First published 2022
Marcus Chen walks through the community garden at dawn, checking the tomato plants his neighbors depend on. The city wants this land for a luxury development, and Marcus knows the developers have allies in city hall. As community organizer, he faces an impossible choice between accepting a buyout that could save his family's struggling restaurant or fighting to preserve the only green space his neighborhood has left. When violence erupts and blood literally stains the garden soil, Marcus discovers that some battles cost more than he imagined. The story follows his struggle to protect both his community and his conscience in a system designed to crush both. At its heart, this is a story about what ordinary people will sacrifice to defend the places they love.
Genres: american-fiction, contemporary, urban, activism
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Community Garden, City
Period: Dawn
368 pages · Kindle Edition · Atria Books
Content warnings: violence