The Jellyfish Problem

By: Tessa Yang

Narrated by: Erin Lin

A marine biologist makes the discovery of a lifetime when called to rescue the inhabitants of a small Maine island being menaced by a giant, glowing jellyfish in this richly imagined, wholly original debut.

As featured in People ∙ Entertainment Weekly ∙ NPR ∙ Marie Claire ∙ Katie Couric Media ∙ and more!

Dr. Jo Ness prefers jellyfish to people. Her best friend, Aldo, was the exception, but he died seven months ago. So she spends her days hidden away at an underfunded aquarium with her specimens and a draft of the jellyfish guide she and Aldo had been working on together. His voice is alive in the notes in the margins, and it’s enough. Almost.

Until she receives a call from Nadia, one of the few other humans she’s loved but whom she hasn’t heard from in years, asking for her help. Nadia tells her a grand tale of a giant jellyfish terrorizing her tiny island off the coast of Maine and sends a grainy video of the creature. Frankly, the footage looks fake, but Jo drops everything to fly across the country to see Nadia again, and to find this supposed sea beast. She couldn’t save Aldo, but perhaps she can help Nadia.

But when Jo arrives on Shattering Point, Nadia is nowhere to be found, and the islanders she meets each have something different to say about the creature they’ve dubbed Clementine . . . a jellyfish who changes all who see it.

At turns an ode to classic sea monster stories and a vibrant tale of human connection, The Jellyfish Problem is an unforgettable debut that announces a new talent.

Unique story & characters

I selected this because it takes place in Maine, and the references to both Portland and Maine island life did not disappoint. But it was also an interesting ocean mystery couched in the prickly protagonist’s struggle with grief & failed relationships. Unique and worth a listen. I don’t think the narrator captured my idea of what the character’s voices sound like, but it still worked.

Not for me

I had really been looking forward to this book, but overall it didn’t work for me. I wasn’t a fan of the narrator and found several of her character’s voices (especially male characters), ridiculous.

As for the story itself, as the summary on the book says, a scientist is summoned to an island by a former friend to research an unusual jellyfish. Upon arriving at the island she discovers that not only is her former friend missing, but the islanders are hiding something. There was a heavy focus on a couple of events that had happened in the protagonist’s life and it seems that she shaped her entire being around those events. She had a high level of neuroticism that was more annoying than endearing and overall o found the characters flat and the story unengaging.

Disjoined and unrealistic

Despite facts about jellyfish the title is misleading. Mostly about romance that was the priority while there lives were in danger. Terrible boring read but I stayed till end.