The best book of 2024, hands down. Campbell's poetry transcends the reader into the clouds of a daydream or maybe a nightmare, depending on how you identify. A story of love and lost.

If Cebo Campbell set out to write an uncomfortable read, one that pushes boundaries: mission accomplished. This book is such an interesting thought experiment, and the writing is so good I was hooked the whole way through.

The premise is wild: one day, all the white people in America walk into the nearest body of water and disappear. A year later, Charlie Brunton, a Black professor and ex-convict, gets a call from his daughter Sidney, who’s been isolating herself in Wisconsin ever since the event. The two of them—estranged and carrying plenty of baggage—set off on a road trip through a world that’s completely changed. Along the way, they face what it means to be Black in this "post-racial" America while trying to figure out their own complicated relationship. It’s equal parts heart-wrenching, thought-provoking, and totally unique.

I know some reviews have slammed the ending, but I liked it. I’m all for open-ended stories that make you think, and this one felt like it ended exactly where it should. That said, my one gripe is Sidney. She felt a little flat at the beginning, more like a caricature than a real person, and that made some of the more emotional parts of the book miss a beat for me. But it’s a small thing in an otherwise great book.

And a note: some of the reviews I’ve seen are just baffling. Did we read the same book? People saying the author is spewing hate or calling for genocide: no. That’s not what this is. This book is about race, identity, and what happens when power structures are flipped on their heads. It’s supposed to make you uncomfortable. That’s the point.

In the end, Sky Full of Elephants is a book that sticks with you. It’s sharp, original, and packed with heart. I’m looking forward to whatever Cebo Campbell writes next.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster as well as the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #Simon&Schuster #SkyFullofElephants #CeboCampbell

Title: Sky Full of Elephants
Author: Cebo Campbell
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: September 10, 2024
Themes: Family, racism,dystopian landscape, grief, mental health
Trigger Warnings: suicide, racism, loss,

This was a powerful one that did not make me feel good. Therefore, I highly recommend that everyone read it. This story begins with all the white people in America, committing suicide by walking into the ocean all at once. The main protagonist, Charlie, having served time in prison for a wrongful conviction, is now a professor at Howard University. He receives a sudden call from a daughter he didn’t know existed. She’s been through a lot of trauma and has no one else to turn to. When Charlie and Sidney travel together in search of family, they find their understanding of the world and their own lives completely changed.

This is a powerful book. The characters are compelling, particularly the character of Charlie. His goodness and depth made it impossible not to. It definitely made me uncomfortable, as it was designed to. We, as white people, don’t like to talk about racism, which doesn’t make it disappear, oddly enough. This plot is inspired. The story is packed with heart and imagination, not to mention bravery. The description of the plot, in some words, may sound like a direct criticism of the white person. It’s not! That’s not the point of this book. Please give it a chance.

The narrative itself was a little rough. I definitely felt like the story should have been cut down by quite a bit. The writing was absolutely lovely and way too detailed. This is my most significant complaint. At times the book dragged slowly along, occasionally interrupted by action and dialogue.

All in all, I’m really glad I read it. It had a few problems with pacing but it's a good book. I highly recommend it.

This is a speculative fiction novel taking place about a year after the event. The event being the day that all the white people in America drowned themselves. The main story revolves around Sidney, the mixed daughter of Charlie, a black man who, until the event, had spent most of her life in prison.

Hm, where to start. I enjoyed the prose and the premise of the story. I was just having a hard time getting into the story because I had so many unanswered questions. Mainly re: communication and why the Internet was never really mentioned/used, and why no other countries came to see what was going on? A lot of it just didn't make sense. I wasn't sure if this counted as spoilers so I just tagged it as such.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved this book and was enthralled with the writing. I loved the character study. Would read more from the author!

Special thanks to the author & @simonbooks for my gifted copy‼️ #SimonBooksBuddy

I finished this book almost 2wks ago in less than two days and I’m still at a loss for words. Ya’ll this book was beyond amazing to me it’s the way I felt after reading it. If anybody read this and didn’t connect with it or felt uncomfortable I get it. Everything isn’t meant to be for everyone. But the way those words jumped off the page and spoke to me made it hit a little different.

This isn’t just about a world without white people that’s surface level compared to how deep the author intended to go with this. “In a world without white people, what does it mean to be Black?” Like that really makes you think doesn’t it? What does that mean? What would it mean? The authors focus on themes surrounding identity posed two questions for me. Who are we as a people when we’ve lived in a society that conditioned us to believe we are what they say we are? How can you make someone accept their true identity when they feel they’re entitled to fit in a space they never actually belonged in?

