A Pura Belpre Honor Winner
A Best Book of the Year: New York Times, Kirkus, Booklist, Chicago Public Library
For 400 years, Earth has been a barren wasteland. The few humans that survive scrape together an existence in the cruel city of Pocatel or go it alone in the wilderness beyond, filled with wandering spirits and wyrms. 13-year-old pickpocket Leandro and his sister Gabi do what they can to forge a life in Pocatel. The city does not take kindly to Cascabel like them - the descendants of those who worked the San Joaquin Valley for generations. When Gabi is caught stealing fruit from the Pocatelan elite, Leando takes the fall. But his exile proves more than he ever could have imagined - his consciousness is placed inside an ancient drone and left to fend on its own. But beyond the walls of Pocatel lie other alebrijes like Leandro who seek a better world - as well as mutant monsters, wasteland pirates, a hidden oasis, and the truth.