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Clean Air
The climate apocalypse has come and gone, and in the end it wasn’t the temperature climbing or the waters rising. It was the trees. The world became overgrown, creating enough pollen to render the air unbreathable.
In the decade since the event known as the Turning, humanity has rebuilt, and Izabel has gotten used to the airtight domes that now contain her life. She raises her young daughter, Cami, and attempts to make peace with her mother’s death. She tries hard to be satisfied with this safe, prosperous new world, but instead she just feels stuck.
And then the peace of her town is shattered. Someone starts slashing through the domes at night, exposing people to the deadly pollen—a serial killer. Almost simultaneously, Cami begins sleep-talking, having whole conversations about the murders that she doesn’t remember after she wakes. Izabel becomes fixated on the killer, on both tracking him down and understanding him. What could compel someone to take so many lives after years dedicated to sheer survival, with humanity finally flourishing again?
In the decade since the event known as the Turning, humanity has rebuilt, and Izabel has gotten used to the airtight domes that now contain her life. She raises her young daughter, Cami, and attempts to make peace with her mother’s death. She tries hard to be satisfied with this safe, prosperous new world, but instead she just feels stuck.
And then the peace of her town is shattered. Someone starts slashing through the domes at night, exposing people to the deadly pollen—a serial killer. Almost simultaneously, Cami begins sleep-talking, having whole conversations about the murders that she doesn’t remember after she wakes. Izabel becomes fixated on the killer, on both tracking him down and understanding him. What could compel someone to take so many lives after years dedicated to sheer survival, with humanity finally flourishing again?
320 pages, Hardcover
First published February 8, 2022
About the author
Sarah Blake
8 books147 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads' database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 257 reviews
February 12, 2022
Clean Air by Sarah Blake is a new novel that defies being stuck in just one genre. At the core of the story in Clean Air is a science fiction fantasy set in a dystopian world. There is also an air of mystery with a killer on the loose leading to some thrilling suspenseful moments.
It has been a decade since the Earth went through a time known as The Turning and the population has been adjusting to their new normal. The Turning changed the world when the air became unbreathable with so much pollen in the air it was deadly to breathe so now in the aftermath masks must be warn to travel outside and buildings and homes exist in bubbles.
Izabel met her husband, Kaito, after The Turning had taken place and the two fell in love and married. Now the couple are the proud parents to their daughter, Cami. Kaito works with robotics helping in harvests as Izabel takes care of their daughter. What no one expected to see in this new world was a murder taking place and for Izabel it becomes even more urgent to find who is responsible when Cami seems to talk about the murderer in her sleep.
Being a huge fan of books that dabble in more than one genre Clean Air by Sarah Blake was right up my alley so it wasn’t surprising to find that I enjoyed this story. The story is definitely futuristic and the world one that I couldn’t wait to dive into and with such an interesting mix of events happening the pages kept flying by quickly as I read. I loved mixing the fantasy side with a good old fashion whodunnit and would definitely be interested in reading this author again in the future after this unique tale.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
It has been a decade since the Earth went through a time known as The Turning and the population has been adjusting to their new normal. The Turning changed the world when the air became unbreathable with so much pollen in the air it was deadly to breathe so now in the aftermath masks must be warn to travel outside and buildings and homes exist in bubbles.
Izabel met her husband, Kaito, after The Turning had taken place and the two fell in love and married. Now the couple are the proud parents to their daughter, Cami. Kaito works with robotics helping in harvests as Izabel takes care of their daughter. What no one expected to see in this new world was a murder taking place and for Izabel it becomes even more urgent to find who is responsible when Cami seems to talk about the murderer in her sleep.
Being a huge fan of books that dabble in more than one genre Clean Air by Sarah Blake was right up my alley so it wasn’t surprising to find that I enjoyed this story. The story is definitely futuristic and the world one that I couldn’t wait to dive into and with such an interesting mix of events happening the pages kept flying by quickly as I read. I loved mixing the fantasy side with a good old fashion whodunnit and would definitely be interested in reading this author again in the future after this unique tale.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
March 12, 2022
A different post-apocalyptic, speculative fiction. The world has been through a lot when we enter the story. The pandemic exists in this story's world and it is not long after followed by things getting worse when everything that creates pollen goes into overdrive making the air impossible to breathe and killing off a large bit of the population. Society is forever altered and those changes were really interesting to read about.
Izabel, the main character is a bit unmoored in life at the point readers meet her. She's a wife and mother but seems out of sync with her family and she has grief and anger over her mother's death during the pollen pandemic. Her professional aspirations also were put on indefinite hold and that's causing her to feel unfulfilled. There's nothing wrong with her life in particular and she admits it's not a bad life but it could be better.
Enter a murderer who kills an entire family in their pod one night while they were sleeping by cutting their air seal and suffocating them. This sets off a series of murders and the main character finds herself drawn into the investigation. I liked this aspect of the story best. Izabel's little girl, Cami is having some weird dreams and saying things that are seemingly related to the murders which also stokes interest as well. I admit this is where the story fell a bit short for me as this was a magical realism thread. I have discovered that can enjoy magical realism in a story but I didn't enjoy it here. Still, the murder mystery did hold my interest (even as the magical realism intertwined) as the killer was working their way through the neighbourhood with seemingly no end in sight and the police couldn't figure out why they were killing. Izabel involves herself more and more in the investigation, at great peril to herself and comes through in the end and even has a newfound trajectory and purpose in life. I very much liked that ending and felt it was a strong conclusion.
Overall a good story with themes of grief, fulfillment and carrying on.
Izabel, the main character is a bit unmoored in life at the point readers meet her. She's a wife and mother but seems out of sync with her family and she has grief and anger over her mother's death during the pollen pandemic. Her professional aspirations also were put on indefinite hold and that's causing her to feel unfulfilled. There's nothing wrong with her life in particular and she admits it's not a bad life but it could be better.
Enter a murderer who kills an entire family in their pod one night while they were sleeping by cutting their air seal and suffocating them. This sets off a series of murders and the main character finds herself drawn into the investigation. I liked this aspect of the story best. Izabel's little girl, Cami is having some weird dreams and saying things that are seemingly related to the murders which also stokes interest as well. I admit this is where the story fell a bit short for me as this was a magical realism thread. I have discovered that can enjoy magical realism in a story but I didn't enjoy it here. Still, the murder mystery did hold my interest (even as the magical realism intertwined) as the killer was working their way through the neighbourhood with seemingly no end in sight and the police couldn't figure out why they were killing. Izabel involves herself more and more in the investigation, at great peril to herself and comes through in the end and even has a newfound trajectory and purpose in life. I very much liked that ending and felt it was a strong conclusion.
Overall a good story with themes of grief, fulfillment and carrying on.
April 14, 2022
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DNF @ p.229
At first I was kind of into this book. It reminded me of old school female sci-fi by authors like Sheri S. Teper or Octavia Butler. But then the book got weird. First of all, the premise is one of the most unusual post-apoc premises I've encountered in a while. Climate change has triggered a pollination event that has caused the air to have unhealthy levels of pollen, killing off the young and old and causing respiratory failure in basically everyone who doesn't have precautions in place.
Izabel and Kaito are an interracial couple with a young daughter named Cami. One day, they go to bed and wake up to find their daughter not breathing. Someone has slashed into their protections, leaving them vulnerable to the toxic air. It turns out to be a serial killer who is murdering other families in this way.
