Tyler Wetherall’s Amphibian is a haunting, lyrical exploration of girlhood—its desires, betrayals, and transformations. Through the eyes of Sissy, a young girl navigating a turbulent coming-of-age, Wetherall crafts a narrative that is both raw and dreamlike, blending visceral realism with fantastical elements.  

Sissy is a deeply introspective character, drawn to water and its transformative power. Her fixation on her body—its budding sexuality and strange metamorphoses—anchors the story in the liminal space between childhood innocence and adult desire. As she moves with her emotionally fragile mother, Mou, to a new town in England’s West Country, Sissy’s world is shaped by longing: for stability, understanding, and the magnetic pull of her classmate, Tegan. Their friendship, marked by both tenderness and turbulence, propels Sissy toward self-discovery while exposing the precariousness of girlhood friendships.  

Wetherall’s writing brims with poetic cadence and evocative imagery. Sissy’s voice oscillates between sharp clarity and dreamlike musing, mirroring the fragmented, chaotic nature of adolescence. The story is layered with symbolic transformations, from Sissy’s webbed toes and growing tail to the mythic parallels she draws with mermaids and Eve. These symbols underscore the fragility and inevitability of change, often intertwined with pain, societal expectation, and desire.  

Sexuality lies at the heart of Amphibian, exploring the hypersexualization of girls in a world that denies them the safety to navigate their own desires. Sissy’s fear of being labeled or shamed, even as she craves power and connection, captures the dissonance many young girls face. Wetherall deftly unpacks how girls are often taught that their worth is tied to the sexual desire they elicit, pushing them toward dangerous territory in search of agency.  

The novel’s darker threads unravel through the presence of Tegan’s sister, Haley, whose world of parties, drugs, and predators exposes Sissy and Tegan to adult dangers too soon. The trauma Sissy witnesses—her complicity in silence, her mother’s neglect, and her friendship’s unraveling—converges in a climax that feels both inevitable and devastating.  

Through Amphibian, Wetherall crafts a powerful meditation on girlhood’s contradictions: its beauty and violence, its vulnerability and strength. Sissy’s transformation—both physical and emotional—remains etched in the mind, a reminder of the messy, magical metamorphoses that define growing up.

📖 Recommended For: Fans of lyrical and introspective prose, readers captivated by the turbulence of girlhood friendships, anyone drawn to coming-of-age stories with a touch of magical realism, and admirers of Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield or Chlorine by Jade Song.

🔑 Key Themes: The Complexities of Girlhood, Sexuality and Shame, Transformation and Identity, Betrayal and Intimacy, Power Dynamics in Female Relationships.