Wild Dark Shore

Wild Dark Shore, by Charlotte McConaghy

58/60 | Started 11.06.25 • Finished 11.18.25 | 4 stars

I saw this floating around on must-read lists and finally decided to give it a go after seeing it recommended on Patti Callahan Henry's substack. It did not disappoint. A unique arctic adjacent setting, in a future time when the survival of man and nature seems to be under threat, provided an unexpected beauty. McConaghy really made the land and sea come alive. The Salt family has been tasked with evacuating the seed banks on Shearwater Island when a woman washes up on shore. It's clear that something has happened on the island, but the reader is left in the dark. I can't quite put my finger on it but I did really like this book. Despite rolling my eyes at the romantic thread in the story, I did not see the ending coming, and that, along with McConaghy's writing style, had me turning pages.