"An impressive debut that goes beneath surface issues of climate-apocalypse fiction." -Kirkus (starred review)
The original and thought-provoking debut novel, blending climate-fiction and coming-of-age story, set in a dystopian America in 2088.
Twelve-year-old eternal optimist, Tristan Weekes, who is born unable to feel physical pain, grows up in the aftermath of an ecological collapse. He lives in Canland, an environmental restoration community in the California desert. As Tristan seeks the approval of his brother, Dylan—a drug-addicted satellite hacker—and his mother, Helena—a powerful population control-extremist—he struggles to comprehend the dichotomies and horrors of this seemingly idyllic new world. And when he falls in love with a climate refugee, it changes his, his family's, and his community's understanding of what's really going on Canland.
Equal parts environmental warning, philosophical quest, and family saga, this stunning debut by Daniel Vitale calls into question the nature of love, the duty of science, and what it means to belong on Earth.
Praise for Orphans of Canland
"A richly imagined and deeply felt novel that steers unafraid into the Big Questions."
-Ben Loory, author of Tales of Falling and Flying
"A complicated, rich, and challenging work . . . An impressive debut that goes beneath surface issues of climate-apocalypse fiction."
-Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Orphans of Canland is a rich and engaging tale of ecological disaster."
-Metastellar
"A deftly crafted work of dystopian literary fiction . . . An original and compelling novel."
-Midwest Book Review
"Orphans of Canland is an elegant, poetic, sprawling dreamscape. Vitale has artfully constructed a whole other world, and the inner worlds of his characters are equally vast. Touching, frightening, painfully human."
-Elvia Wilk, author of Oval
News & Other Writing
July 19, 2024 Los Angeles Times book review: The California Sky Watcher by William A. Selby
May 20, 2024 Los Angeles Times book review: Unnatural Habitat by Craig Stanford
March 5, 2023 Los Angeles Times op-ed: One Surprising Hope for Climate Change? Fiction
November 15, 2022 Orphans of Canland is out now!
August 8, 1992 Daniel is born
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About Daniel Vitale
Daniel Vitale is the author of the acclaimed climate-fiction novel Orphans of Canland. He is a recipient of a Lane Fellowship for Creative Arts, and his writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times. A native New Yorker and graduate of Amherst College, he now lives in Los Angeles with his family.
Contact
or use dvitale15[at]gmail[dot]com