fear, others say it’s about nature, and more say it’s about predators (ie human). For me- the best I can take away from this novel is that it shows just how flawed humans are and how deep greed runs in our blood. Almost every character exhibited deep selfishness and greed. But enough with the philosophical chat. Now onto my unfiltered thoughts. 

Theres a shark, sure. But mostly there’s a lot of bad behavior here. The shark is almost the hero compared to the rest of the characters. Sigh. 

Ok. So let’s just jump into the various categories (and how they didn’t work for me): 

This book is pretty gory and gross. There’s tore up bodies from the shark- limbs, blood, and guts. It’s just nasty. I don’t recommend snacking while reading this one. 

The gore is probably the least gross thing to mention. Overall- it’s just gross in all the ways. Like mentioning the police chief Brody dreaming of when he’s in highschool groping a girl in the stairwell or how he’s married but feels things when he sees young blonds in the beach running bouncing around. Or talk about teenage boys grinding into the sand to get their jolly’s. See. Gross. 

But ultimately I was disgusted by Ellen’s behavior. She says all girls fantasize about being a prostitute and sleeping with a bunch of men …. And that she specifically fantasizes about being raped. A whole scenario she explains in detail. Gross, guys. Gross. I absolutely don’t want to hear about this, Ellen. Nobody does. 

Furthermore - cheating and affairs is something I don’t enjoy to see. Flirting with married people entertaining flings. Bleh. 

There’s elements of prejudice/racists comments. I didn’t enjoy this. 

There’s mobs, animal cruelty, and almost every other CW out there for this book. It’s just a big yikes in all the ways. 

Specifically - amongst others - a baby dolphin and a cat is killed. I really disliked this book. I rest my case. 

I don’t know that this would be considered  “open door” necessarily but there’s enough explicit descriptions throughout that I’d go ahead and consider it as such. 

Note: open/language 

Check CW for this. It’s extensive. 

What was that!? Maybe it'd be rated higher for me if I hadn't grown up with the movie and fallen in love with that first but still!!!! 

Things I liked: 
- the detail of the shark attacks
- the few moments we actually see the shark (this book was more about Hooper and Ellen's affair than the freaking shark)

Things I didn't like:
- the affair subplot (main plot?)
- the shark being described as "the fish" Even other characters in the book say that it's odd when the shark is described that way but that's how it's described for the ENTIRE book 🐟 

Other thoughts:
- Vaughn should have been eaten by "the fish". Why did he get to skip off into the sunset? He was a terrible person. 

Maybe my nostalgia for the movie is blinding me, but I was not a fan of this book at all.

I was rooting for the shark after chapter 2. But...

the book is about everything BUT the shark. And then after a lackluster book, it just dies.

I’m so glad that I never bought a copy of this book and just borrowed it from the library. I would never recommend this. If you love the Jaws movies like I do save yourself the time. 

The only good parts were the few scenes with the shark. I was expecting this to be a lot like the movie but this was like 90% about infidelity. The only reason I’m not rating this lower is that I don’t hate this book, I’m just
extremely disappointed.

TW: Rape

I was struggling with what to rate this.. I think I would’ve given it a 4/5 if not for the horrid dialogue between two specific characters in the book. 

Exhibit A:
“‘That’s supposed to be every schoolgirl’s fantasy,’ she ventured playfully. ‘What is?’ ‘To be a … you know, a prostitute. To sleep with a whole lot of different men.’”

Exhibit B:
“‘To fantasies,’ he said. ‘Tell me about yours.’ His eyes were a bright, liquid blue, and his lips were parted in a half smile. Ellen laughed. ‘Oh, mine aren’t very interesting. I imagine they’re just your old run-of-the-mill fantasies.’ ‘There’s no such thing,’ said Hooper. ‘Tell me.’ He was asking, not demanding, but Ellen felt that the game she had started demanded that she answer. ‘Oh, you know,’ she said. Her stomach felt warm, and the back of her neck was hot. ‘Just the standard things. Rape, I guess, is one.’”

Exhibit B then evolves into Ellen describing examples of the above. Being a book about sharks, I never expected dialogue between the characters to be anything close to this. Especially after seeing the movie first.

Also, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a “yawning” vagina before now.

tba