PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 28, 2025
Thomas Ricks, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and part-time Deer Island resident, draws on his deep reporting background in his second Ryan Tapia novel, “We Can’t Save You.” Ricks’ story, set in the near future in Maine, masterfully weaves together Native American protests, political maneuvering and military history. Protesters believe the Anglos are “corrupt and doomed” and to blame for the warming of the planet, including its devastating impact on the ocean. Ricks illustrates their concerns with stark facts, painting a bleak vision of the future of land and seas. Their campaign, the Tide is High, focuses on the ocean’s growing distress: lobster shells thinning from acidic waters, oysters budding too early, and disruptions to insect and bird life, including a Mexican crested caracara drifting off the coast of Maine, far from its usual territory. When the tide rises over the highway leading to Eastport, the group’s point is made clear.