Campbell also touched on the power we possess both physically and mentally, the importance of healing in order to forgive, and tapping into Black consciousness. I can’t deny that he snapped with this book. The Black consciousness got me but the message he was sending is what had me sold.

The character development was incredible Charlie and his daughter Sidney were like day and night. Once I knew Charlie’s backstory I sympathized with him a lot and wanted so bad for him to tell his daughter the truth behind his absence. Sidney is one of those characters that will work your nerves the self-hate was deep. She was lost, having an identity crisis, and was chasing a sense of normality when nothing about her upbringing was ever normal.

Overall, I loved the book read the book‼️ I mean really read the book not to just enjoy but to understand the Kingdom of Alabama, the walkers, the false teachings and self-sacrificing. Knowing what caused the cataclysmic event in the first place just imagine the Black collective unifying on the same frequency . . . Think I might read this again.

5 stars

To any (especially white) readers, I think you need to let plausibility go for this book. It is an experience that demands you take a seat for the ride and be incomfortable. I think in that, it delivers. The writing is superb, and I think even if I ultimately didn’t like where it led, it’s a fantastic piece of literature folks should pick up and discuss. I love how history is woven in and used to create character development. I’m going to be thinking about this for while, and that to me is always a mark of a good book.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy to form opinions off from.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it in your local and online bookstores and libraries on September 10, 2024.

“THEY K¡LLED THEMSELVES. All of them. All at once.”

When a book can grab me with the first lines and not turn me loose until the last ones, I know it’s a hit! It was the culture and the vibes for me: HBCUs, Alabama (S/O to my birthplace), Mardi Gras, The Gulf Coast, Africatown, and Haiti to name a few. I was so invested in Sidney and Charlie’s journey (the physical one and emotional one). I hung on bated breath as Charlie drove through those uncharted roads in the Midwest. (Ethel bout made me jump out of my skin. 😅) I felt like I was in this apocalyptic tale with my cousins trying to figure out how this all happened. Oh and what a ride it was! I finished this the night before pub day and had all intentions to get my review out that week but I really had to sit with my thoughts to try to do it justice. I honestly still had a hard time just trying to reflect on my experience and put words to all of the emotions that I felt. After reading this, you can see that I still couldn’t. Plus, I don’t want to say too much and spoil anyone’s adventure with this brilliant novel. Just do yourself a favor and pick up this book. It definitely will go down as one of my favorites for the year!

I highlighted so much but I had to share two of my favorite quotes.

“Now you got no excuses for who you can be. So who you gonna be? Same as you were? Or everything you would’ve been otherwise?”

“We wasn’t ‘black’ there, we just were.”

One day, an event occurs: that causes all of the white people in America to walk into the nearest body of water and drown. A year later, Charlie pis a Black man living in an entirely new world. Having served time in prison for a wrongful conviction, he’s now a professor of electric and solar power systems at Howard University. He receives a call from someone he wasn’t even sure existed—his daughter Sidney, a nineteen-year-old left behind by her white mother and step-family. Traumatized by the event, and terrified of the outside world, Sidney has spent a year in isolation in Wisconsin. Desperate for help, she turns to the father she never met. Sidney and Charlie meet for the first time as they embark on a journey across a truly “post-racial” America in search for answers. But neither of them are prepared for this new world and how they see themselves in it. Will they find their answers?

The author has written an astonishing novel which is about the power of community and connection. It is also about healing and self-actualization, and a reckoning with what it means to be Black in America. I found myself fascinated with the subject of no white people in America.

This has me thinking of so many different things that would happen if there was ever a mass suicide involving bodies of water. I live in Utah. I'd have to work so far to get to the water and then my corpse would destroy the local water supply. The Salt Lake is not deep enough to drown in so these people would just be floating in stagnant salt water and I guess starving to death.
Anyway, I was lost in my own head for a while. I felt for the daughter, losing all of her family.
And race is not a biological thing, it is a sociological thing based on appearance and ethnicity, so how did they know who to hypnotise? The people who consider themselves white but aren't (or are they) live on in their own society. I liked that angle.
I think we would all enjoy a few years with people of color in charge, however we work that out. But this society is based on white history, essentially.
Also my county is primarily mexican/indigenous. They aren't really represented here, which is fine! They are not the majority in the south and this is supposed to a book focused on black survival in a post racial America. It just felt weird to me.
This was different and I appreciated that.
I actually plan to buy this as an audiobook.

When I stumbled upon a recommendation of Sky Full of Elephants on socials, the premise immediately grabbed my attention. Cebo Campbell’s debut novel imagines an America where the white population has vanished, and we follow Charlie Brunton, a former inmate turned professor, as he reconnects with his estranged daughter, Sidney. Their journey unfolds against a backdrop of self-actualization, trauma, and the complexities of Black identity, making it a thought-provoking exploration of what happens when whiteness is no longer the focal point.

