The Farm — Cazzey Louis Cereghino

In his first politically driven novel, Cereghino tells the story of the Giobotti family -- one of the final family farmers in an area quickly becoming the new suburbs of America. Told through the eyes of a nineteen year old boy watching the old farmers of the area die or sell off their properties to home builders for huge profits, he idealistically proclaims that such a fate could never meet his family's farm -- a place that has stood sturdy for a century. But when bureaucrats and the changes in the way of life make it harder and harder to farm for any sort of profit, the Giobotti family is tossed into a desperate situation. They see their way of life disappearing, but find themselves unable to let go of the only profession they have ever known. Soon the greed and pressure doesn't just tear apart the business, but the family itself, destroying all of the good crop right down to the deeply seeded roots, buried deep in the ground -- and deep in love.