I liked the thriller element at first but then this book started getting really weird. The author chose to make people psychic for some reason, maybe in homage to how so many 70s sci-fi novels inexplicably had people being psychic, but there's no explanation for it. And yet, the police have an on-call psychic to make people give psychic confessions and people Medium in their sleep, so idk. It felt like a deus ex machina to me, and really left a big gaping plot bunny in the narrative.
The writing is very clean and I liked the diverse cast of characters. At one point, Izabel and Kaito end up taking in a Muslim girl who wears a hijab and there are numerous other PoC characters in this world. I think if you like trippy vintage sci-fi you'll enjoy this more than I did. At least the cover is super pretty. My copy made the dew drops on the blueberries a different kind of plastic so they glisten as if the cover is actually wet. I love the cover and the premise and wish this had worked for me more than it actually did.
Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!
2 to 2.5 stars
February 11, 2022
3.5 stars
This is my first book by Sarah Blake and even though I'm only giving this a 3 star rating, I would consider reading another book of hers. This is a tricky book to describe as it encompasses many different genres, but it was 100% refreshing in that I've never read a book like it and that I really appreciate.
Overall, I liked what the author was trying to do. I like how the book wasn't just about the dystopian future (I want to say a big thanks to her for making the future world she imagines not an oppressive, dark ages back world that I just don't have the stomach for right now), but that it was also a book about motherhood, grief, adjustment to big life changes, etc. (The mother/daughter dynamic was some of the best I've read - my daughter is four just like Cami and I found myself fist pumping the air in certain parts - I felt so seen haha.)
While I'm totally okay with multiple genres, what didn't work for me, was that some of the characters weren't fully developed. Izabel frustrated me a lot. I didn't quite understand her jump to increasing paranoia and I also get frustrated by citizen sleuths and then the police being totally okay with that regular every day person becoming involved with a case. (Why is this acceptable in fiction - this is not real life!) Putting that aside, I also am perplexed by Kaito's (main character's husband) presence in the book. He was such a throwaway character and in the way this book was written, that didn't make much sense to me. He was so absent and I didn't understand that absence and then he would appear in the story and interact and I was supposed to care about it, but because of how off the page he always was I couldn't have possibly built that connection.
Overall, I am really glad I read this book. I have positive feelings about it (despite the above), I liked the incorporation of the murders because it gave the book some oomph, but I'm disappointed that it didn't quite get there for me in the way that I initially thought it would. It had such a strong beginning. In summary, I would absolutely encourage you to read this book because there are some really cool ideas and plot twists that ultimately make it worth it.
Thank you to Algonquin Books for the gifted arc copy in exchange for an honest review.
Review Date: 02/11/2022
Publication Date: 02/08/2022
This is my first book by Sarah Blake and even though I'm only giving this a 3 star rating, I would consider reading another book of hers. This is a tricky book to describe as it encompasses many different genres, but it was 100% refreshing in that I've never read a book like it and that I really appreciate.
Overall, I liked what the author was trying to do. I like how the book wasn't just about the dystopian future (I want to say a big thanks to her for making the future world she imagines not an oppressive, dark ages back world that I just don't have the stomach for right now), but that it was also a book about motherhood, grief, adjustment to big life changes, etc. (The mother/daughter dynamic was some of the best I've read - my daughter is four just like Cami and I found myself fist pumping the air in certain parts - I felt so seen haha.)
While I'm totally okay with multiple genres, what didn't work for me, was that some of the characters weren't fully developed. Izabel frustrated me a lot. I didn't quite understand her jump to increasing paranoia and I also get frustrated by citizen sleuths and then the police being totally okay with that regular every day person becoming involved with a case. (Why is this acceptable in fiction - this is not real life!) Putting that aside, I also am perplexed by Kaito's (main character's husband) presence in the book. He was such a throwaway character and in the way this book was written, that didn't make much sense to me. He was so absent and I didn't understand that absence and then he would appear in the story and interact and I was supposed to care about it, but because of how off the page he always was I couldn't have possibly built that connection.
Overall, I am really glad I read this book. I have positive feelings about it (despite the above), I liked the incorporation of the murders because it gave the book some oomph, but I'm disappointed that it didn't quite get there for me in the way that I initially thought it would. It had such a strong beginning. In summary, I would absolutely encourage you to read this book because there are some really cool ideas and plot twists that ultimately make it worth it.
Thank you to Algonquin Books for the gifted arc copy in exchange for an honest review.
Review Date: 02/11/2022
Publication Date: 02/08/2022
November 27, 2021
A breezy, poolside kind of read. It has a creative take on a dystopian future and I enjoyed the world building. It's also the first book I've read that mentions COVID as a historical event which was interesting to see.
Overall though, it was hard to suspend disbelief enough to truly dive into this. I found it hard to care about the main character. She doesn't seem to go through any major character development (even at the end, she seems more lucky than smart). There are also multiple, separate instances of deus ex machina which makes it read more like a YA book.
All in all, a quick, easy read with an interesting setting but it just wasn't for me. Thanks for the ARC.
Overall though, it was hard to suspend disbelief enough to truly dive into this. I found it hard to care about the main character. She doesn't seem to go through any major character development (even at the end, she seems more lucky than smart). There are also multiple, separate instances of deus ex machina which makes it read more like a YA book.
All in all, a quick, easy read with an interesting setting but it just wasn't for me. Thanks for the ARC.
January 24, 2022
I struggled to finish this book. I kept putting it down and found myself not wanting to pick it back up. It was such a shame because I love dystopian novels and the plot for this book sounded right up my alley. The idea of trees being the reason for humanity’s downfall (while scientifically lacking) is theoretically really interesting and unique compared to many dystopian plots I’ve come across. Blake made some choices in Clean Air (CA) that just didn’t work for me, personally.
Every novel has fluff - bits of random character conversations and descriptions. You need fluff for comedic relief, character development, and to help you better picture a setting or a character. However, CA is mostly fluff. I would argue that the majority of the word count didn’t contribute to the story. And to top that off, sometimes the fluff was gross. I don’t want to hear that the mom had to put diaper cream on their child’s anus. Yes, Blake used the word “anus”. Why? That was incredibly unnecessary. There were many times during this novel I found myself wondering what this had to do with the original plot.
And yet, will all that fluff, our main characters still managed to come off very robotic and stale.
There was such a bizarre dynamic between the mom, dad, and daughter. It didn’t feel like anyone even liked each other, let alone loved each other. The parents seemed exhausted of each other and the four-year-old daughter had such out-of-pocket dialogue that was too advanced for what her character’s age was supposed to be.
I would recommend this book to a parent or someone who enjoys the - at times gross - little moments that only a parent could appreciate. Since I am not a parent, maybe I was not able to fully appreciate the parent-child dynamic that made up most of this novel.
Thank you to Algonquin Books for sending me this ARC. Clean Air is set to be published on February 8, 2022.
Every novel has fluff - bits of random character conversations and descriptions. You need fluff for comedic relief, character development, and to help you better picture a setting or a character. However, CA is mostly fluff. I would argue that the majority of the word count didn’t contribute to the story. And to top that off, sometimes the fluff was gross. I don’t want to hear that the mom had to put diaper cream on their child’s anus. Yes, Blake used the word “anus”. Why? That was incredibly unnecessary. There were many times during this novel I found myself wondering what this had to do with the original plot.
And yet, will all that fluff, our main characters still managed to come off very robotic and stale.
There was such a bizarre dynamic between the mom, dad, and daughter. It didn’t feel like anyone even liked each other, let alone loved each other. The parents seemed exhausted of each other and the four-year-old daughter had such out-of-pocket dialogue that was too advanced for what her character’s age was supposed to be.
