New York City: 1600 CE. The island of Manhattan is a dense unpolluted jungle. Known only by the ancient Lenape name of Mannahatta, this lush and wild jungle holds an impossible secret hidden from human eyes. A world where the Va'Nature species (Mother Nature), endangered animals, and fantastic beasts now have a voice and are elevated above their current status, alien species serve as analogies to human affairs, and magic becomes a metaphor for responsible understanding and management of the Earth’s resources and fragile eco-system. 

AS WAR, GREED, POLLUTION AND DEVASTATION drag the natural world to the edge of massive extinction; the Va'Nature Supreme Being brings a child to life: Ellishiva Cinnamon. Deep in the colony of Mannahatta and under the tutelage of her guardian Rajah, twelve-year-old Ellishiva spends her days nurturing saplings for human sustenance and maladies. Relatable to any child today, she must deal with her pain-in-the-butt brother Hektor, her clingy little sister Amber, and her well-meaning caretaker, Lady Malinia—the world’s biggest nag. But Ellishiva’s protected ecosystem of endangered species shatters one day when the wrath of an ancient evil enters her world, ambushes her, and speaks a cryptic prophecy. Worst of all, no one will believe her story, not even her best friend, Samara. As the evil gains strength and threatens to destroy all she holds dear, Ellishiva must grapple with fear, trust and the dangerous task of discovering organic magic to sustain Earth’s ecosystem—or stand by and watch everyone she loves, and the Earth itself, perish.

Through it all, Ellishiva struggles with bullying, self-esteem, peer pressure and the knowledge that she was born of duty, not love. In this novel, readers embark on an entertaining adventure which resonates across cultures, replete with diverse characters, endangered languages, cultural music, yoga, ancient martial arts and games, and few plant-based recipes.