SALTCROP by Yume Kitasei
9781250380968
9/30/25
Flatiron Books
Fiction / Science Fiction / Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic
Missing sisters, failing crops, and a perilous trip across the sea form the foundation of this post-apocalyptic odyssey from Yume Kitasei, author of THE STARDUST GRAIL and THE DEEP SKY.
In a not-too-distant future where sea levels have risen and regular bouts of blight threaten crops, Skipper and Carmen, two sisters living on the coast, receive news that their eldest sister has vanished. Nora, clever and adventurous, was always exploring secret places, just beyond her sisters’ reach—it seems that her new job in the city, testing agricultural products for the prominent company Renewal, has led her down yet another distant path. This time, her younger sisters are determined to find her. They board Skipper’s boat and depart for the city.
And yet, more than just sisterly tensions and past grudges lurk beneath the surface of this voyage. As Skipper and Carmen encounter mysterious travelers, menacing organizations, and seed samples with the potential to change everything, their status as their sister’s rescuers becomes increasingly precarious. Offering a glimpse into each sisters’ perspective, SALTCROP delves deep into the murky waters of family ties, corporate greed, and the vicious hunger of a world dependent on their next harvest.
Brimming with tension that builds with every page, SALTCROP was an immersive experience that shepherded me through haunting atmospheres, from the seaweed-strewn shore around Gull Gang Rock to the tidy, sunless streets of Vault City. The familiar dance of love and resentment between siblings, the sweetness of their reunions and the bitter notes of their goodbyes, parallels the backdrop of harvest and blight that so drastically shapes every day life. In reading this novel, I felt myself entirely engrossed in the sisters’ journey for answers and their efforts to secure a better future.
Filled with action, mystery, and a sinisterly familiar vision of a future earth, SALTCROP is a multifaceted novel with something to offer every type of reader.
“In many recent novels, humanity has created its own apocalypse, and Kitasei’s stands with the best of them. What makes her novel rise above are the family dynamics . . . An unputdownable novel of family bonds and ordinary people fighting corporate greed, sure to appeal to fans of Carrie Vaughn’s BANNERLESS and Cory Doctorow’s WALKAWAY.” —Library Journal, starred review
“The blighted and ruined landscapes the Shimizu sisters traverse, and the disease-struck, semi-feral communities they encounter, all feel dangerously nearby, a world three minutes into the future of our present disastrous trajectory. The love they bear for each other, even if it’s often tangled up in old pains and many mutual irritations, makes even that future feel survivable. Get a copy of SALTCROP for all the perpetually warring siblings you know.” —Vajra Chandrasekera, author of the Nebula, Ignyte, Crawford, and Locus award-winning THE SAINT OF BRIGHT DOORS
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