The Moorings of Mackerel Sky

Heart-wrenching realities ground the magic and wonder of this impressive debut fantasy. Mackerel Sky is a small, fictional lobstering town on the Maine coast with a long history of seafaring and many local legends of mermaids inhabiting the nearby ocean waters. The novel covers an eventful few seasons in town, focused on a handful of inhabitants: Leo, a 13-year-old, whose drug-addicted mother is neglectful at best; Myra, the wise older woman who rescues him; Manon, a schoolteacher unmoored by the loss of a daughter born with sirenomelia, a rare congenital disorder in which the legs are fused together; and Derrick, the closeted star pitcher of the high school baseball team. Personal and civic tragedies, past and present, weave together into a remarkable tapestry as the connections between all the threads become clear—and the town’s mermaid myths prove all too real. A graphically violent episode in the story’s second half is horrifyingly well realized and will rattle many readers. This is an ambitious and memorable venture from an intriguing new voice. Agent: Jennifer Weltz, Jean V. Naggar Literary. (Feb.)