I would recommend this book to a parent or someone who enjoys the - at times gross - little moments that only a parent could appreciate. Since I am not a parent, maybe I was not able to fully appreciate the parent-child dynamic that made up most of this novel.
Thank you to Algonquin Books for sending me this ARC. Clean Air is set to be published on February 8, 2022.
March 8, 2022
I decided to DNF Clean Air at about 80 pages, then reconsidered because I had been looking forward to this one. I'm giving it 2 stars because the plot was interesting enough that I wanted to stick it out to the end to find out what was going on, despite its flaws. But I don't recommend it.
February 14, 2022
3.5 stars
A window into a potential future, a commentary on Earth's ecosystem, a murder mystery, and a story of motherhood all in one. Clean Air is hard to pin into one category. And that's not a bad thing at all.
Concept: ★★★★★
Characters: ★★★
Plot/Pacing: ★★★★
Enjoyment: ★★★ 1/2
This one's a weird one. But worth a try for the right audience, and anyone who is interested in genre mashes.
Clean Air follows the story of Izabel, a stay-at-home mom, who lives in a bubble home. (Ok, technically an airtight dome around her property, but still.) Her husband, Kaito, works remotely with the robot technology that harvests food in this brave new world. Her young daughter, Cami, only knows this life. The future has come.
Humanity's climate-changing, disasterous ways finally led to a crisis: the trees revolted. Gradually, or not-so-gradually depending on who you ask, the trees began to produce a poisonous pollen in such large quantities that it began to wipe out humans. In large masses. This feels vaguely like a mixed metaphor of COVID and climate, but the author handled it pretty well.
Now, a much, MUCH smaller civilization of humanity eeks out a life in these bubble communities that exist to prevent exposure to the rest of the planet. It's almost idyllic, when you get past the sheer "OH MY GOD" of it all.
Everyone is happy, everyone is cared for, everyone if cohabiting...
Nothing will go wrong again, right?
Humans are totally, totally able to exist without fracturing in some way...right?
Sigh. Of course not.
When someone viciously punctures a hole in a family's bubble home one night, the entire family dies from the pollen exposure. It was a murder, and it had to have been done by one of the community members. And the murderer keeps doing it, and more people keep dying.
Izabel, our mom with no experience, turns into our amateur investigator as she realizes that if someone doesn't stop this murderer, they'll eventually get to her and her family. It quickly becomes a fixation for Izabel... and we're along for the ride.
I thought Clean Air did a ton of things really well—juggling a bunch of different genres, juxtaposing this future situation with our own, and highlighting the core tenants of humanity that remain no matter the year, or the situation, or the future. Motherhood remains. Corruption remains. The will to survive remains. And some other things.
As someone who is not usually a science fiction/dystopian/futuristic reader, I can't say this novel was an ultimate favorite for me—it would have needed something speculative/magical to truly attach as that's who I am as a reader—I think it speaks to Clean Air's credit that I stayed invested and gripped by Izabel's journey the entire time. The murder mystery definitely helped with that, as without that compelling whodunit/whydunit narrative it would have felt much more meandering for me.
Overall, a very engaging and compelling read. Definitely recommended for fans of any of the genres I've mentioned so far, and anyone interested in the prismatic future predictions of climate change fiction.
Thank you to the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
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A window into a potential future, a commentary on Earth's ecosystem, a murder mystery, and a story of motherhood all in one. Clean Air is hard to pin into one category. And that's not a bad thing at all.
Concept: ★★★★★
Characters: ★★★
Plot/Pacing: ★★★★
Enjoyment: ★★★ 1/2
This one's a weird one. But worth a try for the right audience, and anyone who is interested in genre mashes.
Clean Air follows the story of Izabel, a stay-at-home mom, who lives in a bubble home. (Ok, technically an airtight dome around her property, but still.) Her husband, Kaito, works remotely with the robot technology that harvests food in this brave new world. Her young daughter, Cami, only knows this life. The future has come.
Humanity's climate-changing, disasterous ways finally led to a crisis: the trees revolted. Gradually, or not-so-gradually depending on who you ask, the trees began to produce a poisonous pollen in such large quantities that it began to wipe out humans. In large masses. This feels vaguely like a mixed metaphor of COVID and climate, but the author handled it pretty well.
Now, a much, MUCH smaller civilization of humanity eeks out a life in these bubble communities that exist to prevent exposure to the rest of the planet. It's almost idyllic, when you get past the sheer "OH MY GOD" of it all.
Everyone is happy, everyone is cared for, everyone if cohabiting...
Nothing will go wrong again, right?
Humans are totally, totally able to exist without fracturing in some way...right?
Sigh. Of course not.
When someone viciously punctures a hole in a family's bubble home one night, the entire family dies from the pollen exposure. It was a murder, and it had to have been done by one of the community members. And the murderer keeps doing it, and more people keep dying.
Izabel, our mom with no experience, turns into our amateur investigator as she realizes that if someone doesn't stop this murderer, they'll eventually get to her and her family. It quickly becomes a fixation for Izabel... and we're along for the ride.
I thought Clean Air did a ton of things really well—juggling a bunch of different genres, juxtaposing this future situation with our own, and highlighting the core tenants of humanity that remain no matter the year, or the situation, or the future. Motherhood remains. Corruption remains. The will to survive remains. And some other things.
As someone who is not usually a science fiction/dystopian/futuristic reader, I can't say this novel was an ultimate favorite for me—it would have needed something speculative/magical to truly attach as that's who I am as a reader—I think it speaks to Clean Air's credit that I stayed invested and gripped by Izabel's journey the entire time. The murder mystery definitely helped with that, as without that compelling whodunit/whydunit narrative it would have felt much more meandering for me.
Overall, a very engaging and compelling read. Definitely recommended for fans of any of the genres I've mentioned so far, and anyone interested in the prismatic future predictions of climate change fiction.
Thank you to the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
Blog | Instagram
June 21, 2022
Imagine a world where the air can kill you. Where pollen consumed everything. What's terrifying about this book is it's supposed to be based in a terrifying future that doesn't actually seem that far off.
Our story is about life in a post-apocalyptic world where the pollen from the trees has gotten so bad that people can't survive outside. Most of the world was killed off and those that were left now live in these plastic bubbles.
The story is centered around one family. It has multiple timelines that talk about the main characters life prior to the change and what is happening in her current life. You learn a lot about how our two main characters met and their family relationships within their home. We also learn a lot about the main characters relationship with her deceased mother.
The story really kicks off when families are starting to be killed off by a mysterious man in the neighborhood, everybody becomes on high alert But our main character becomes obsessed with figuring out who the killer is and becomes extremely paranoid that danger is lurking everywhere.
I'm still trying to decide how I really feel about this book. The concept seemed very intriguing to me, but I feel like so many parts of the storyline weren't developed enough. I feel like most of the topics in the book were explored minimally and I was left wanting to know so much more.
I like the atmospheric description and appreciate a lot of the nods the author gives to science and the current environmental crises that we are facing.
However, I just ended up feeling like I wanted more. More world building, more character building, more description of the relationships between characters, and the ending ultimately felt really rushed through and haphazard for me.
Not a terrible read, but definitely not one of my favorites of the year.
Our story is about life in a post-apocalyptic world where the pollen from the trees has gotten so bad that people can't survive outside. Most of the world was killed off and those that were left now live in these plastic bubbles.
The story is centered around one family. It has multiple timelines that talk about the main characters life prior to the change and what is happening in her current life. You learn a lot about how our two main characters met and their family relationships within their home. We also learn a lot about the main characters relationship with her deceased mother.
