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Publication
Scholastic Press (2003), Edition: 1st, Hardcover, 128 pages
Description
Haunted by grief and by her past after losing her family in a fire, fifteen-year-old Green retreats into her ruined garden as she struggles to survive emotionally and physically on her own.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Whisper1
When reading another Alice Hoffman book, I'm reminded that she is one of my favorite authors. She consistently weaves magic into characters that have a mystical, yet down to earth, quality about them.
The setting of this haunting book is a town and countryside destroyed by a terrible
Using metaphorical symbolism, Hoffman tells the tale of Green who stayed behind on the day her mother, father and sister went to town to sell their vegetables. Resentful, Green does not say goodbye. Thus, when her family perishes in the fire, she bears tremendous guilt.
As the sky is gray, blocking the sun, the land is unproductive and societal rules seem to fall apart. What remains is a band of people who eek out a living, some of whom cannot overcome their grief and live sad apathetic lives.
Green remains cut off and lives alone, hardened and thorny. As slowly she reaches out to a neighbor, a dog, a few birds and a forsaken emotionally distraught young woman, Ash begins the process of healing.
In her usual style, Hoffman transforms the character in a fairytale fashion. Thorns and nettles are replaced with new growth of food as the ash is pushed aside to allow earth that produces and inner strength that rejuvenates.
The setting of this haunting book is a town and countryside destroyed by a terrible
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conflagration.Using metaphorical symbolism, Hoffman tells the tale of Green who stayed behind on the day her mother, father and sister went to town to sell their vegetables. Resentful, Green does not say goodbye. Thus, when her family perishes in the fire, she bears tremendous guilt.
As the sky is gray, blocking the sun, the land is unproductive and societal rules seem to fall apart. What remains is a band of people who eek out a living, some of whom cannot overcome their grief and live sad apathetic lives.
Green remains cut off and lives alone, hardened and thorny. As slowly she reaches out to a neighbor, a dog, a few birds and a forsaken emotionally distraught young woman, Ash begins the process of healing.
In her usual style, Hoffman transforms the character in a fairytale fashion. Thorns and nettles are replaced with new growth of food as the ash is pushed aside to allow earth that produces and inner strength that rejuvenates.
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LibraryThing member lifeafterjane
"I crawled under the dining room table, smelling like smoke and half-blinded by cinders. Little bits of hot embers flew under the door. Onion followed and lay shivering in my lap. I was Green, who was too shy to speak. Green, too angry to say good-bye. Green, who was always waiting for the future,
Green is the quiet one, the obedient one, the one who is patient. Her sister, Aurora is lively, iridescent and engaging. To Green, she is the plain one of the family. She does not shine like her sister, nor can her voice charm anyone like her mother and she cannot match her father's strength but a garden will grow for Green like it will for no other. Since Green is needed to watch the garden, she can not follow her family to the city where they sell their vegetables. Instead, she is left behind to watch as the city is destroyed, as her family is taken away and her world is covered in ash. When the fires stop, Green must live in this new world, one clouded by smoke, stripped of everything and everyone she loved, one filled with loss and sorrow.
I'm so in love with this little story. It's a beautiful tale about overcoming loss, finding yourself when you're no longer sure of who you are and of the many different colors a soul will turn before it finally heals.
In the story, something horrible and devastating happens. I like that there wasn't much detail about what occurred, it was kept rather generic so that the devastation could be any one's, just as the loss that followed could belong to anyone.
What was absolutely captivating about this little work was that Hoffman, somehow, even on paper, caused the use of each and every one of our senses. I'm sitting here now trying to capture what I mean without sounding like a loony but maybe you just have to read it. You can smell, hear, feel, taste and see this story.
I've read the bulk of Alice Hoffman's books and still remain firmly on the fence when it comes to my feelings about her as an author. There are moments when her novels amaze and deliver the right mix of emotion and magic (Practical Magic, The Probable Future) and then there are times when her work is just too bizarre for words (The Ice Queen, The River King). Green Angel is grade A Alice, at her best, and I loved it.
