UNDER A CARNIVORE SKY

In Saltview, a town encircled by a swamp, a 16-year-old girl hunts down a carnivorous monster.

For generations, members of Lili’s family have been delegated as the Town Council’s hunters, tasked with killing the monster that slowly eats away at the adults in the community. Lili’s own father is “riddled with holes, / can no longer walk”—and she’s desperate to save him. Thanks to rumors about her family, particularly her deceased mom, Lili is a local outcast, so she’s surprised when 17-year-old Caleb comes to her with a proposition. He’ll help her locate the monster if she can find a way for him to escape before his upcoming birthday, when “the first hole” will appear and he’ll start to be eaten alive. Their alliance turns into an unlikely friendship, and romantic feelings blossom. In Saltview, “to be hungry / is to be / monstrous,” and the deadly swamp is full of tricks, but when Lili learns the truth about the monster, she must decide if what she learns will become her burden or set her free. Written in lyrical free verse, this evocative story bursts and oozes with the life of the swamp’s flora and fauna. The worldbuilding is gradually revealed, and deep feelings—desire, shame, loneliness, and grief—take the spotlight over plot. This lush, cross-genre tale swerves between gnarly body horror and sweet romance while maintaining a thoughtful, emotional core. The minimally described cast presents white.

A striking and expressive debut.