SEEDS FOR THE SWARM

A coming-of-age story set in the Dust States in the year 2075.

Sassparylla McCracken is just another Dusty, a White girl destined to a life of working for the oil refinery or running with outlaw scrounger gangs, stealing water in drought-stricken Texas. Rylla dreams of escaping her overbearing mother by going to college and learning how to improve things in the Dust. Her opportunity comes when a video of her protesting in the State Senate against environmental destruction piques the interest of elite institution Wingates University in the Lush State of Michigan. She soon finds herself in an alien environment of wealthy, accomplished college students—and seemingly unlimited water. Wingates’ diverse student population also forces Rylla to challenge her homogeneous, socially conservative Texas upbringing: Her new friends include her White, nonbinary roommate, Magenta; Latino bioengineer Theo; chemical engineer Azam, a gay, Iranian hijabi; Nigerian and Jewish American mechanical engineer Dae-Dae; and her Latina research teammate, Ynez. Through Rylla’s Humanity major, Kern explores the ethics and morality of cutting-edge science and technology. However, whispers of a secret department and alleged sightings of military personnel build tension and suggest covert machinations afoot at Wingates. The author emphatically establishes the desperate circumstances climate change has brought to the West while drawing parallels with immigrant experiences by portraying how painful it is for Rylla to leave her home and family behind for a better life.

A satisfying ecological take on the dystopian science-fiction novel.