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biding her time. Now the future was here and the silver city across the river was on fire and I was hiding under the table, where I stayed until darkness fell."Green is the quiet one, the obedient one, the one who is patient. Her sister, Aurora is lively, iridescent and engaging. To Green, she is the plain one of the family. She does not shine like her sister, nor can her voice charm anyone like her mother and she cannot match her father's strength but a garden will grow for Green like it will for no other. Since Green is needed to watch the garden, she can not follow her family to the city where they sell their vegetables. Instead, she is left behind to watch as the city is destroyed, as her family is taken away and her world is covered in ash. When the fires stop, Green must live in this new world, one clouded by smoke, stripped of everything and everyone she loved, one filled with loss and sorrow.
I'm so in love with this little story. It's a beautiful tale about overcoming loss, finding yourself when you're no longer sure of who you are and of the many different colors a soul will turn before it finally heals.
In the story, something horrible and devastating happens. I like that there wasn't much detail about what occurred, it was kept rather generic so that the devastation could be any one's, just as the loss that followed could belong to anyone.
What was absolutely captivating about this little work was that Hoffman, somehow, even on paper, caused the use of each and every one of our senses. I'm sitting here now trying to capture what I mean without sounding like a loony but maybe you just have to read it. You can smell, hear, feel, taste and see this story.
I've read the bulk of Alice Hoffman's books and still remain firmly on the fence when it comes to my feelings about her as an author. There are moments when her novels amaze and deliver the right mix of emotion and magic (Practical Magic, The Probable Future) and then there are times when her work is just too bizarre for words (The Ice Queen, The River King). Green Angel is grade A Alice, at her best, and I loved it.
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LibraryThing member Mardel
Green Angel, by Alice Hoffman (of Practical Magic fame). I picked up this book almost by accident. It was in a give-away pile, and since I really like Alice Hoffman's books (well, most of them) I snagged it right away. No hesitation. Alice Hoffman writes on a large spectrum of human faults and
Alice Hoffman's books usually read like a timeless fairytale. Fairytale might not even be the right word, but there is usually some hints of magic in her stories. Green Angel has no mention of year, city or country, it could be any place, at any time, in any country. It is a short young adult book (116 pages)
written in the first person point of view. The main character is a teenager called Green. The book is divided into 5 sections; Heart, Soul, Treasure, Rain and Sister. It is about grief and loss and how one teenager goes through her process of grief and recovery, at the same time surviving with no obvious support. I found it interesting that Ms Hoffman divided the book into 5 sections, and there is a strong theory that there are 5 stages of grief that humans go through during the loss of a loved one, or disaster.
Green has a way with nature, plants and animals. She has a father, mother and younger sister. Green and her family live across the bridge from a large silver and gold city. They grow fruits and vegetables they they sell in the large city. Usually only two family members at a time go, such as Green and her mother. In the city is the only place that Green does not feel awkard or as if people are judging her for her actions, (like hugging linden trees). The book opens with her anger at her family because this market day, she has to stay home while the rest go to the city, and she looks forward to her trips to the city, where she can blend in with the crowds.
Ms Hoffman's writing is almost poetic, and at the same time there is no unnecessry prose. The writing is wonderful, once I started the book I just kept reading until I was done. There is almost no dialogue, as most of Green's time is spent by herself, or with animals and plants.
While she is angrily tending the family's garden a disaster hits the city. Fire burns, the bridge is burnt and embers and ashes fly over to their home. Green comes to realize that she has lost her whole family. She is only left with her sister's dog, who only tolerated her before, and the garden that has been devastated with ashes and embers; the vegetables and fruit has been burned.
Green never really knows what has caused the fire, only that the city burned, she lost her family, many died and her own village was devastated. Since the townspeople assumed she was with her family during the disaster, no one comes to check on her. Green goes through her own stages of grief on her own, with few souls around to help her. She's angry at herself, riddled with guilt at the way she behaved when she last saw her family. She had always been a little jealous of her younger sister's carefree, easygoing ways with everything and everyone. She punishes herself. When she finally starts to do what she has to to survive, she avoids treating her burned eyes (burned the day of the fire, when embers flew into her eyes). She refuses to cry.
As the year progresses, she gets a little stronger emotionally and physically. She slowly makes friends as one by one, different animals and three people come into her life.
