Author(s): Virginia Aronson

Non Fiction for YA

A cautionary tale with depth and humour, A Garden on Top of the World is environmental fiction for ages 12 and up. Includes resources on gardening, urban gardens, heirloom seeds and organic foods.

The year is 2066 and life in Greenland is much warmer, more crowded, and lacking in fresh food. Sixteen-year-old Jonnie lives in the Relocation city of Shamed. Hundred-story high rises house extended families from American coastal cities relocated after the Sixth Sea Rise. Work and school are conducted from overcrowded apartments, and homeless people camp out in the streets.

Red is a homeless man who takes up temporary residence in a pigeon coop on the roof. After Red talks about the seeds in the birds' droppings, Jonnie gets interested in heirloom seeds. The family business has just been awarded a lucrative contract from Monarcho, the international conglomerate that holds patents to much of the world's seeds. Jonnie knows little about how food grows because meals come in packages ordered online and delivered by drone. Dishes are manufactured in the home using 3D printers.

Armed with a new understanding of old-fashioned garden-grown food, Jonnie is determined to create her own garden on the roof of her high rise. Jonnie's search for who she is and what she might be able to offer the world is one that will resonate with readers of all ages. The information she learns about healthy food, sustainable agriculture, and urban gardens may inspire readers to start their own gardens.