This is not just another speculative fiction piece; it’s a bold narrative that challenges the status quo. While my first read this year on a similar theme was Maura Cheeks’ Acts of Forgiveness, both books reimagine futures for Black people in America separated from the oppressive hands of systemic racism. I appreciated the timely references to Haiti and its people, which, although not a direct response to current xenophobic narratives, highlight the strength and rich history of Haitian culture.

There’s so much to celebrate about this book, from its perceptively radical themes to Campbell’s courage in tackling uncomfortable truths. Thank you to Simon & Schuster for gifting me a copy of this powerful debut. It’s a story that lingers long after the last page.

Wow. There is so much to unpack here. And if you have the patience to get through the book (it honestly isn't the best "story,"  but the prose is beautiful), it would make for a great discussion. You will either love this book or absolutely hate it. Some will see it as super unrealistic, from the people walking into bodies of water and drowning (but didn't that really happen at Igbo Landing?!) to Sidney letting go of her self-hatred and becoming enlightened (take a listen to Malcom X's "Who Taught You to Hate Yourself" speech). Youtube is free! Others will love it because it is so bold, emotional, and thought-provoking. 

I would suggest giving it a try. Even if you close the book without finishing and never pick it up again, I think it's worth trying to see things from a different perspective.

Absolutely fascinating premise that's executed beautifully. This might be the best exploration of identity and fatherhood I've seen, and a completely unique take on the road trip novel. The plot was fast paced, and I enjoyed seeing Sidney and Charlie's relationship develop. Campbell has a flair for world building, and his execution of side characters and a transforming US countryside was engaging.

My frustrations were all tied to the ending. First, it ends at the absolute height of the action. Unless there's a sequel planned, I don't know why there wouldn't be at least one other scene showing the aftermath. Second, considering the various pitfalls Charlie navigated from DC to Wisconsin, I find it unlikely that Sidney, who just learned how to drive, would somehow make it to the West Coast from Alabama. Especially considering how sparce the population is already. I can suspend belief, but I wish Campbell had been more consistent with the ending and carried the momentum through the end of the book.

This story was quite interesting, it had great bones, but I feel like the author dismissed all of the other political systems in place. I don’t think society would collapse like it did in this story. One passage says they were souring the universities to find doctors, paramedics, attorneys, pilots, etc. as if black professionals did not exist. Hello, have you ever been to Washington DC? Not to mention the brotherhood of the police force and hierarchy of government. I have a very hard time believing that these systems would entirely come to a halt, it would have made more sense to me if this story took place decades after the event. Again, good bones, but I have a hard time with plot holes as large as these.

My largest issue with the book is a massive spoiler so I will post it on my Goodreads, but essentially the idea of genocide to cope with a wrong doesn’t sit well with me. I am conflicted because I understand what the author was attempting to convey, but I feel the book could have explained the event or what caused it without this. IYKYK. Then again, maybe this book is meant to cause conversation around why the event happened, it is controversial to say the least. I think this book’s main aim is to make white people feel uncomfortable, I have yet to see a review from someone lacking melanin (please tag me if you see one) I am very interested in their take on this book.

I will definitely pick up another book from this author as it was just his debut, I love a controversial and thought-provoking book. Another one that comes to mind is Babel: the necessity of violence.

"Like the walkers, she too had conformed her life to the shape of its negative space, defined in the contrast of a bright white background.”

In Cebo Campbell’s debut novel ‘Sky Full of Elephants’ we are taken to a different America, a year after a mysterious and appearingly inexplicable event that has vanished the white population. We follow Charlie Brunton, formerly incarcerated, now a professor at Howard University, as he receives a phone call from his estranged daughter Sidney, biracial, who has been living in isolation since the event that resulted in the loss of her family. What ensues is an adventure that will require you to suspend disbelief to explore self-actualization, black consciousness, labels, trauma, community, redemption, and all its complexities.

When I heard this story’s premise, I was immediately intrigued. But once I watched one of Cebo’s interviews, in which he explained how inspired he was by Toni Morrison's writing outside of the white gaze, I knew I had to read it, and I wasn’t disappointed.

This is not a ‘revenge fantasy’ or ‘wish-fulfillment’ story, so please do not mistake it as such. The setup is to allow space for a meaningful conversation and exploration around the ways black people are shaped by whiteness and what happens if whiteness is not the focal point. This is not a perfect society. Some thrive, but some struggle and crave things to return to what’s familiar, creating drama/tension.

It is poetic prose and an engaging narrative, and I really enjoyed listening to it on audio as I read. I flew through this within a few days. It is thought-provoking, evocative, compelling, and unique, with an ambiguous ending, but the message is sung clearly.

