Claire Vaye Watkins has published her new novel Yellow Pine through Riverhead Books. The story centers on a woman returning to the Mojave Desert amid conflicts over land use and renewable energy projects.
The novel follows protagonist Rose as she relocates to a cabin in Tecopa, Nevada, reconnects with a former partner named Miles, and joins activists opposing a corporate data center. Yellow Pine draws its name from a real industrial solar array developed by NextEra Energy on former public land in the South Pahrump Valley.
Watkins, who grew up in the region, describes the book as exploring themes of return, disillusionment, and re-enchantment with the desert landscape. She notes that the setting highlights tensions between profit-driven energy projects and environmental preservation.
The novel is now available from Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