This is a wonderful story of grief, anger, guilt, strength, and finally forgiveness. Green's way of punishing herself, and at the same time keeping her pain at bay is totally believable for a teenager. She notes how the townspeople are either helpers,(helping the less fortunate) or opportunists (charging as much as they can for necessaties, profitting off misfortune). These are important observations in real life. Green also learns to let go of each soul that entered her life during the year that follows the disaster, it's hard for her but she lets go, emerging a stronger person herself.
I would definitely recommend this book for middle school age and up, even adults. A 6 *, on my rating system. It makes me want to read more of Alice Hoffman's books, both young adult and adult.
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strengths. Not all of her books are for all readers, but no matter what her current subject you can be sure that you are reading a book with quality writing, strong plots, and you will learn something in each book, without even realizing that you are learning.Alice Hoffman's books usually read like a timeless fairytale. Fairytale might not even be the right word, but there is usually some hints of magic in her stories. Green Angel has no mention of year, city or country, it could be any place, at any time, in any country. It is a short young adult book (116 pages)
written in the first person point of view. The main character is a teenager called Green. The book is divided into 5 sections; Heart, Soul, Treasure, Rain and Sister. It is about grief and loss and how one teenager goes through her process of grief and recovery, at the same time surviving with no obvious support. I found it interesting that Ms Hoffman divided the book into 5 sections, and there is a strong theory that there are 5 stages of grief that humans go through during the loss of a loved one, or disaster.
Green has a way with nature, plants and animals. She has a father, mother and younger sister. Green and her family live across the bridge from a large silver and gold city. They grow fruits and vegetables they they sell in the large city. Usually only two family members at a time go, such as Green and her mother. In the city is the only place that Green does not feel awkard or as if people are judging her for her actions, (like hugging linden trees). The book opens with her anger at her family because this market day, she has to stay home while the rest go to the city, and she looks forward to her trips to the city, where she can blend in with the crowds.
Ms Hoffman's writing is almost poetic, and at the same time there is no unnecessry prose. The writing is wonderful, once I started the book I just kept reading until I was done. There is almost no dialogue, as most of Green's time is spent by herself, or with animals and plants.
While she is angrily tending the family's garden a disaster hits the city. Fire burns, the bridge is burnt and embers and ashes fly over to their home. Green comes to realize that she has lost her whole family. She is only left with her sister's dog, who only tolerated her before, and the garden that has been devastated with ashes and embers; the vegetables and fruit has been burned.
Green never really knows what has caused the fire, only that the city burned, she lost her family, many died and her own village was devastated. Since the townspeople assumed she was with her family during the disaster, no one comes to check on her. Green goes through her own stages of grief on her own, with few souls around to help her. She's angry at herself, riddled with guilt at the way she behaved when she last saw her family. She had always been a little jealous of her younger sister's carefree, easygoing ways with everything and everyone. She punishes herself. When she finally starts to do what she has to to survive, she avoids treating her burned eyes (burned the day of the fire, when embers flew into her eyes). She refuses to cry.
As the year progresses, she gets a little stronger emotionally and physically. She slowly makes friends as one by one, different animals and three people come into her life.
This is a wonderful story of grief, anger, guilt, strength, and finally forgiveness. Green's way of punishing herself, and at the same time keeping her pain at bay is totally believable for a teenager. She notes how the townspeople are either helpers,(helping the less fortunate) or opportunists (charging as much as they can for necessaties, profitting off misfortune). These are important observations in real life. Green also learns to let go of each soul that entered her life during the year that follows the disaster, it's hard for her but she lets go, emerging a stronger person herself.
I would definitely recommend this book for middle school age and up, even adults. A 6 *, on my rating system. It makes me want to read more of Alice Hoffman's books, both young adult and adult.
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LibraryThing member Rhinoa
Another beautiful tale from Alice Hoffman who is known for mixing reality and fairy tale. Green has always been a quiet child, nothing like her beautiful sister who shines like the moon. Her mother taught her all she knew about growing and planting to the point where she now has more knowledge than
The ashes nearly blind her and instead of healing herself she lets them. What use has she for seeing now her family are gone. All she has for company is her sisters dog and she decides to be Green no longer. She begins to ink her skin with thorns, bats and ravens as she tries to leave the past behing. She puts nails in her boots and becomes tough to protect herself from the scavengers around her. She retains some kindness though and befriends a dog, some birds and her elderly neighbour as she struggles to cope with her new life. One day a stranger turns up who helps her discover another side of herself.
