All Over Creation

Twenty-five years after her abrupt departure, Yumi Fuller reluctantly returns to her family’s idiosyncratic seed farm in Idaho, summoned by the deteriorating health of her eccentric, trailblazing botanist parents, Lloyd and Momoko. She expects a quiet, perhaps painful, reckoning with her past and the unresolved complexities of her family relationships. Instead, Yumi finds the familiar landscape transformed, not only by the passage of time but by the unexpected arrival of the "Freedom Growers," a vibrant group of young, passionate anti-GMO activists. Drawn to Lloyd's legendary work with heirloom seeds, these idealist environmentalists set up camp, injecting a new, revolutionary energy into the quiet rural setting. As Yumi becomes entangled in their cause, she is forced to confront her own identity, the legacy of her parents, and the intricate web connecting ecological preservation, corporate greed, and personal responsibility. Ruth Ozeki masterfully explores the dichotomies of creation and destruction, love and responsibility, and celebrates the profound capacity for renewal inherent in both nature and the human spirit, all while delivering a thought-provoking narrative rich with character and social commentary.