Green Angel

Green Angel
by Alice Hoffman
Published by Scholastic Paperbacks (2004)
128 pages; ages 16+

Synopsis: Green lives with her parents and younger sister and is a talented gardener. One day Green’s family goes into the city and Green is left to take care of the yard. While they are there, a fire burns most of the city, including several parents and siblings of many of the young adults who live near Green. The aftermath of the fire includes depression, drugs, tattoos, alcohol, and unruly behavior from virtually all of the young adults in the area. Green has to learn how to emotionally cope without her family, how to live on her own, and how to help other people.

Genre: New Realism/Problem; Romance

Warning: mild occasional language, alcohol and drug use, depressing subject matter

Recommendations: ­Incantation by Alice Hoffman; The Foretelling by Alice Hoffman; The Giver by Lois Lowry; Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry; Messenger by Lois Lowry