Title: Sky Full of Elephants
Author: Cebo Campbell
Pages: 304
Release: September 10, 2024

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A bold, high-concept premise brought into sharp focus by Cebo Campbell’s lively and vibrant prose.

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A twist on a familiar formula (see The Leftovers or The Last of Us) – here, all white people walk into the sea and never return. What follows is the quest of an estranged father and daughter seeking common ground as they trek across a fundamentally altered version of America.

I really enjoyed Campbell’s writing style. It is lively and flows smoothly from page to page, making it a true pleasure to read. It effortlessly conveys the complexities of the new world and the complicated feelings of the characters that inhabit it.

An eyebrow-raising plot development in the latter half of the book recontextualizes the way the story is understood. And while certain plot beats push the boundaries of plausibility, they are grounded in the magical realism that permeates the narrative.

★★★★

My thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Reviewer note: Anecdotally, I noticed a batch of 1-star ratings (not reviews) popping up on Goodreads for this title – presumably a blind backlash to the plot description. Please don’t make assumptions about what the book is actually about. At no point do any characters rejoice in the absence of white people. It’s not a wish-fulfillment parable about how to make the world a better place. It’s a fascinating “what-if” scenario that shines a necessary light on the unvarnished realities of the country and who controls the levers of power and influence in our society. There’s no trivialization of the subject matter and the book offers many intriguing examinations of race and racial identity. Give this book a chance, and if you can’t, don’t blindly bomb the ratings.