Rootless

A dazzling eco-thriller set in a terrifying world with some chilling similarities to our own . . . In a devastated world where plants can no longer grow, 17-year-old Banyan scrapes together a living as a Tree Builder, creating metal forests for the elite. However, all that changes when Banyan meets a girl with a strange tattoo that contains the key to a priceless treasure--the last trees on the planet. When he learns that his missing father also left to find the trees, Banyan sets off across a wasteland from which no one returns. If the pirates and poachers don't get you, the locusts will. Ever since the plants died, the locusts have developed a taste for human flesh . . . But Banyan isn't the only one looking for the trees and is forced to make an uneasy alliance with Alpha, a beautiful, pink-haired pirate with a sharp tongue and even deadlier aim. As they race toward a legendary Zion that might well be a myth, Banyan makes some chilling discoveries about his family, his past, and the terrifying lengths to which scientists are willing to go to bring trees back to earth.

Chris Howard is an avid outdoorsman who's taught forest ecology at Colorado State, worked for the National Park Service, and led teen wilderness trips around the world. He lives in Denver. Check out his website: www.chrishowardbooks.com