"On the eve of Zera's fifteenth birthday, she's finding little to celebrate. Her guardian, Uncle Theodore (who she's nicknamed "the Toad). amd his frillly girfriend, Tiffany, are dragging her to the opening of a fast-food restaurant that will feature the Toaads GMO creation "beefy fries," a concept that both sickens and intrigues Zera. And if that weren't enough, Zera is in trouble at school for mysterious events that she neither caused nor understands--and her classmates think she's a freak. The light in Zera's dark birthday is a gift from her grandmother that awakens Zera's passion for plants and helps bring to light her family's ancient connection to the natural world. from there the battle between those who would violate Nature in the name of greed and those wh would protect it evolves--with Zera at its center"--Page [4] of center.