Such a beautiful story, a true modern fairy tale. A must for anyone who loves to get caught up in a magical story.
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her. On market day she is disapppointed to be left behind looking after the house and garden while everyone else goes off to trade. She doesn't realise how lucky she is when a fire destroys the city and everyone in it, including Green's family.The ashes nearly blind her and instead of healing herself she lets them. What use has she for seeing now her family are gone. All she has for company is her sisters dog and she decides to be Green no longer. She begins to ink her skin with thorns, bats and ravens as she tries to leave the past behing. She puts nails in her boots and becomes tough to protect herself from the scavengers around her. She retains some kindness though and befriends a dog, some birds and her elderly neighbour as she struggles to cope with her new life. One day a stranger turns up who helps her discover another side of herself.
Such a beautiful story, a true modern fairy tale. A must for anyone who loves to get caught up in a magical story.
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LibraryThing member blakefraina
Nearly forty years after Hiroshima/Nagasaki, two years after the WTC attacks and two years before the Hurricane Katrina disaster, Alice Hoffman published this spare, elegant and evergreen fable about apocalyptic catastrophe, loss, grief and, ultimately, healing.
It recalls two of my favourite
After losing her entire family in an unspecified (seemingly nuclear) disaster, fifteen year old Green must fend for herself in a barren and desperate world. Nearly blind, starving and paralysed with grief, she slowly heals herself by reaching out to others (including a wounded greyhound, two orphaned birds, an injured hawk and a elderly neighbor) needier than herself while clinging to fond memories of the loving relationships with her parents and beloved twin sister, Aurora.
Hoffman's skill as a novelist is apparent. Her prose is simple and dreamy, designed for maximum emotional impact. I wept several times in the story. I think that says a lot for a YA novel. This book offers a heartbreaking lesson in the importance of loving and letting go, as well as the necessity to rejoice in every moment of life.
It recalls two of my favourite
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childhood reads, Shirley Rousseau Murphy's [long out of print] THE SAND PONIES and Patricia McKillip's seminal fantasy, THE FORGOTTEN BEASTS OF ELD. After losing her entire family in an unspecified (seemingly nuclear) disaster, fifteen year old Green must fend for herself in a barren and desperate world. Nearly blind, starving and paralysed with grief, she slowly heals herself by reaching out to others (including a wounded greyhound, two orphaned birds, an injured hawk and a elderly neighbor) needier than herself while clinging to fond memories of the loving relationships with her parents and beloved twin sister, Aurora.
Hoffman's skill as a novelist is apparent. Her prose is simple and dreamy, designed for maximum emotional impact. I wept several times in the story. I think that says a lot for a YA novel. This book offers a heartbreaking lesson in the importance of loving and letting go, as well as the necessity to rejoice in every moment of life.
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LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
Glancing down I can see not everyone loved this. One review complained about how Green's sister is described as made of "laughter and moonlight." But after all, it was quite obvious to me very early on this is a fairy tale. One set in a near future contemporary world, yes, and told by Green
The language is very spare and stark--even primal in its imagery. The tale is very short, I doubt it's above 20,000 words. And even though it's in the language of the "Once Upon a Time" fairy tale it also spoke to me very much as a tale of 9/11. This was published back in 2003, and the silver city across a river sounded a lot like New York City to me. Of the apocalypse, Green says that "People who were close by said they could see people jumping from the buildings, like silver birds, like bright diamonds." Later she says she heard people saying that "the people who had destroyed the city...had been living among us pretending to be good neighbors." So when Hoffman talked of grief and slow renewal, I did feel she was talking to me.
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herself, who has become "Ash." A 15 year old girl who after she loses her family in an apocalypse tattoos herself with images of vines and bats, studs her boots with nails and her scarf with thorns. She attracts to herself a greyhound she names "Ghost," sparrows and a hawk and a boy she calls Diamond.The language is very spare and stark--even primal in its imagery. The tale is very short, I doubt it's above 20,000 words. And even though it's in the language of the "Once Upon a Time" fairy tale it also spoke to me very much as a tale of 9/11. This was published back in 2003, and the silver city across a river sounded a lot like New York City to me. Of the apocalypse, Green says that "People who were close by said they could see people jumping from the buildings, like silver birds, like bright diamonds." Later she says she heard people saying that "the people who had destroyed the city...had been living among us pretending to be good neighbors." So when Hoffman talked of grief and slow renewal, I did feel she was talking to me.