The story really kicks off when families are starting to be killed off by a mysterious man in the neighborhood, everybody becomes on high alert But our main character becomes obsessed with figuring out who the killer is and becomes extremely paranoid that danger is lurking everywhere.
I'm still trying to decide how I really feel about this book. The concept seemed very intriguing to me, but I feel like so many parts of the storyline weren't developed enough. I feel like most of the topics in the book were explored minimally and I was left wanting to know so much more.
I like the atmospheric description and appreciate a lot of the nods the author gives to science and the current environmental crises that we are facing.
However, I just ended up feeling like I wanted more. More world building, more character building, more description of the relationships between characters, and the ending ultimately felt really rushed through and haphazard for me.
Not a terrible read, but definitely not one of my favorites of the year.
April 22, 2022
Actual Rating 2.5
In a world where the air isn't safe and tree's are the reason, the nonsensical actions of the characters were the most surprising parts of this story. Isabel is a strong mother trying to hold her family together while a serial killer is on the lose. But her compulsive need to seek out the danger around her was not believable to me.
The mystery/thriller parts of the book fell flat, because I couldn't get behind the characters choices. The author incorporates mythology and paranormal elements, but they were just plot devices that made me roll my eyes. The book had many great ideas, a thriller, a dystopia, and magical realism. But together it just didn't make a compelling story, and I had to suspend my disbelief at times.
In a world where the air isn't safe and tree's are the reason, the nonsensical actions of the characters were the most surprising parts of this story. Isabel is a strong mother trying to hold her family together while a serial killer is on the lose. But her compulsive need to seek out the danger around her was not believable to me.
The mystery/thriller parts of the book fell flat, because I couldn't get behind the characters choices. The author incorporates mythology and paranormal elements, but they were just plot devices that made me roll my eyes. The book had many great ideas, a thriller, a dystopia, and magical realism. But together it just didn't make a compelling story, and I had to suspend my disbelief at times.
February 12, 2022
TITLE: CLEAN AIR
AUTHOR: Sarah Blake
PUB DATE: 2.8.2022 Now Available
One thing I vowed to read more this year are the genres of dystopian, post apocalyptic, and environmental thriller/suspense.
Clean Air by Sarah Blake covered it all in this wildly scary story about climate catastrophes. The writing is so well done. It is an atmospheric and eerie tale about the trees, that created enough pollen to render the air on earth unbreathable. Izabel the main character is living with her daughter Cami in the years after this event called “the Turning”, as she survived life decades after inside these airtight domes. Now years after, a serial killer is exposing people to the pollen killing them.
I loved this book for the blend of science fiction in a post apocalyptic setting, within a murder mystery, and a mother’s will to protect her family. The weaving of the characters, and the story that just feels all too real in this dystopian world was just engrossing and left me breathless!
Great book!
AUTHOR: Sarah Blake
PUB DATE: 2.8.2022 Now Available
One thing I vowed to read more this year are the genres of dystopian, post apocalyptic, and environmental thriller/suspense.
Clean Air by Sarah Blake covered it all in this wildly scary story about climate catastrophes. The writing is so well done. It is an atmospheric and eerie tale about the trees, that created enough pollen to render the air on earth unbreathable. Izabel the main character is living with her daughter Cami in the years after this event called “the Turning”, as she survived life decades after inside these airtight domes. Now years after, a serial killer is exposing people to the pollen killing them.
I loved this book for the blend of science fiction in a post apocalyptic setting, within a murder mystery, and a mother’s will to protect her family. The weaving of the characters, and the story that just feels all too real in this dystopian world was just engrossing and left me breathless!
Great book!
April 27, 2022
Reasonably good story. A few elements could have made it a really good story, IMHO. The premise reminded me a little too closely of the movie "The Happening," but maybe that's just me.
May 23, 2023
Thought I would start this one while finishing up some other books, and I just couldn't put it down. It is such a unique story and I was hooked.
December 14, 2021
The future didn’t happen the way humanity had expected. Instead, the earth’s trees went into attack mode, releasing massive amounts of pollen that eventually claimed the lives of the old and the young. Survivors live in plastic bubbles and wear masks for the few minutes they might be outdoors. Clean air can only be found in sealed, controlled, environments. Ten years after half the world’s population died, society was having a renaissance.
Izabel and her husband Kaito are lucky to have a child, four-year-old Cami. Kaito works remotely with the robots that harvest food. Izabel is a traditional stay-at-home mother; she doesn’t claim basic income because her husband’s job gives them enough to live on.
After the horror of the Turning and the deaths of millions, Izabel never expected humanity would resort to violence again. Everyone has all that they need. Then, a senseless act of murder occurs in their town. An unknown assailant has slashed the plastic bubble of a home, killing the family within. At the same time, Cami begins talk in her sleep, holding conversations that indicate foreknowledge of the murder’s plans.
When Izabel tries to intercept the next murder, she manages to save the life of one child but now is known to the murderer, and this leads to consequences she could never have imagined. Izabel is determined to protect her child and to stop the murders. She is a protective and proactive mother who understands that “sometimes love is a decision,” and acts on it.
The future society in Clean Air is original. Izabel watches old news and television shows for entertainment. Trees are the enemy. There are shopping malls and temples where you can have your cards.
What rose up in place of religion was a revitalization of the spiritual and the unexplained. People wanted to believe there was an energy in the universe that connected everyone and everything, an energy that could articulate those connections, provide feedback, clarity, if one knew how to hold the conversation.
from Clean Air by Sarah Blake
Japanese folk tales inform the story, including the tree spirit called kodoma which figures heavily in the story.
Central to the story is the memorable Cami, a precisely drawn child, at once a normal four-year-old and a sagacious old soul.
The writing is clean, direct, without emotional or stylistic embellishment. You know the character’s inner lives through their actions.
Clean Air is a unique novel, one that crosses genres and interests, and I believe even age groups.
I received a free ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
Izabel and her husband Kaito are lucky to have a child, four-year-old Cami. Kaito works remotely with the robots that harvest food. Izabel is a traditional stay-at-home mother; she doesn’t claim basic income because her husband’s job gives them enough to live on.
After the horror of the Turning and the deaths of millions, Izabel never expected humanity would resort to violence again. Everyone has all that they need. Then, a senseless act of murder occurs in their town. An unknown assailant has slashed the plastic bubble of a home, killing the family within. At the same time, Cami begins talk in her sleep, holding conversations that indicate foreknowledge of the murder’s plans.
When Izabel tries to intercept the next murder, she manages to save the life of one child but now is known to the murderer, and this leads to consequences she could never have imagined. Izabel is determined to protect her child and to stop the murders. She is a protective and proactive mother who understands that “sometimes love is a decision,” and acts on it.
The future society in Clean Air is original. Izabel watches old news and television shows for entertainment. Trees are the enemy. There are shopping malls and temples where you can have your cards.
What rose up in place of religion was a revitalization of the spiritual and the unexplained. People wanted to believe there was an energy in the universe that connected everyone and everything, an energy that could articulate those connections, provide feedback, clarity, if one knew how to hold the conversation.
from Clean Air by Sarah Blake
Japanese folk tales inform the story, including the tree spirit called kodoma which figures heavily in the story.
Central to the story is the memorable Cami, a precisely drawn child, at once a normal four-year-old and a sagacious old soul.
The writing is clean, direct, without emotional or stylistic embellishment. You know the character’s inner lives through their actions.
Clean Air is a unique novel, one that crosses genres and interests, and I believe even age groups.
