Time was well spent world building an undersea society of not-quite-mermaids who see and hear like sharks through the movement of water against their skin and electric signals. I've rarely seen such a considered, honest interrogation of self sacrifice vs community duty either. Even The Giver, with it's similar premise of one person holding a culture's memories, approaches it a different way. This one delves far deeper into intergenerational trauma and the guilt of wanting to live for yourself. The protagonist also reads as autistic to me, in a way that only highlights the dilemma of the situation.

Apparently Solomon is building on loose lore from a number of albums too, one contributing artist being Daveed Diggs who narrates the audiobook, and the collaborative ethos behind it explained at the end is inspiring.