You Are My Sunshine and Other Stories

The 15 masterful stories in Cade’s sophomore collection (after The Mythology of Salt) offer a hauntingly beautiful melding of hard science and raw emotion against the backdrop of the climate crisis. “We Feed the Bears of Fire and Ice” is an allegorical tale that uses koalas and polar bears to depict the devastating effects of climate change and humanity’s inaction. The suspenseful title story follows marine biologist Cyrus as he wrestles with grief over ecological disasters devastating the sea star population he works with and discovers several severed human arms around his property. “Pollen and Salt” poignantly portrays a scientist studying the effects of climate change on a salt marsh and mudflat ecosystem, finding solace in the changing landscape while grappling with the death of a loved one. Cade skillfully interweaves her characters’ existential despair in the face of a dying planet with more personal grief, all while maintaining a through line of hope and resilience. In its union of deeply human and environmental narratives, Cade’s collection will put readers in mind of Richard Powers’s The Overstory. (Sept.)