I received a free ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
January 10, 2022
"If you take some agency in that relationship with death, that you will chart and course over your life - if you do that - you won't be the first."
-------------------------
Clean Air is definitely an unusual read. The speculative fiction aspect is really cool, it imagines a world where humans have been killed off by trees of all things! Pollen has become overwhelming and deadly, forcing the remaining human into domed living with masks and special precautions. We follow one family through their day to day until serial killer begins popping domes and killing families around them. Izabel, the mother of this family, becomes obsessed with the killer and finds her paranoia rising as he draws closer and closer to her family.
I'm not sure I "got" this one. I liked the environmental aspect but there was some supernatural stuff in there that was just out of place in my mind. That said, I loved the world building and the depth of the characters. The ending was a bit abrupt for my taste but it did give us the answer we needed.
Thanks to Algonquin Books for the gifted advanced copy. All opinions above are my own.
-------------------------
Clean Air is definitely an unusual read. The speculative fiction aspect is really cool, it imagines a world where humans have been killed off by trees of all things! Pollen has become overwhelming and deadly, forcing the remaining human into domed living with masks and special precautions. We follow one family through their day to day until serial killer begins popping domes and killing families around them. Izabel, the mother of this family, becomes obsessed with the killer and finds her paranoia rising as he draws closer and closer to her family.
I'm not sure I "got" this one. I liked the environmental aspect but there was some supernatural stuff in there that was just out of place in my mind. That said, I loved the world building and the depth of the characters. The ending was a bit abrupt for my taste but it did give us the answer we needed.
Thanks to Algonquin Books for the gifted advanced copy. All opinions above are my own.
February 7, 2022
In the not-so-distant future, the air has become unbreathable. It may not be due to what you think. It’s the trees - releasing so much pollen that it is deadly.
After “The Turning,” survivors had to reinvent a way to live, to have clean air. Now society functions in sealed and controlled environments. Masks must always be worn for brief stints outdoors.
The story centers around Izabel and her small family, as she is a stay-at-home mom trying to make sense of this world. When news breaks of families being murdered by someone slashing their sealed domes and letting the toxic pollen seep in, Izabel suddenly takes a keen interest in finding the killer. It’s around this time that her daughter, Cami, starts talking in her sleep, seemingly having discussions about the murders.
𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐢𝐫 is cli-fi and could be called an eco-thriller, very calculated and chilling, a harbinger of what our world may become. But in the same pages, you will find the tenderness of a mother desperately wanting to make the sealed-off, toxic world better for her child.
Thank you to @algonquinbooks and @sarahblakeauthor for a spot on tour and a gifted copy.
After “The Turning,” survivors had to reinvent a way to live, to have clean air. Now society functions in sealed and controlled environments. Masks must always be worn for brief stints outdoors.
The story centers around Izabel and her small family, as she is a stay-at-home mom trying to make sense of this world. When news breaks of families being murdered by someone slashing their sealed domes and letting the toxic pollen seep in, Izabel suddenly takes a keen interest in finding the killer. It’s around this time that her daughter, Cami, starts talking in her sleep, seemingly having discussions about the murders.
𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐢𝐫 is cli-fi and could be called an eco-thriller, very calculated and chilling, a harbinger of what our world may become. But in the same pages, you will find the tenderness of a mother desperately wanting to make the sealed-off, toxic world better for her child.
Thank you to @algonquinbooks and @sarahblakeauthor for a spot on tour and a gifted copy.
January 13, 2022
I wanted to love this book so badly! It has so many appealing genres (post-apocalyptic, super natural, murder mystery), but the ending felt super rushed and nothing felt tied up. Disappointing.
May 2, 2023
just because you lived through covid doesn’t mean that you should write a dystopian book
Want to read
January 24, 2023A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
September 25, 2024
Truly one of the worst books I have ever finished. Many of the one-star reviews were DNF, but I think this book deserves a proper 1 star review.
To start, I had the thought before writing this that "maybe this was a book for young adults or children?", but with the amount of random cussing and misplaced adult topics, I think it was written by a middle school student trying to pass as an adult.
But Simone, what could you possibly mean by that? Well dear reader, I have quotes for you:
"As she went back to bed, she found herself worrying over Cami's strange dreams, these cogent conversations. But then she thought, What do dreams mean anyway? She'd once dreamt she had sex with a man she found in a forest of bamboo.
When they all woke up the next day, Cami had diarrhea. And then she threw up."
Ok so
1. why even mention the bamboo sex dream? It literally has nothing to do with her daughter talking in her sleep.
2. I don't think you know what cogent means; I think you just wanted alliteration and threw in a 'c' word. That sentence flows like a clogged river.
3. How can you jump from bamboo sex dreams to your child having diarrhea? Also, it feels like being hit with bricks. And this isn't the only time this happens. This is how the ENTIRE BOOK is written.
Next example: they introduce this inspector named Paz who is supposedly this amazing agent from the capitol that is fantastic. But she is just a weird bitch.
"'On the plus side, the more weak shit like this you pull, the more I'm starting to think you're not the killer.'
'I'm not the killer,' Izabel said.
Paz shrugged."
Like wtf kind of conversation is that? What kind of agent is that nonchalant and rude to someone she thinks is A SUSPECT!?
The last strange quote to share is this:
"Izabel put a little diaper cream around her anus that never stopped being red."
I... I don't even know what to say. It is out of context, but that is how it is in the book; sandwiched between Izabel putting Cami to bed and then her singing a song about chicken in Spanish.
Ok, so now that we know this book is full of terrible language, time to analyze the plot!
The plot take place in the 2030's after an event called the "turning" when the trees turned and produced so much pollen that the earth became uninhabitable. Really good premise. Except I have a degree in environmental science and have read enough Crichton to appreciate some scientific background, which she lacks. There is no explanation, no world building, no nothing. Then there is the fact that there is a serial killer. Someone slashing homes (they are all made of plastic for some reason? I am pretty sure regular homes filter air well enough or could be made to do it easily?) so that the families inside suffocate. Again, pretty good premise, except she never really delves into it. I can’t tell what genre of book this is supposed to be. Thriller, post-apocalyptic, family-issues/found family, like please pick something and stick to it. So much is going on but also nothing at all.
So, who is the killer? Some nurse she interacted with once? Some guy she read the name of off a nametag? No. It’s this random guy named Patrick who she sees outside the privacy pods in the mall twice. And he is caught with the first trap set and confesses easily to the crime. Then Paz offers our main idiot Izabel a job at the capitol. Please tell me how this makes sense.
I truly cannot comprehend how this book got published. I have to rethink all my other ratings for terrible books because this book makes all of them look like 5-star books. Please do yourself a favor and don’t buy this book.
To start, I had the thought before writing this that "maybe this was a book for young adults or children?", but with the amount of random cussing and misplaced adult topics, I think it was written by a middle school student trying to pass as an adult.
But Simone, what could you possibly mean by that? Well dear reader, I have quotes for you:
"As she went back to bed, she found herself worrying over Cami's strange dreams, these cogent conversations. But then she thought, What do dreams mean anyway? She'd once dreamt she had sex with a man she found in a forest of bamboo.
When they all woke up the next day, Cami had diarrhea. And then she threw up."
Ok so
1. why even mention the bamboo sex dream? It literally has nothing to do with her daughter talking in her sleep.
2. I don't think you know what cogent means; I think you just wanted alliteration and threw in a 'c' word. That sentence flows like a clogged river.
3. How can you jump from bamboo sex dreams to your child having diarrhea? Also, it feels like being hit with bricks. And this isn't the only time this happens. This is how the ENTIRE BOOK is written.
