Cast Aside (Wasteland Trilogy, book 1)

Book excerpt: Book 1 of the YA apocalyptic Wasteland trilogy. When environmental collapse forces the Job Creators to retreat to sealed domes, those left behind have two choices: fight for survival or perish. For years, seventeen-year-old Alessandro Bonanno has managed to scrape out a living by digging out scrap from derelict buildings. Were it not for his determination to save his seven-year-old brother, Enzo, Alessandro might have chosen the easy way out, as his father has, disappearing down a bottle of cheap liquor. Alessandro’s situation becomes far more precarious and dangerous when the Creators flee, taking all semblance of law and order with them. With no other options, he agrees to work for a crime lord in exchange for protection for himself and his brother. But the deeper the crime lord draws Alessandro into her web, the more he fears he and his brother will never escape. Born seventeen years ago on a Creator’s farming collective, Valeria Lagunes has never known anything other than a life of toil under the relentless sun. Despite what the Creators’ propaganda insists, crop yields are dwindling with each passing year, begging the question of which lives will be prioritized when there isn’t enough food to go around. Yet as terrified as Valeria is of the impending famine, those fears are nothing compared to what her community must face when the Creators abandon them. Suddenly, the people of the collective are no longer just simple farmers. In this new lawless world, they must become warriors in order to defend their own. But can Valeria live with herself when forced to make decisions that go against every conviction she holds most dear?