09/04/2023
Black nonbinary 17-year-old Cerulean Gene is fed up with the rigid rules and expectations of public high school (“i’m stuck in stiff-ass classrooms... staring down out-of-touch white men/ who don’t really care if i learn”). After a dispute with a teacher escalates, Cerulean drops out of school. Cerulean; their partner, Zaria; and friends Irvin and Jai—the self-named “Bronx babies,” all of whom are nonbinary—have been saving money to live a life off the grid, where they won’t be held to society’s expectations. Cerulean’s parents’ unwavering support buoys them along on their journey to becoming their most authentic self. But after a serious accident jeopardizes their family’s livelihood, Cerulean must decide if what they want out of life is still possible. Fluid verse by Iloh (Break This House) is driven by Cerulean’s refreshing and optimistic dreams of creating their own world (“last night i had a dream... in the dream i was in an open field surrounded/ by all these flowers”); their introspective first-person perspective, paired with an open-ended resolution, offers myriad avenues for rumination on personal autonomy and self-expression. Ages 14–up. Agent: Patricia Nelson, Marsal Lyon Literary. (Oct.)
★ 12/01/2023
Gr 9 Up—Cerulean Gene lives in two worlds: at home where their parents have always nurtured and encouraged them, building a warm, accepting environment too open for them ever to fill, and at school where they're too loud, too smart, and too free to possibly fit into the small, rigid space. When the pandemic swelled and schools were closed, it seemed for a moment that the educational system might evolve, but soon the old paradigm asserted itself, and now Cerulean and their like-minded group of friends are stuck in a system that seems determined to make them small. Mr. Schlauss, a young and arrogant white teacher, is constantly watching and waiting for Cerulean to make even the slightest mistake. After a confrontation with Mr. Schlauss leaves Cerulean's future at school uncertain and a tragedy shatters their home, Cerulean must find a way forward in a world that is unwilling to expand. Iloh's lyrical words, impactful text formatting, and raw emotion imbue this story with authentic joy and pain. Although a sudden ending may leave readers with more questions than answers, this timely exploration of the many shortcomings of the U.S. public education system will be sure to generate much discussion among students and teachers alike. All major characters are Black, and Cerulean and several of their friends are queer. VERDICT A heartfelt lament for what America could be but chooses not to, this is a must-purchase for high school libraries. Recommended for fans of Ibi Zoboi and Amber McBride.—Catherine Cote
★ 2023-07-26
A Bronx teen is compelled to explore a free, expressive life by any means necessary.
In this novel in verse, Cerulean Gene, a nonbinary Black high school senior, is frustrated with school, especially with their inexperienced, highly problematic teacher. For Cerulean, Mr. Schlauss’ apathy as an educator is a microcosm reflecting an inadequate educational system. Cerulean finds relief from repeated run-ins with their white teacher in a tightknit friend group that includes their partner, Zaria, and friends Irvin and Jai. The self-proclaimed “Bronx babies” save their money in hopes of funding a summer in California “to create some other kind of world / somewhere / that’d allow all of us to be ourselves.” Cerulean’s parents have built a vibrant and grounding home, encouraging them and their younger brother, Airyn, to become their full selves and to embrace self-preservation as needed: “my parents never / stopped living their lives / when they had us / they just moved things around / so that all of us could have whatever / we needed to keep becoming // ourselves.” But when a life-changing event befalls the Gene family, Cerulean must determine how free they want to be. Through artful writing, 2020 National Book Award finalist Iloh builds an intriguing and relatable world led by a charming protagonist. The poems ease into one another, threading a refreshing story of honing one’s voice, intuition, and independence.
Daring, beautiful, and necessary. (Verse fiction. 13-18)
A Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
★"Daring, beautiful, and necessary."—Kirkus, starred review
★“Iloh delivers another electric novel in verse. … A necessary reminder to young adults that there’s no shame in standing up for yourself.”—Booklist, starred review
★ “Iloh’s lyrical words, impactful text formatting, and raw emotion imbue this story with authentic joy and pain…[T]his timely exploration of the many shortcomings of the U.S. public education system will be sure to generate much discussion among students and teachers alike… A heartfelt lament for what America could be but chooses not to, this is a must-purchase for high school libraries. Recommended for fans of Ibi Zoboi and Amber McBride.” – SLJ, starred review
"Offers myriad avenues for rumination on personal autonomy and self-expression."—Publishers Weekly
"There are many things Iloh accomplishes in Salt The Water, but the most impressive, and arguably the most important, is that this unflinching portrayal of the necessary irreverence of Black teenagers on a complicated quest for self-actualization is one of the best I've seen in a long time."—Jason Reynolds, New York Times bestselling author of Long Way Down
"Candice Iloh has painted a deeply moving portrait of Cerulean, a passionate and bright teen whose abrasive school life is in direct contrast to their loving and tender home life in the Bronx. Urban gardens serve as a poignant yet hopeful metaphor for the nurturing and care that young people need to navigate tumultuous cityscapes, public schools, and the fragile fault lines in their lives and in the world." —Ibi Zoboi, National Book Award Finalist and New York Times bestselling coauthor of Punching the Air
“Candice Iloh’s Salt the Water invites the radical work of envisioning freedom. I learned so much from seventeen-year-old Cerulean: to do more than hope for and dream of freedom, but to plan for it. To bury my hands in the soil, in the vibrant verse of this story. To go there.”— Safia Elhillo, award winning author of Home Is Not a Country and Girls that Never Die