Next example: they introduce this inspector named Paz who is supposedly this amazing agent from the capitol that is fantastic. But she is just a weird bitch.
"'On the plus side, the more weak shit like this you pull, the more I'm starting to think you're not the killer.'
'I'm not the killer,' Izabel said.
Paz shrugged."
Like wtf kind of conversation is that? What kind of agent is that nonchalant and rude to someone she thinks is A SUSPECT!?
The last strange quote to share is this:
"Izabel put a little diaper cream around her anus that never stopped being red."
I... I don't even know what to say. It is out of context, but that is how it is in the book; sandwiched between Izabel putting Cami to bed and then her singing a song about chicken in Spanish.
Ok, so now that we know this book is full of terrible language, time to analyze the plot!
The plot take place in the 2030's after an event called the "turning" when the trees turned and produced so much pollen that the earth became uninhabitable. Really good premise. Except I have a degree in environmental science and have read enough Crichton to appreciate some scientific background, which she lacks. There is no explanation, no world building, no nothing. Then there is the fact that there is a serial killer. Someone slashing homes (they are all made of plastic for some reason? I am pretty sure regular homes filter air well enough or could be made to do it easily?) so that the families inside suffocate. Again, pretty good premise, except she never really delves into it. I can’t tell what genre of book this is supposed to be. Thriller, post-apocalyptic, family-issues/found family, like please pick something and stick to it. So much is going on but also nothing at all.
So, who is the killer? Some nurse she interacted with once? Some guy she read the name of off a nametag? No. It’s this random guy named Patrick who she sees outside the privacy pods in the mall twice. And he is caught with the first trap set and confesses easily to the crime. Then Paz offers our main idiot Izabel a job at the capitol. Please tell me how this makes sense.
I truly cannot comprehend how this book got published. I have to rethink all my other ratings for terrible books because this book makes all of them look like 5-star books. Please do yourself a favor and don’t buy this book.
March 6, 2022
Crosses genres but not all the literary T’s
“Clean Air”, by Sarah Blake is a strange read. There are dystopian elements but the world building is weak. I found it to be more successful in the murder/light thriller category, about half a step above a weak, weird cozy that’s befouled by a few unnecessary expletives.
A post pandemic society where the environment has failed and trees have become toxic to living beings could have been an excellent setting but Blake leaves it mostly undeveloped; a completely missed opportunity. Because of this, I found it difficult to make sense of the medical and police department scenes. There was no way to appreciate motivation or purpose giving these many pages a hollow feel.
Also missing in the development department are the characters. We get to know tidbits but none of them in depth and the interpersonal relationships are almost nonexistent. Four year old Cami waxes on like she’s decades older than stated. I was waiting to learn the child was an alien or tree pod critter on a mission; nope - just a character far beyond her scope.
A spiritual or paranormal element is introduced. It interacts with the psychiatrist’s efforts for a futuristic, integrative medicine approach to healing, family counseling and crime solving. Sounds bizarre but it actually helps the story to move along and improve.
All things considered, if you enjoy odd fiction, this book will work for you but I never found “Clean Air”📚
“Clean Air”, by Sarah Blake is a strange read. There are dystopian elements but the world building is weak. I found it to be more successful in the murder/light thriller category, about half a step above a weak, weird cozy that’s befouled by a few unnecessary expletives.
A post pandemic society where the environment has failed and trees have become toxic to living beings could have been an excellent setting but Blake leaves it mostly undeveloped; a completely missed opportunity. Because of this, I found it difficult to make sense of the medical and police department scenes. There was no way to appreciate motivation or purpose giving these many pages a hollow feel.
Also missing in the development department are the characters. We get to know tidbits but none of them in depth and the interpersonal relationships are almost nonexistent. Four year old Cami waxes on like she’s decades older than stated. I was waiting to learn the child was an alien or tree pod critter on a mission; nope - just a character far beyond her scope.
A spiritual or paranormal element is introduced. It interacts with the psychiatrist’s efforts for a futuristic, integrative medicine approach to healing, family counseling and crime solving. Sounds bizarre but it actually helps the story to move along and improve.
All things considered, if you enjoy odd fiction, this book will work for you but I never found “Clean Air”📚
March 19, 2023
3.5/5 stars
"They want us to have had a real, robust change in response to violence, to the return of violence, but there hasn't been one."
"Why do you think that is?"
..."Maybe because there was more violence around us to start with than people realize. What the trees did, and are doing, can be seen a violence. Sickness is a violence. Death is a violence. Murder- criminal violence- it's not so different."
In the 2040s, the Earth's oxygen is no longer safe to breathe. The Turning led to the air's pollen levels becoming completely lethal. Millions suffocated that first spring, and those who survived were forced indoors, into carefully and elaborately sealed homes where the air is heavily filtered and safe. Even brief exposure to the air outside and you are dead.
Young mother Isabel struggles with the loss of her mother and her place in life as she raises her young daughter, Cami, and when a serial killer begins slashing through homes in their town- exposing the occupants to the air and suffocating them- Isabel springs into action as she tries to protect those closest to her.
Wow! Clean Air came as a total surprise to me! Given the relatively low ratings this book tends to get, I wasn't so sure I would enjoy it, but I really did! It's part sci-fi, part fantasy, part thriller- and the amalgamation of genres is, for me, something that lends the book a lot of its uniqueness and intrigue. I never knew what to expect next while reading it. While it's a bit slow in the beginning, it was interesting getting to know this world post-Turning, and the plot quickly turned very interesting for me. I found it unputdownable (that's literally a word now, apparently) and read it in less than a day. If you enjoy dystopia with a taste of fantasy and a sprinkle of murder mystery...consider checking this one out.
Many thanks to Sarah Blake and Algonquin Books for the ebook, which I received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
"They want us to have had a real, robust change in response to violence, to the return of violence, but there hasn't been one."
"Why do you think that is?"
..."Maybe because there was more violence around us to start with than people realize. What the trees did, and are doing, can be seen a violence. Sickness is a violence. Death is a violence. Murder- criminal violence- it's not so different."
In the 2040s, the Earth's oxygen is no longer safe to breathe. The Turning led to the air's pollen levels becoming completely lethal. Millions suffocated that first spring, and those who survived were forced indoors, into carefully and elaborately sealed homes where the air is heavily filtered and safe. Even brief exposure to the air outside and you are dead.
Young mother Isabel struggles with the loss of her mother and her place in life as she raises her young daughter, Cami, and when a serial killer begins slashing through homes in their town- exposing the occupants to the air and suffocating them- Isabel springs into action as she tries to protect those closest to her.
Wow! Clean Air came as a total surprise to me! Given the relatively low ratings this book tends to get, I wasn't so sure I would enjoy it, but I really did! It's part sci-fi, part fantasy, part thriller- and the amalgamation of genres is, for me, something that lends the book a lot of its uniqueness and intrigue. I never knew what to expect next while reading it. While it's a bit slow in the beginning, it was interesting getting to know this world post-Turning, and the plot quickly turned very interesting for me. I found it unputdownable (that's literally a word now, apparently) and read it in less than a day. If you enjoy dystopia with a taste of fantasy and a sprinkle of murder mystery...consider checking this one out.
Many thanks to Sarah Blake and Algonquin Books for the ebook, which I received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
March 30, 2024
not really what i was expecting at all, not totally in a bad way. kinda left me scratching my head a couple times and asking myself what the hell was actually happening.
January 17, 2022
If you're looking for a thrilling who-dun-it in a uniquely imagined near-future world, I can't recommend this book more.