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LibraryThing member kebean209
This book is rather short but packed full of symbolism and imagery. At times it reads a little over-saturated with figurative language, and bogged down with the symbolism. The story has compelling emotion going for it, and seemed like a nice snack of a book to me. I finished it in little more than
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an hour. Show Less
LibraryThing member Rubbah
An amazing book about Green, a girl whose family have all died in a fire that kills many people, and leaves many homeless.
She is left with a dead garden and no hope and it is about how she changes and how the world around her changes.
though short, I really loved this book and I would recommend it
She is left with a dead garden and no hope and it is about how she changes and how the world around her changes.
though short, I really loved this book and I would recommend it
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to everyone. Show Less
LibraryThing member ChristineLemon
Another intense tale about a girl who loses her family in a fire. She must rediscover herself as she puts the pieces of her life back together. Hoffman's unconventional style draws the reader in.
LibraryThing member teacherddunn
Fifteen year-old Green struggles to survive after the city across the river is obliterated while her family is there. Ash from the fires in the city destroy her family's farm. Green is not the only orphaned child and the town becomes apocalyptic with orphaned teens roaming in bands in attempt to
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survive. As Green stays on the family farm and tries to eek out an existance, Green's depression takes shape on the tattoes she inks onto herself and the new name she takes on Ash. This is a story about surviving. Show Less
LibraryThing member snat
Nothing spectacular--it's almost like a trial size sample of Alice Hoffman's writing. There's the usual fairytale like quality and hints of magical realism; standard Hoffman stuff. What's strange is the approach it takes. There's been some type of disaster (perhaps the result of some form of
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terrorism in this unnamed seeting), but we never get the back story as to what happened or why. Instead, the novella focuses on how the loss of her family and way of life affect the main character, Green. It's a quick and easy read, but not as gripping as perhaps a more fleshed out story would have been. Show Less
LibraryThing member nm.winter09.e.cazare
I enjoyed reading this book, the emotions of the character; whose family dies in a fire, are very well expressed. I couldn’t put this book down! It was very intense.
“Green Angel”, takes place in a girls heart, her family had gone away to sell the vegetables they planted and sold. They
The reason I didn’t like it is because the book is really freaking emo! It made me cry, and feel very depressed for a long time. Id rather read non-fiction books that don’t make me depressed and cry. Maybe someone that likes death, depression and all that good stuff may really enjoy reading this.
“Green Angel”, takes place in a girls heart, her family had gone away to sell the vegetables they planted and sold. They
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however, had left her behind and she became angry at them. Afterwards the town they were in caught on fire and they all died. The girl is left feeling remorseful for her anger and she begins to shield herself in grief.The reason I didn’t like it is because the book is really freaking emo! It made me cry, and feel very depressed for a long time. Id rather read non-fiction books that don’t make me depressed and cry. Maybe someone that likes death, depression and all that good stuff may really enjoy reading this.
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LibraryThing member AuthorMarion
This is one of the shortest books I've read in the past few years. I was able to finish it in under two hours.
A young girl (of unknown nationality) goes about her complacent routine until one day a tragedy befalls a nearby city and she loses her entire family. Told by the girl herself, it tells of
A compelling, gripping story; packs a lot of punch into a few pages.
A young girl (of unknown nationality) goes about her complacent routine until one day a tragedy befalls a nearby city and she loses her entire family. Told by the girl herself, it tells of
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her hope that her family will return, her denial that they won't return after time passes, her fears at being alone, her grief at losing those dear to her. We learn how she copes with being alone in a time of turmoil; her acceptance that there are others worse off than she; and of how she learns that life goes on regardless of what happens around us. A compelling, gripping story; packs a lot of punch into a few pages.
