Saltcrop

Saltcrop has the salty breeze of the ocean tucked into its pages. I loved this atmospheric cli-fi dystopian, particularly the ocean voyage and Skipper's insatiable need to see the world.

The story focuses on three sisters who each have a very different way of confronting life's hardships. When Nora goes missing, Skipper decides to go looking for her and Carmen reluctantly follows. They sail to what feels like the end of the world and uncover a mystery that is so much bigger than themselves and their own seemingly trivial concerns.

Saltcrop is set in a world where the weather has been manipulated too much, blight has wiped out much of the world's natural resources, and crops are difficult to maintain. While this is integral to the plot, much of the dystopian world-building is nestled beautifully in the parentheses of the sisters' relationships. We see the world through their hopes and dreams contrasted with their duties and responsibilities.

As the mystery unfolds, the sisters are confronted with their responsibility to the world, to each other, and to themselves. It asks what would you do for the people you love, and what do you need to do in order to love yourself?

It was beautiful. Overrides my fear of the future with the salty taste of hope.