In July, three more books in the Seed Savers series received glowing reviews from Midwest Book Review!
Seed Savers-Lily
9781943345090, $12.99 PB, $5.99 Kindle, 182pp
Synopsis: When her friends disappear under mysterious circumstances, thirteen-year-old Lily sets out to discover more about the secret organization with which they were involved. Her investigation unearths a disturbing secret from her own past, unsettling her world even more. In the meantime, Lily makes a new friend and falls for a mysterious young man even as she remains unsure whom to trust. As her world crashes down around her, Lily struggles to decide what to do next. Lily is volume two of the Seed Savers series but can easily be read out of order. It is is a suspenseful and reflective book with themes of self-empowerment, trust, acceptance of diversity, gardening, and politics.
Seed Savers-Heirloom
9781943345113, $14.99 PB, $5.99 Kindle, 274pp
Synopsis: It’s late in the twenty-first century and large corporations have merged with U.S. government agencies to control the nation’s 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 country’s 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 (the third volume in the Seed Savers series) 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.
Seed Savers-Keeper
9781943345175, $14.99 PB, $5.99 Kindle, 254pp
Synopsis: Beginning in a Pacific Islander village of climate refugees hidden deep in the Smoky Mountains and ending in an underground bunker in Portland’s Forest Park, Keeper is the fast-paced fourth installment in the Seed Savers series. In Keeper, GRIM appears to be crumbling only to be replaced by FRND (the Food Resources & Nutrition Department), a corporate-sponsored program with a more friendly public face. The Seed Savers Movement is on the verge of splintering as James Gardener’s fugitive status is viewed by some as a liability, while others don’t trust the mysterious JALIL. Trinia Nelson is bent on finding James and will stop at nothing. Earth Day parades turn into protests and someone is leaking classified government documents. Meanwhile, Lily, Clare, and Dante, shut up in the bunker, become restless and begin sneaking out. In the park they run into Rose, an acquaintance from summer tutoring. Will their desire to rekindle the friendship lead to forgiveness, or will it end in betrayal?
Critique: An impressively original, deftly crafted, and thoroughly entertaining series by Sandra Smith, these three volumes (each of which can stand alone and be read out of sequence) will prove to be immediate and enduringly popular additions to personal, family, school and community library collections for young readers ages 8-12.
Thank you Midwest Book Review! To read Midwest’s review of Seed Savers-Treasure, go here.