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LibraryThing member creampuffz
Green Angel, the first book to a series of two. One thing for sure that made me want to read it was, how they started the book it was unique, and it made me want to read on. What I really enjoyed about this book was seeing life from the character Green's point of view. Though I think the words were
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simple and not too complcated, the author was able to use them to form a story with a message. To always notice and appreciate things and family, because they are the ones who will or have always been there for you. Show Less
LibraryThing member sleeplessinsimi
I happened upon this book in my local Five Dollar Book Store, and having read a number of Alice Hoffman's books I picked it up. Unfortunately I was disappointed; in fact I could not believe she had written this. I found it to be very repetitive in palaces. After reading Practical Magic and
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Incantation this books pales by comparison. I would not recommend this book to anyone. Show Less
LibraryThing member phoebesmum
More a short story than a book; a study in the soul’s survival in the face of tragedy. Rather trite, but well-meaning.
LibraryThing member nkertz
this is a very moving book about a shy girl who loses her family,which is her whole world, to a fire in the city. she is blinded by the fire and learns to cope on her own. as she goes, she gains new friends who have also been hurt by the fire, helps fix them, then they leave. as she fixes them,
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they help fix her. this was a very moving tale, and one of my favorite books i have read. Show Less
LibraryThing member Salee
"I will forever remember that day I turned away". Imagine losing your entire family without a chance to even say good bye. This is exactly the case in the transcendent novel Green Angel. Outshone by her sister's beauty, Green, the main character, remains a shadow in the eyes of the world. She
Green was once a moody yet patient and attentive fifteen year old girl, until the day it happened . Her family died in a terible fire in the city, forcing her to move on in memories that continued to haunt her. In the interest of survival, she decided that she would have to be fearless and no longer the shy girl she was whom anyone could fool. She inked onto her body tatoos that enveloped the surface of her once luminous skin and nailed thorns into her leather jacket and heavy boots. Despite her efforts to forget the past, the pain of her memories becomes more severe day by day. To make matters worse, her sister, who constantly used to appear in her dreams, knows not of the person she has become, Ash. Despite her shredded personality , she can still distinguish a friend from an enemy and feel the sorrow in the wind, which informs readers that the inner Green yearns to shine through her inked skin.
It is only after surpassing a series of encounters that Green questions the person she has become and sees what she was too blind to. Green Angel is beautifully written story that highlights an important message; cherish all of life's moments, for life's too short for regrets or hate. This brillant novel is the perfect balance between romance, realism and fantasy , and thus keeps readers intrigued until the final page.
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aspires to one day become something great, yet awaits for oppurtunity to arise. Unfortunately her dreams are trampled over when her famliy is lost in a terrible fire, and her character diasppears. She finds herself becoming a dark person with an unattractive demeanor. Hoffman's Green Angel is an astoungingly detailed novel that will capture the hearts of young readers. Green was once a moody yet patient and attentive fifteen year old girl, until the day it happened . Her family died in a terible fire in the city, forcing her to move on in memories that continued to haunt her. In the interest of survival, she decided that she would have to be fearless and no longer the shy girl she was whom anyone could fool. She inked onto her body tatoos that enveloped the surface of her once luminous skin and nailed thorns into her leather jacket and heavy boots. Despite her efforts to forget the past, the pain of her memories becomes more severe day by day. To make matters worse, her sister, who constantly used to appear in her dreams, knows not of the person she has become, Ash. Despite her shredded personality , she can still distinguish a friend from an enemy and feel the sorrow in the wind, which informs readers that the inner Green yearns to shine through her inked skin.
It is only after surpassing a series of encounters that Green questions the person she has become and sees what she was too blind to. Green Angel is beautifully written story that highlights an important message; cherish all of life's moments, for life's too short for regrets or hate. This brillant novel is the perfect balance between romance, realism and fantasy , and thus keeps readers intrigued until the final page.
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LibraryThing member pamelawalker
Green is having to face to life without her parents and sister who have been killed in a fire. The story goes through the process of grief and how she manages to conquer it with the help of some unlikely people.
LibraryThing member TFS93
A lovely little story about the power of loss, learning to trust, finding hope where there is none, and learning to love and have compassion.
LibraryThing member mayawhitaker-long
It was a very entertaining book. I liked it because they made middle school seem a lot more horrible than it actually is. It's extremely funny and a lot of times when it seemed very immature of me I would crack up in front of the hole class!