I loved how the focus was not on ‘the event’ but on what is to be made of the world after it—how perceptions of ourselves shift, what holes are left, and what is created to fill its absence.

The title ‘Sky Full of Elephants’ refers to the idea of an unseen heavyweight that hovers above but, if released, can be crushing, making you reflect on that version in real life.

I love stories that challenge, spark conversation, and explore the elephants in the sky in a compelling, unique, and heartfelt way, which Cebo accomplishes.

Overall, I loved the sentiment, and it's ideal for readers who enjoy speculative fiction and magical realism and seek thought-provoking stories.

Thank you, S&S!

**Features:**
- Road trip across a post cataclysmic American
- Estranged father and daughter going on a journey together
- A challenging, philosophical exploration of race and identity

**Summary**

The day all of the white people in America suddenly disappeared into the nearest body of water was the day Charles Burton was freed from prison. A year later, Charles finds himself at Howard University working as a respected professor of electric and solar power systems. But even as Charles helps the world move forward, he still finds himself haunted by his past. When Sidney, the daughter he has never met, calls to ask for his help, Charles is forced to confront the shadows that have been following him even before that fateful day. For Sidney, Charles is her last hope to get to Alabama, the only place she might belong after watching her family drown. But as the two make the perilous journey South, they will learn more about themselves, each other, and the world than they could ever have imagined.

**Thoughts**

This thought provoking book encourages you to embrace discomfort and go on a philosophical journey centered on race and identity. I think it is important to state from the start that this book does an excellent job framing the disappearance of all white people as a traumatic, cataclysmic tragedy while simultaneously celebrating the fortitude of the Black community and how those left behind are trying to embrace this new world. Charles is a fascinating and complicated character and I love how his own experiences are juxtaposed to Sidney’s. Their literal and philosophical road trip gets more and more fascinating as they see more of the new world and begin to question and change. This book definitely took some unexpected turns and I was definitely there for the journey. Not a lot of books will make you pause and reflect the way that this one does, and I really appreciate it for that alone. If you are willing to embrace a little discomfort and suspend a little disbelief, this story is a wonderful thought experiment to engage with.

This book’s approach to the “what if” scenario it introduces definitely focuses more on the exploration of social identity rather than a literal, nuanced depiction of ‘the world after’. Though the world as a whole is believable (despite some of the magical realism elements), I couldn’t help but feel like things would be a whole lot more complicated than how they were presented. The characters mention some of the broader implications of losing so many people at once, but I felt the emptiness of the world more than I got to see some of the complicated dynamics of a society redefining itself. This got much better in the later half of the story and some of this could have just been due to the limited world view of the characters through whom the story was told. Still, there were definitely some avenues I wish were explored a little more.

I thought the premise of this book was interesting and unique; the execution fell a bit flat. The first third of the book rides on the premise and kept my attention, but then it got very didactic and long-winded and I just didn't care about the characters enough. I noticed myself starting to skim just to get to find out what happens when they get to their destination. I did enjoy the eerie vibes--similar to The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta. The father-daughter journey story reminded me of "The Last of Us" and I liked that too. I just felt like the story fell flat at the halfway mark.

Sky of Elephants is a speculative fiction base on race: what happens to America when one day all white people, for some mysterious reason, all get hypnotized and all walk toward the closest body of water and drown. Sydney did everything she could to prevent her mother from walking all the way into the water. To no avail. As as result, she loses her mom, step-father, and 2 brothers. She is all alone. She gets a message that there are still some of "them" down in Orange Beach, AL. The only person left in the world would could help her get to Orange Beach is her father, whom she never met. Sydney is mixed race: white mom, black biological dad. But she were raised in "white" household and environment. So meeting her father Charlie is difficult for her. She does not understand the US vs them talk. She is angry.

The book started off great! It gave me Leave the World Behind vibes and I was really into the new-found family storyline between Sydney and Charlie. I wanted to see how they would reconcile and go about create a father-daughter relationship. I was also curious to find out what made white people drown. Unfortunately, I hated the part in Mobile and that royalty storyline. It was idiotic, not interesting, and the book lost me. The story got weak at that point and lost interest.

I’m not quite sure how I feel about Sky Full of Elephants. It was more literary than I typically read. I guess I was expecting something more apocalyptic or dystopian which are my preferred genres.

I did really enjoy this story for about the first 75% but became extremely uncomfortable for the last part which is what I’m seeing in many reviews.

I really loved Charlie’s character but wanted to shake Sidney throughout most of the book.

All in all I’m really glad I read this as there was much I learned.

*Thanks so much to Simon Books for the eGalley!*