-- Summary --
In the near future, the climate has been rendered unlivable by an overabundance of pollen. All buildings must be contained within an air-tight dome that regularly purifies the air. Masks must be worn outside at all times, and even then, the air is tolerable for a few minutes at most.
Izabel lives with her husband and daughter, Cami. After an unexplainable air leak in their home, Cami begins to talk in her sleep and appears to have two-way conversations with herself. At the same time, a serial killer begins to ravage their peaceful town, which has not seen crime of this sort since before the climate changed.
Izabel finds herself becoming wrapped up in trying to solve the murders while also trying to get to the bottom of Cami's suspicious behaviors.
-- Thoughts on plot --
I've read a lot of climate fiction and I find that they are either a HUGE hit or boring miss for me. I strongly dislike "slice of life" cli-fi because at the end I just think "so what?". That was NOT this book.
What I loved about this one was that the A-plot was not focused around the climate change. This was a true murder mystery/domestic thriller. It just so happened to take place in a world without breathable air, which increases the stakes of everything immensely.
This was also a unique take on what the actual climate disaster would be. Realistic? I'm not a scientist but I doubt it. Interesting for a story? Absolutely. It was nice to read about a post-disaster world and not feel dread because the story was just different enough from our own feasible reality.
There was some magical realism which I absolutely loved. Because I read so much scifi, I had absolutely no problem suspending disbelief, but be prepared that this is not a realistic fiction.
-- Writing style --
The writing was enjoyable and to-the-point. The pacing worked well and the chapter lengths were long enough to develop some action, but not long enough that they dragged.
Thank you to the publisher for the gifted book!
-- Summary --
In the near future, the climate has been rendered unlivable by an overabundance of pollen. All buildings must be contained within an air-tight dome that regularly purifies the air. Masks must be worn outside at all times, and even then, the air is tolerable for a few minutes at most.
Izabel lives with her husband and daughter, Cami. After an unexplainable air leak in their home, Cami begins to talk in her sleep and appears to have two-way conversations with herself. At the same time, a serial killer begins to ravage their peaceful town, which has not seen crime of this sort since before the climate changed.
Izabel finds herself becoming wrapped up in trying to solve the murders while also trying to get to the bottom of Cami's suspicious behaviors.
-- Thoughts on plot --
I've read a lot of climate fiction and I find that they are either a HUGE hit or boring miss for me. I strongly dislike "slice of life" cli-fi because at the end I just think "so what?". That was NOT this book.
What I loved about this one was that the A-plot was not focused around the climate change. This was a true murder mystery/domestic thriller. It just so happened to take place in a world without breathable air, which increases the stakes of everything immensely.
This was also a unique take on what the actual climate disaster would be. Realistic? I'm not a scientist but I doubt it. Interesting for a story? Absolutely. It was nice to read about a post-disaster world and not feel dread because the story was just different enough from our own feasible reality.
There was some magical realism which I absolutely loved. Because I read so much scifi, I had absolutely no problem suspending disbelief, but be prepared that this is not a realistic fiction.
-- Writing style --
The writing was enjoyable and to-the-point. The pacing worked well and the chapter lengths were long enough to develop some action, but not long enough that they dragged.
Thank you to the publisher for the gifted book!
December 31, 2021
I liked this book overall! It wasn't at all what I expected but it worked really well. It's a bit surreal throughout but that's not a bad thing.
Summary- Izabel lives with her husband and daughter in a world where the tree pollen turned toxic, killing most of the people on Earth. Everyone lives in plastic domes to protect them from the atmosphere, but someone starts slicing open the domes, killing the families inside.
This book is about choosing to find a utopia in a terrible situation, and having to find what makes you happy, and having to choose what's best for your family. It manages to get deeply political messages across in the course of the who done it mystery and I really liked that. The premise of the novel made me think it would be a gritty dystopia thriller/mystery and it's certainly not that, but I think I like it more because it's such a different take on living past an apocalyptic event.
And it's got magical realism!
The characters were good! Paz's motivation was clear but her actions were so erratic that I was super confused alot of the time, but the other characters were consistent.
Author uses an app that allows the main character to revisit news articles from the past too get the reader up to speed with how the society got to that point, as well as help contextualize and compare the book's disasters with ones that are more modern to our time. It's pretty effective at getting the point across, if clunky at times. I wish it had a name and not just called "the app" but I can also see not wanting to pick a name that doesn't age well.
Overall- yeah, pick this one up. I've been thinking about it alot- I ended up taking notes and highlighting in my Kindle as I read because I just liked so many details and wanted to keep track of them too munch on later.
Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for the review copy provided in exchange for an honest review
Summary- Izabel lives with her husband and daughter in a world where the tree pollen turned toxic, killing most of the people on Earth. Everyone lives in plastic domes to protect them from the atmosphere, but someone starts slicing open the domes, killing the families inside.
This book is about choosing to find a utopia in a terrible situation, and having to find what makes you happy, and having to choose what's best for your family. It manages to get deeply political messages across in the course of the who done it mystery and I really liked that. The premise of the novel made me think it would be a gritty dystopia thriller/mystery and it's certainly not that, but I think I like it more because it's such a different take on living past an apocalyptic event.
And it's got magical realism!
The characters were good! Paz's motivation was clear but her actions were so erratic that I was super confused alot of the time, but the other characters were consistent.
Author uses an app that allows the main character to revisit news articles from the past too get the reader up to speed with how the society got to that point, as well as help contextualize and compare the book's disasters with ones that are more modern to our time. It's pretty effective at getting the point across, if clunky at times. I wish it had a name and not just called "the app" but I can also see not wanting to pick a name that doesn't age well.
Overall- yeah, pick this one up. I've been thinking about it alot- I ended up taking notes and highlighting in my Kindle as I read because I just liked so many details and wanted to keep track of them too munch on later.
Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for the review copy provided in exchange for an honest review
February 13, 2023
RR 22-3
Part climate disaster fic, part thriller, this book is surprising. The characters are relatable, and the connection to “history” through old tv is endearing
Part climate disaster fic, part thriller, this book is surprising. The characters are relatable, and the connection to “history” through old tv is endearing
July 15, 2023
This took a while to grow on me. I found the scenario/world Blake builds quite creative but it took me longer to develop feelings for the characters.
Clean Air focuses on a near future earth where trees have started releasing massive amounts of pollen and all plant life has become smotheringly lush and overgrown. In fact, there is so much pollen, it killed off a good deal of humanity due to respiratory/histamine reactions, especially in children and elderly people. Humans have survived these unliveable conditions by sequestering themselves inside sealed indoor environments where the air is highly filtered. When they do go out, they wear masks that can only protect them for a limited amount of time. They travel everywhere in self-driving cars with filtration systems. They can never go outside without wearing a biohazard suit. Fruit and vegetables are picked by mechs operated by humans remotely. There's some neat Japanese cultural influences here, both of Japanese SF and mythology.
Reading this as we all ignore the ongoing reality of the COVID-19 Pandemic and choke on wildfire smoke felt like an odd parallel, especially because as the book goes on Blake does make connection to our current climate crisis (can't say more without spoilers).
The other thing that was compelling in the world Blake creates is that there's a lot of good things about this new world. Everyone has a universal basic income. People spend much of their time in leisure and self-exploration. There is a robust system of public goods - health care, recreational spaces, education, mental health care. Violent crime is essentially non-existent, because people simply can't be out in the public sphere in the same ways as before (although domestic violence is not commented upon...)