LibraryThing member nm.fall07.J.flores
This book is about a girl who is better with plants than with people.She has every thing and is kind of jealous of her sister.She had become more of an expert about plants than her mother.Everyone is grateful for her but she some times isin't .Until a tragic evnt happpens and she loses her
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family.She is forced to fend for her self .So she transforms from sweet and patiant to rough and tough. Show Less
LibraryThing member vanedow
I enjoyed this story. Hoffman’s writing style manages to say a lot with very few words; the book weighs in at a slim 116 words, yet each page conveys vivid pictures. Told in the first person from Green’s perspective, Green Angel examines the grieving process in the mind of a young girl left all
One of the many wonders of fiction is that it allows us to experience an event, and perhaps even learn a lesson from that experience, without the experience itself. You can go ahead and say “time heals all wounds” or “help others to help yourself,” but without the background of experience, even a fictional one, they seem clichéd and trite. I have never experienced a grief like Green’s, but I was nonetheless moved by her journey of grief and recovery.
The book wasn’t perfect. I thought the metaphor of the ashes in the eyes was a little over the top. It made something TOO literal, and then it wasn’t treated literally, which bugged me a little. That said, Green Angel was a well-crafted, fairy-talish book, and I liked it.
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on her own. Combining elements of a survival story and a more reflective narrative, this book used a dreamy-yet-vivid style to convey the strangeness of a world in which nothing is what it used to be. One of the many wonders of fiction is that it allows us to experience an event, and perhaps even learn a lesson from that experience, without the experience itself. You can go ahead and say “time heals all wounds” or “help others to help yourself,” but without the background of experience, even a fictional one, they seem clichéd and trite. I have never experienced a grief like Green’s, but I was nonetheless moved by her journey of grief and recovery.
The book wasn’t perfect. I thought the metaphor of the ashes in the eyes was a little over the top. It made something TOO literal, and then it wasn’t treated literally, which bugged me a little. That said, Green Angel was a well-crafted, fairy-talish book, and I liked it.
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LibraryThing member juniperSun
Allegorical tale of a 15 yr old who survived in the family's rural home after the rest of the family perished in the city explosion. She chooses a path of remembering her pain rather than one of trying to lose herself in forgetting, as a nearby group of young adults does.
Hoffman uses her usual
Hoffman uses her usual
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imagery of magical realism, but I could comprehend it better as allegory. Show Less
LibraryThing member lauriebrown54
Despite being a very long time fan of Hoffman’s, this is the first of her young adult work I’ve read. It’s a slim book, more of a fable or fairy tale than a conventional novel. Despite its brevity, it evokes strong feelings.
Green is 15 years old and gets left to tend the farm one day while
Green is 15 years old and gets left to tend the farm one day while
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her parents and sister head into the city to sell their produce at the market. Upset at missing out on the trip, she does not say goodbye to them; no worries, things will be worked out when they get home. But tragedy strikes; the city is destroyed that day and the huge fire even destroys much of the farm across the river. Her family is not coming home. Her home is covered with ashes, the garden gone, the leaves and fruit have fallen from the trees. Green, now taking the name of Ash, is stricken with grief and survivor guilt. This is her journey through grief; those who help her, her set backs, her slow recovery. It’s a beautiful little book, and a powerful one, written in a way that even a young child can understand and an adult will be enchanted by. Show Less
Awards
Triple Crown Awards (Nominee — 2005)
Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award (Nominee — 2007)
Thumbs Up! Award (Honor — 2004)
South Dakota Teen Choice Book Awards (Nominee — 2005)
The White Ravens (2004)
Language
Original publication date
2003
Physical description
128 p.; 4.63 x 0.59 inches
ISBN
0439443849 / 9780439443845
Local notes
Left on her own when her family dies in a terrible disaster, fifteen-year-old Green is haunted by loss and by the past. Struggling to survive physically and emotionally in a place where nothing seems to grow and ashes are everywhere, Green retreats into the ruined realm of her garden. But in destroying her feelings, she also begins to destroy herself, erasing the girl she'd once been as she inks darkness into her skin. It is only through a series of mysterious encounters that Green can relearn the lessons of love and begin to heal enough to tell her story.