The Jellyfish Problem by Tessa Yang ~ a Review

by MK French

Dr. Jo Ness spends her days hidden away at an underfunded aquarium with her specimens and a draft of the jellyfish guide she and her best friend Aldo had been working on before he died seven months ago. Nadia is a friend she hadn't heard from in years contacts her with a grainy video of a giant jellyfish terrorizing a tiny island off the coast of Maine. Though it looks fake, Jo immediately flies across the country to help Nadia. When Jo arrives on Shattering Point, Nadia is nowhere to be found. The islanders have different stories about the jellyfish, and it's up to Jo to figure out what happened.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

June 2026; Berkley; 978-0593955826
audio, ebook, print (384 pages); fantasy

The story is as much about learning about the giant jellyfish that a child named Clementine as it is about Jo and her grief. Each chapter has an excerpt of the book she and Aldo had been working on, and the comments on it, as they left notes for each other, show the fondness as well as the knowledge they have. Jo is stuck in a holding pattern of grief, keeping people at bay so she's not hurt again, but the lure of a weird jellyfish draws her out of her office. Clementine has a strange property that soon becomes apparent: those who see her can't leave the island. Jo sees her and starts to investigate that odd property so the people can leave if they need to, which becomes more imperative when one person is medivaced out, and when the barrier holding the people in place seems to shrink.

The grief makes Jo see Aldo, who she eventually thinks is a yōkai, or a Japanese spirit. Half Japanese in heritage, she thinks it's a menacing force out to hurt her, and it's a great allegory for how grief seems to keep people isolated and small, hurting them from the inside. Jo gets to know people on the island and reconnects with Nadia. The solution to the jellyfish problem is not what the locals expect, and is one that Jo figures out with the help of others. I loved the message in this: making connections with other people helps solve problems, and eases the pain from grief. It's not pretty, and it's not easy, but everyone is connected, and it's the only way to move forward.

Buy The Jellyfish Problem at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

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