Lovely and Heartbreaking

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This is the story of Yetu and her underwater society, water-breathing descendants of pregnant African slave women tossed overboard. Yetu is the historian of her people. She alone regularly holds the memories of her people because the past is too traumatic for them to carry everyday. Yet, this gift of memory is also a massive burden for her to bear. So, given an opportunity, she flees and discovers a world away from them, one connected to the past, and one that will help her discover who she is on her own.

I have never read a book like this before. It was magical and my heart was on an emotional roller coaster the entire time. This is a beautiful story about a young girl who tries to escape her duty and the burden put on her by her people. It's a story about self-discovery, love, one's history, and community. There was so much to unpack in this story, it kept me glued to my seat. What I loved most was the fact that every situation in the novel, every interaction, every thought presented in the story was layered with so much meaning and subtext. I wish I could get inside Solomon Rivers' mind and understand the additional meaning behind everything written. Lovely read and I highly recommend to everyone!