Slice the Water

Longlisted, Canada Reads 2026

Born on the lush island nation of Mahana, Fred lives under the tyrannical rule of a book-burning king. Under the kings rule, Mahanians are controlled by a military dictatorship and threatened with forced starvation, while people with disabilities are exiled. After Freds father suddenly disappears, Fred joins an underground movement of dissenters and becomes an unwitting global icon in the fight for Mahanian freedom. When he is recruited and relocated by an organization that appears sympathetic to Freds cause, he arrives in a seemingly peaceful foreign nation, where the impact of social media and technology creates a new, stranger struggle.

A dystopian thriller, a work of speculative fiction, and a coming-of-age story, Wongs novel thrums with biting bursts of staccato-like prose a fitting accompaniment to a fascinating exploration of contrasting political systems. As Fred unpeels layers of truth and see