Novella set in a post-climate-collapse University of Alberta, Edmonton. Mohamed could (and hopefully does) teach a class about how to use a setting to tell a story, without letting world building bog you down to the point of distraction. The characters deftly establish how we got here, where here is, and what the stakes are, without ever spending much time on exposition, and while making the story about family conflict, and (basically) deciding whether or not to go to college. The relationship between the main character and her mother was particularly well-drawn and painful, depicting abuse without excusing it or coming up with an easy solution, especially in a society with so little room for error. It's also about different kinds of community, and solidarity, and never turned out to be totally bleak. (Though I am concerned about the bike.)

There's a certain level of body horror, which actually lands the science fiction trick of being a legitimate piece of world building, while also opening up discussion of agency v. biology, among other things. And it never felt like too much story for the length.

I understand people didn't like the second one as much, but I will be tracking it down eventually.