The Salt God's Daughter

By Ilie Ruby,

Book cover of The Salt God's Daughter

Book description

“Beautifully evokes scenes of two girls adrift in the . . . bohemian beach culture . . . a breathtaking, fiercely feminine take on American magical realism.” —Interview Magazine

Set in Long Beach, California, beginning in the 1970s, The Salt God’s Daughter follows Ruthie and her older sister Dolly as…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked The Salt God's Daughter as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This book is a summer creamsicle of a book, melting down your fist as you devour it. It’s the sun beating down in parking lots as you run toward the water, sand crunching under your flip-flops. If you took Joan Didion’s descriptions of SoCal and crossed them with Anne-Marie MacDonald’s deft descriptions of mother/daughter pathos, then sprinkled it with 70’s childhood nostalgia, you’d get this daydream of a book.

Oh, yeah, and it’s also about a deadbeat parent who may or may not be an ocean deity. I accidentally grabbed this off the library shelf one day and loved it…

Want books like The Salt God's Daughter?

Our community of 11,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Salt God's Daughter.

Browse books like The Salt God's Daughter

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in magical realism, selkie, and folklore?

Magical Realism 435 books
Selkie 13 books
Folklore 358 books