Saltcrop

Kitasei (The Stardust Grail) demonstrates her range in this moving portrayal of sibling dynamics set in a disturbing near future. A devastating blight has decimated humanity’s food supplies. In its wake, Skipper supports herself and her ailing grandmother by selling the plastic, metal, and glass waste she scavenges from a large offshore garbage patch. She becomes increasingly concerned about the whereabouts of her oldest sister, Nora, who got a job working for the massive agricultural company Renewal as a product tester and has been visiting less and less frequently. After hearing nothing from her for several months, Skipper gets a letter from one of Nora’s colleagues informing her that Nora has not been seen for a while, and asking if she returned home. Skipper persuades her other sister, Carmen, a nurse, to sail with her across the largely flooded world in search of Nora. The stakes increase when the sisters learn that Nora was embroiled in corporate intrigue involving Renewal’s high-security vault containing seeds “built to endure the end of civilization.” Meanwhile, the close proximity of the voyage brings long dormant tensions between Skipper and Carmen to a head. Kitasei pays as much attention to her protagonist’s nuanced inner life as to the page-turning apocalyptic plotline, creating a tale that feels both intimate and expansive. It’s an impressive feat. (Sept.)