Synopsis:

This is what it looks like when coral dies.

Present day. Marine biologist Hana Ishikawa is racing against time to save the coral as of the Great Barrier Reef, but struggles to ght for a future in a world where so much has already been lost.

1839. Seventeen-year-old Judith Holliman escapes the monotony of Sydney Town when her naval captain father lets her accompany him on a voyage, unaware of the wonders and dangers she will soon encounter.

The sun-scorched 22nd century. Telma Velasco is hunting for a miracle: a leafy seadragon, long believed extinct, has been sighted. But as Telma investigates, she nds hope in unexpected places.

Three women: divided by time, connected by the ocean. Past, present and future collide in E. J. Swift’s The Coral Bones, a powerful elegy to a disappearing world – and a vision of a more hopeful future.

Review:

Emotional, captivating and urgent, The Coral Bones is such an important book for the world today. Following three women through different timelines we look at the ocean in the past, present, and future, the author managing to convey both fear and hope for the future.

I thought the triple timeline was such a clever way of writing this story. Each of the women find themselves in the same part of the ocean – The Great Barrier Reef – yet it looks and feels completely different for each, thanks to the passing of time and the changing of the climate.

We first meet Hana, a marine biologist from our own time. The Reef is struggling, and the scientists are trying to help the coral evolve to withstand the warming seas. Fascinatingly, I discovered that this is real research being conducted right now, and I went down a big rabbit hole after reading this book. Hana is despondent, struggling as much as the Reef to process the devastation being wrought on the world. Reading her thoughts was tough – as someone in the environmental field myself, I have often had similar lines of thinking.

We then have Judith Holliman, writing a journal as she travels across the ocean with her father, discovering new lands and wonders of the ocean. A stark contrast to Hana, Judith’s parts are filled with excitement and joy at seeing the Reef in its prime, bursting with life.

Our final POV is Telma in the 22nd century. The climate has collapsed, the planet is scorching, and humanity is trying to put the remaining pieces back together. Telma works to verify reported sightings of creatures that are presumed extinct, and the latest takes her out to the Reef in search of the leafy seadragon. Telma’s parts are filled with rage at humanity, but also hope, and eventually that same wonderment we found with Judith. That is, I think, one of the most powerful messages here.

Each character has a distinct voice, and felt so real to their own times. The Reef also became a character in its own right as I read – a place I have never visited, but grew to know and love through the pages. 

Swift’s writing was excellent, powerful and almost poetic at times. I appreciated that there was never any softening of what our future could hold, of what we are facing right now in this present day, and I equally appreciated the optimism it laid out for our future. Not a lot of climate fiction leaves you with a gentle feeling of hope, but this one did, and it is sorely needed.

This book will stick with me for a long, long time, and I believe it is one that everyone should read.