The storyline is a blend of science fiction, magic realism, and mystery. In this crimeless world, suddenly, a serial killer starts to kill. The main character, Izabel, becomes obsessed with the killer, understanding and finding him. Her daughter, Cami, begins to dream of the killer, seeming to have some sort of psychic link to him.
The actual procedural aspect of chasing the killer takes, in my opinion, a bit too long to get going. It's almost not clear whether this is going to be a mystery or not, but ultimately it is. Still, I felt given the number of different setting, character, and genre elements Blake is trying to weave together, it all came together in a pretty satisfying way in the end, with a clear message about our climate future.
Clean Air focuses on a near future earth where trees have started releasing massive amounts of pollen and all plant life has become smotheringly lush and overgrown. In fact, there is so much pollen, it killed off a good deal of humanity due to respiratory/histamine reactions, especially in children and elderly people. Humans have survived these unliveable conditions by sequestering themselves inside sealed indoor environments where the air is highly filtered. When they do go out, they wear masks that can only protect them for a limited amount of time. They travel everywhere in self-driving cars with filtration systems. They can never go outside without wearing a biohazard suit. Fruit and vegetables are picked by mechs operated by humans remotely. There's some neat Japanese cultural influences here, both of Japanese SF and mythology.
Reading this as we all ignore the ongoing reality of the COVID-19 Pandemic and choke on wildfire smoke felt like an odd parallel, especially because as the book goes on Blake does make connection to our current climate crisis (can't say more without spoilers).
The other thing that was compelling in the world Blake creates is that there's a lot of good things about this new world. Everyone has a universal basic income. People spend much of their time in leisure and self-exploration. There is a robust system of public goods - health care, recreational spaces, education, mental health care. Violent crime is essentially non-existent, because people simply can't be out in the public sphere in the same ways as before (although domestic violence is not commented upon...)
The storyline is a blend of science fiction, magic realism, and mystery. In this crimeless world, suddenly, a serial killer starts to kill. The main character, Izabel, becomes obsessed with the killer, understanding and finding him. Her daughter, Cami, begins to dream of the killer, seeming to have some sort of psychic link to him.
The actual procedural aspect of chasing the killer takes, in my opinion, a bit too long to get going. It's almost not clear whether this is going to be a mystery or not, but ultimately it is. Still, I felt given the number of different setting, character, and genre elements Blake is trying to weave together, it all came together in a pretty satisfying way in the end, with a clear message about our climate future.
January 28, 2022
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TL;DR REVIEW:
Clean Air is a smart, surprising, character-driven thriller set in a world ravaged by climate change. I read 75% of it in one sitting and was so surprised by the twist/reveal.
For you if: You like to be hooked but genre thrillers aren’t your thing, and/or you like climate fiction.
FULL REVIEW:
First, thank you to Algonquin Books for the advanced copy of this novel! It comes out February 8. I really loved Sarah Blake’s first novel, Naamah, and I’ve been waiting for her next one ever since. Clean Air is very different (totally different genre), but I loved this one too.
Clean Air is a character-driven thriller set about 30 years in the future. The world looks totally different thanks to what was called the Turning, when all the trees started spewing so much pollen that it made the air unbreathable. Now everyone lives in air-filtered bubbles, essentially. But then someone starts slashing the bubbles open at night! And our main character’s young daughter talks about the murders in her sleep — while they’re happening!! As you might expect with a premise like that, this is a really quick read — I finished 75% of it in a single sitting. Sometimes we literary fiction readers really just need a fast-paced story to hook us like that!
I’m not really a big fan of your typical genre thrillers, but I can totally get behind a “literary” thriller like this (character development and interiority 5ever). Especially with the climate angle. Izabel really is a great character, and her inner turmoil with motherhood and grief (about many different things) and her society’s unwillingness to see darkness under the surface was sharp and deeply felt.
My favorite part about it was the part I can’t tell you anything about without spoiling it — the twist/reveal. It went in a direction I just hadn’t expected, although looking back, all the clues were there. I think people will either love it or hate it, but I loved it. So I can’t wait for more people to read this one and talk about it!
CONTENT AND TRIGGER WARNINGS:
Death/murder, Death of a parent/grief
TL;DR REVIEW:
Clean Air is a smart, surprising, character-driven thriller set in a world ravaged by climate change. I read 75% of it in one sitting and was so surprised by the twist/reveal.
For you if: You like to be hooked but genre thrillers aren’t your thing, and/or you like climate fiction.
FULL REVIEW:
First, thank you to Algonquin Books for the advanced copy of this novel! It comes out February 8. I really loved Sarah Blake’s first novel, Naamah, and I’ve been waiting for her next one ever since. Clean Air is very different (totally different genre), but I loved this one too.
Clean Air is a character-driven thriller set about 30 years in the future. The world looks totally different thanks to what was called the Turning, when all the trees started spewing so much pollen that it made the air unbreathable. Now everyone lives in air-filtered bubbles, essentially. But then someone starts slashing the bubbles open at night! And our main character’s young daughter talks about the murders in her sleep — while they’re happening!! As you might expect with a premise like that, this is a really quick read — I finished 75% of it in a single sitting. Sometimes we literary fiction readers really just need a fast-paced story to hook us like that!
I’m not really a big fan of your typical genre thrillers, but I can totally get behind a “literary” thriller like this (character development and interiority 5ever). Especially with the climate angle. Izabel really is a great character, and her inner turmoil with motherhood and grief (about many different things) and her society’s unwillingness to see darkness under the surface was sharp and deeply felt.
My favorite part about it was the part I can’t tell you anything about without spoiling it — the twist/reveal. It went in a direction I just hadn’t expected, although looking back, all the clues were there. I think people will either love it or hate it, but I loved it. So I can’t wait for more people to read this one and talk about it!
CONTENT AND TRIGGER WARNINGS:
Death/murder, Death of a parent/grief
April 3, 2022
In a different approach to climate fiction, the trees are the enemy in Sarah Blake's Clean Air. Despite the warnings that have been issued for decades, the people of earth do not change their ways, and suddenly, trees and plants throw massive amounts of pollen into the air, choking and burying vast numbers of the population. Izabel is one of the lucky ones - she just happened to be in a hospital when the worst struck, and meets Kaito, another happenstance survivor, and they fall in love. Soon domed homes and airtight transportation allow the remaining people to return to somewhat normal lives, though Izabel spends a lot of time in the past watching old home renovation shows and news reports. Their daughter Cami, who only knows this way of life, is a precocious child, and begins having night terrors. When someone starts slashing open domes that protect people from the pollen, Cami's sleeptalking and the crimes start to come together. Blake has mashed genres in this book and the jump to suspend belief is sometimes a bit jarring. Entertaining read, but not 5 star material.
February 9, 2022
The synopsis for this book made it seem like the environmental changes due to climate change were going to be a major factor, which is what drew me to this novel. Instead the setting and the plot have very little to do with each other. You could easily substitute many other environmental issues (wildfire or air pollution) and still have the same novel. The world building could have been fascinating- to see how people would respond to an ecology of super-pollinating trees and increased food production, which was only hinted at.
The plot seemed underdeveloped and the characters seemed cold and robotic. We were so often told of their emotions and not shown. Even the main character's love for her daughter felt panicky and not from a deep parental bond. For a while I thought that she and her husband were roommates and married for convenience.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The plot seemed underdeveloped and the characters seemed cold and robotic. We were so often told of their emotions and not shown. Even the main character's love for her daughter felt panicky and not from a deep parental bond. For a while I thought that she and her husband were roommates and married for convenience.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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