Saltcrop

Like much of the world, Skipper’s family is barely surviving in a future where all life is prone to mutation and disease. Mega-corporations must constantly issue new genetically modified seeds to ensure crops are edible each year. There’s a cancerous fungus running through the human population, and it may be related to dangerous, but vital chemicals that everyone uses and that the corporations sell. In many recent novels, humanity has created its own apocalypse, and Kitasei’s (The Stardust Grail) stands with the best of them. What makes her novel rise above are the family dynamics. The oldest sister, Nora, takes her reputation for brilliance and runs off to the city. Carmen, vivacious and practical, uses her charm to form community anywhere, and Skipper, the youngest, wanders her own impractical path. When Nora vanishes, it’s Skipper who insists they sail away from home in the rickety boat the sisters repaired long ago. Each clue they discover leads them further from home and changes Skipper and Carmen’s relationship with each other and who they believe Nora to be.