Seed Savers-Heirloom: 3

Impressively original.--Midwest Book ReviewIts late in the twenty-first century and large corporations have merged with U.S. government agencies to control the nations food supply. Gardening is illegal and most people no longer know what real food is. Thirteen-year-old Clare and her brother Dante have escaped to Canada where the old ways still exist. There they make friends with the roguish Jason and learn the political history of their own countrys decline of freedoms. Meanwhile Lily the friend who was left behind begins a journey to find the father she never met--a former leader in the ill-fated Seed Savers rebellion of fifteen years earlier. From Florida to the Smoky Mountains Lily follows the signs in search of her father and is helped along the way by the quirky characters she meets. Not to mention the attractive Arturo who shows up midway to protect her. Heirloom seamlessly weaves the gentle agrarian story of Clare and Dante together with the swiftly-paced adventure of Lily and Arturo. Themes of family empowerment and politics meet in this futuristic tale nostalgic for the past.