Rootless

17-year-old Banyan is a tree builder. Using salvaged scrap metal, he creates forests for rich patrons who seek a reprieve from the desolate landscape. Although Banyan's never seen a real tree--they were destroyed more than a century ago--his missing father used to tell him stories about the Old World. Everything changes when Banyan meets a mysterious woman with a strange tattoo--a map to the last living trees on earth, and he sets off across a wasteland from which few return. Those who make it past the pirates and poachers can't escape the locusts . . . the locusts that now feed on human flesh.But Banyan isn't the only one looking for the trees, and he's running out of time. Unsure of whom to trust, he's forced to make an alliance with Alpha, an alluring, dangerous pirate with an agenda of her own. As they race towards a promised land that might only be a myth, Banyan makes shocking discoveries about his family, his past, and how far people will go to bring back the trees.Review"There's a brilliant madness to this deadly postapocalyptic world, filled with complex characters, shifting loyalties, and layers of mystery... it's also a nonstop adventure, with wild concepts and an almost hypnotic quality to Banyan's terse, weather-beaten narration. Lines like "I knew it was a day of endings, one way or another" and "One good thing about a world made of stone and steel, that world can't burn for long" bring this unforgettable setting to life." - Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW"Howard has a gift for the phantasmagoric image: the killing Surge that is this future's ocean, the bark Banyan finds growing on a homeless man, the swarm of locusts descending for the kill and more." - Kirkus ReviewsFrom the Inside FlapSeventeen-year-old Banyan is a tree builder. Using scrap metal and salvaged junk, he creates forests for rich patrons who seek a reprieve from the desolate landscape. Although Banyan's never seen a real tree--they were destroyed more than a century ago--his father used to tell him stories about the Old World. But that was before his father was taken . . .Everything changes when Banyan meets a woman with a strange tattoo--a clue to the whereabouts of the last living trees on earth, and he sets off across a wasteland from which few return. Those who make it past the pirates and poachers can't escape the locusts--the locusts that now feed on human flesh.But Banyan isn't the only one looking for the trees, and he's running out of time. Unsure of whom to trust, he's forced to make an uneasy alliance with Alpha, an alluring, dangerous pirate with an agenda of her own. As they race towards a promised land that might only be a myth, Banyan makes shocking discoveries about his family, his past, and how far people will go to bring back the trees.In this dazzling debut, Howard presents a disturbing world with uncanny similarities to our own. Like the forests Banyan seeks to rebuild, this visionary novel is both beautiful and haunting--full of images that will take permanent root in your mind . . . and forever change the way you think about nature.