Out of the Blue follows two people who couldn’t be more different. Crest is about to be on their Journey, a month-long stint on land that all teen merfolk must undergo—in order to become an Elder in their underwater community, they have to truly help a human within one moon cycle or be stuck on land forever. Crest is eager to get it over with and return to their true home, the wild waters.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, a very human lifeguard named Sean has just been dumped by his boyfriend and is determined to get him back. When these two meet, Crest agrees to help Sean by pretending to be Sean’s new beau and showing his ex what he’s missing out on. As two worlds collide and feelings well up, Crest is soon torn between wanting to stay on land to spend more time with Sean and returning to their merfolk peers—but how do you choose your true home within a single month?
The premise of Out of the Blue makes for a truly rambunctious reading experience. From a funny meet cute to clueless moments on Ross/Crest’s part to ridiculous “finding out your true identity” moments, this book really aims for all the queer feel-good vibes and I was here for it!
A highlight in Out of the Blue is of course the mythology June introduces about merpeople. Getting to learn about all these differences that exist for merpeople not to mention learning about the preconceived notions about humans merpeople grow up with was so interesting because it did in large parts mirror how humans are brought up to believe certain things only to have them dispelled if they meet people from other countries and cultures. It added a lot of depth to have two so seemingly different people find ways to appreciate and even envy the other’s upbringing and environment. Sean, for example, can’t imagine what it must be like to live underwater while Crest struggles with mannerisms and social cues humans have, yet they both learn from the other in ways neither expects.
Crest/Ross and Sean’s budding friendship also made for some excellent representation in the broader sense. For one, it was super refreshing to see a larger main character not only on the cover but actively described as large within the novel. Sean is very aware that he doesn’t have the body type that everyone associates with professional swimmers and I loved that he showed people that you don’t have to fit a certain body shape to kick ass in any given sport. In similar fashion, we have Crest who wears tight bodysuits and high heels once they’ve got their human legs and there’s never any fuss about it from other characters which was super validating and honestly, the kind of representation teens need to learn it’s okay to figure out what you like and dislike.
I also loved that we see this juxtaposition (which also worked as great social commentary) of Crest who’s been brought up under the sea where the gender binary doesn’t really exist and the human world that seems overwhelmingly preoccupied with it. The casual use of they/them pronouns for not only Crest but all merpeople (and no one making a fuss about it on land, either) was lovely to witness.
Now, beyond the lovely representation of queer joy, we also have some tried-and-true tropes in Out of the Blue that get a fun twist—Sean, after all, is trying hard to get his ex-boyfriend back by turning his whole life into a movie script so he has control over the narrative. I loved how the fake dating trope was used and how Sean really grows throughout the story—while he tries to make everything work according to his script, he soon realises that feelings can’t be scripted and it was super heart-warming to have him fall slowly for Crest.
And to follow a pairing where one side is quite literally out of their element is always fun! I admit, though, that some “switches” so to speak, were quite jarring—there are moments where Crest seems completely acclimated to human life only to then fall back to not understanding what a boner is which obviously makes for funny moments but made me question the linearity of their growth considering how often they do talk about scaling (basically the mer-equivalent of sex). But if you can look beyond those jarring moments and appreciate the heightened drama (I’m not kidding, this book goes from casual to dramatic explosion that can cause whiplash about half a dozen times), then Out of the Blue will keep you entertained for hours! Will you have to suspend your disbelief? Yes. Is it worth it? Double yes. Honestly, we could all do with some levity and June delivers that, no doubt about it.
Showing that home is truly where the heart is, Jason June’s sophomore novel Out of the Blue combines an extravagant take on The Little Mermaid with the ineffable feeling of falling in love during summer, making it the perfect beach read!
Out of the Blue is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of May 31st 2022.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Crest is not excited to be on their Journey: the monthlong sojourn on land all teen merfolk must undergo. The rules are simple: Help a human within one moon cycle and return to Pacifica to become an Elder–or fail and remain stuck on land forever. Crest is eager to get their Journey over and done with: after all, humans are disgusting. They’ve pollluted the planet so much that there’s a floating island of trash that’s literally the size of a country.
In Los Angeles with a human body and a new name, Crest meets Sean, a human lifeguard whose boyfriend has recently dumped him. Crest agrees to help Sean make his ex jealous and win him back. But as the two spend more time together and Crest’s pespective on humans begins to change, they’ll soon be torn between two worlds. And fake dating just might lead to real feelings…
This sophomore novel from Jason June dives into the many definitions of the world home and shows how love can help us find the truest versions of ourselves.
