Rootless is a good first novel that plays well with some fascinating ideas. What would the world be like without any vegetation except GMO corn? If most of the world's food and fuel was controlled by one big agribusiness company? It reminded me, in the boldness of the ideas, of Paolo Bacigalupi -- though Chris Howard doesn't have his pyrotechnic writing capabilities. Definitely worth reading and recommending to young people loving dystopian novels. Unique!

Interesting take on a future with no trees. Just a warning - don't get attached to anyone, cause nobody is sacred, anyone can die.

Reminded me of The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

"Seventeen-year-old Banyan lives in a harsh future where plants no longer grow. He builds life-sized sculptures of trees for wealthy customers who want something beautiful to break the monotony of the ecologically devastated landscape. When Banyan is commissioned to create an entire forest of fake trees for a rich landowner, he meets a girl who holds clues to the location of the planet's last surviving trees - and the whereabouts of Banyan's missing father. Embarking on a treacherous journey to find his dad (and the trees), Banyan encounters pirates, poachers, flesh-eating locusts, and many other dangers, making for a tense, gritty, and compelling story." February 2013 Teen Scene Newsletter http://www.nextreads.com/Display2.aspx?SID=5acc8fc1-4e91-4ebe-906d-f8fc5e82a8e0&N=597578