Identical twin seventeen-year old sisters, Jasmine and Abbigale "Abbi" Walsh, discover a half-fish humanoid during their time in Ocean City, Maryland the summer after they graduate from high school.
Jasmine, an inquisitive and motherly instinct-inclined Psychology student who happens to be the salutatorian of Crown High School's graduating class of 2007, earns her Lifeguarding license at the end of the fourth marking period and gets placed to work on Ocean City, Maryland's beach with her brawny surfer boyfriend, Ty Burgarham, for the next three-in-a-half months. Her ditzy and hyper younger twin by fifteen minutes, Abbi, does not hold a Lifeguarding job, but instead one at Polish Water Ice on the boardwalk.
Jasmine had no fear nor remorse possessing the superwoman-attitude she aspired to impact people from, not even after her family warned her of possible dangers. Her feelings towards her romanticized idea of becoming a lifeguard become a roller coaster after encountering a superstorm on the ten-mile beach. And following that, the arrival of an albino, bespectacled, half-koi fish humanoid...
The once-fearful beachgoers, including Jasmine, Abbi, and their social circle, take the fish-boy's encounter with a grain of salt for the remainder of their time down the shore, and realize how overwhelmingly witty, charismatic, and talented he is for a curious thirteen-year old who roams the seas all over the country.
Ella is falling apart trying to live a "perfect" high school life. Then she meets Ren, who can see past her scars. Suddenly perfection isn't her only option.
*****
Ella Volkov is a gifted music student, but she's depressed and starting to crack under the pressure of high school. Her overbearing father won't even let her choose what instrument she plays. Then she finds herself alone at a party with Ren, her best friend's crush. She'd always thought he was rude, but after that night he's all Ella can think about. Now she's trapped. If Ella dates Ren, it will ruin her friendship with Jenny. But if she stays true to Jenny, she's losing the one person who can see past her scars. It's up to Ella to decide if she will forge her own path, or stay in the "perfect" box designed for her...
Content and/or Trigger Warning: depression, anxiety, self-harm, violence, sexual assault.
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