Book Review of Salt the water by Candice Iloh

 

1.      Bibliography

Iloh, C. 2023. Salt the water. Dutton Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 9780593529317

2.      Plot Summary

We follow Cerulean Gene who lives in Bronx and is in high school just trying to survive.  We are introduced to a lot of different family members and friends in the story as well as a teacher, Mr. Schlauss.  Cerulean’s family is a positive one and one that comes from a lot of love but also some hardship.  Cerulean is labeled as queer and is in a relationship with a girl named Zaria.  They have made a pack with some friends and have chosen to save up all their money to get them out of the place they are in and find a better life.  When Cerulean has an incident with Mr. Schlauss those dreams are crushed.  While Cerulean is suspended from school her dad has a bad accident which leaves him severely injured.  We go into different perspectives from friends and family members about events that happen next and are puzzled when we hear that Cerulean has been missing for 10 years. 

3.      Critical Analysis

This book is written in poem or versus style writing and has creative uses on text and plays on words.  Capital letters are not used when starting sentences, but you see a lot of bold, repeated, italics, words flowing down the page which keeps your interest while reading the book.  You follow Cerulean for the first part of the book and in parts II and III you are introduced to the different perspectives of other characters mentioned in the book.  The theme introduces inner city schools, stress from expectations being lowered because of assumptions, family tragedy, financial burdens, and hardships of being queer.  There are so many life lessons in this book that a lot of students could benefit from.  Even though life was tough Cerulean found strength in their family and friends and wanted a better life for themselves.  At the beginning of the book the author explains their personal connection to the book and poses some questions for the reader as well as a plot twist letting us know we won’t expect the ending.  There is one graphic of a hand sprinkling salt down the page that is repeated throughout the book to connect to the title “Salt the Water”.  Finally at the end of the book you have an acknowledgement from the author. 

4.      Review Excerpts

"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

A Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year

5.      Connections

I would recommend students to compare this book to another book that has won the Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book and see if the books have similar takeaways.