Jade Shyback

Jade Shyback was born in Red Deer, Alberta on June 24, 1973. A nature lover, she spent five glorious years with her parents and brother in Nanaimo, British Columbia, riding her bike and scavenging for sea life on the rocky beaches of the Pacific coast. At age nine she returned to Alberta to live on a farm nicknamed Mosquito Flats until she obtained a degree in English, the only faculty that would have her, from the University of Calgary. A career in financial services led her to Toronto and onward to Abu Dhabi where she raised three daughters amidst sand and camels while working in Dubai as a financial regulator. She now lives in Oakville with her ‘guard’ dogs and judgmental cat. Jade’s hobbies include beekeeping, boating, playing tennis, and gardening. Aqueous is her debut novel, and despite her love of the ocean she would never descend two and a half kilometers to live beneath it.

Jade Shyback sits and leans forward on a desk

All Books

A graphic of a young girl in a dress swimming upward away from the underwater merstation below her. Above her is the title: "Aqueous: a novel." On the bottom of the cover is the author: "Jade Shyback"
Order Now

Aqueous

Jade Shyback

Publication Date: May 2, 2023

$14.95 Tradepaper

ISBN: 9781939096098

Description:

#1 Hot New Release on Amazon Canada in Dystopian Sci-Fi Books for Young Adults (11/16/2022)

From debut young adult novelist Jade Shyback comes the first in the Aqueous series. On the eve of Earth’s collapse, young Marisol Blaise is taken to live on an underwater mersation known as Aqueous with parents not her own. There, she must compete in the trials, grueling tests designed to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each trainee, hoping to be assigned to the all-male elite diving team known as the Cuviers. Desperate to prove to herself, the residents, and all of her parents, dead and alive, that she is worthy of  this prestigious placement, she works tirelessly to shatter misogynistic beliefs, only to discover that it was not only the men who constrained her. A much uglier untruth exists.

ADVANCED PRAISE

“Aqueous is a coming-of-age story set against the harshly exotic backdrop of a life beneath the sea in an all-too-possible post-apocalyptic future. Marisol’s struggle for the right to grow into an intelligent, strong, independent woman plays out in a richly imagined underwater society filled with deeply human problems and devastating secrets—but it is not only her life that hangs in the balance, but all humanity. A fascinating debut and one that will make you think. “
—Kerry Anne King, bestselling author of Improbably Yours

News

Swellcast features interview with Jade Shyback, author of AQUEOUS!

#AuthorInterview | Ask debut novelist Jade Shyback a question “…Novelist Jade Shyback has had many lives that I find just completely fascinating. And now is your chance to join the conversation and ask her a question. I’m going to start us out, but please feel free to join in at any time. Jade, I am so excited to talk with you about your […]

Jade Shyback, author of AQUEOUS, featured on Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb!

Jade Shyback is the author of the new novel Aqueous. She lives in Oakville, Ontario.  Q: What inspired you to write Aqueous, and how did you create your character Marisol? A: The inspiration for Aqueous was found on a road trip along the Pacific Coast Highway with my three daughters, just before my eldest “abandoned” me for university. The specifics […]

Reviews

Jade Shyback’s AQUEOUS featured in Kirkus Reviews!

Climate disasters amplified by greed have rendered Earth’s surface uninhabitable and space travel impossible; now just three deep-ocean merstations stand between humankind and extinction. Desperate to ensure her last child’s safety, Sunniva’s mother surrendered her to Adm. Blaise and his wife, who name her Marisol. They’re Aqueous’ power couple, living in the merstation off the […]

Oakville News Reviews AQUEOUS by Jade Shyback!

After a phenomenal reception for her debut novel Aqueous at the Winter Institute American Booksellers Association convention in Seattle Washington this February, Oakville’s Jade Shyback is ready for the real publication launch right here in Oakville on May 10th.

Authorlink recommends AQUEOUS by Jade Shyback

Shyback has created an all-too-believable future with a consummate eye for detail and realism in this, her debut novel. Marisol and her companions are terrific characters, and the reader will cheer them on as they go through the angst-ridden years of young adulthood in a strange environment.