"Green, my mother said to me that day, moments before they left for the city, we're leaving you behind because you're the one who's needed most of all."Now that she was standing next to me, I was surprised to find that I was almost as tall as my mother. I felt my love for her in the back of my throat, like a stone, heavy, making it impossible for me to speak. I was almost a woman myself. Too old to admit I was wrong, or so I thought then. Too old to race after my mother when she turned to leave. I had too much pride to say good-bye. I kept my nose in the air and my back to them. I was Green, moody and prideful and angry.
"I will forever remember that I turned away."
I've been sitting here for 30 minutes trying to decide how to summarize this book. If I had to absolutely, positively, no exceptions allowed declare to the world my favorite book, Green Angel would be it. The words still aren't coming. Here's the summary from the back of the book:
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.
The disaster that takes Green's family away from her is of apocalyptic proportions and actually destroys the whole city they live in. Green turns into Ash. The story is about Ash becoming Green again. This book has some deep, thought-provoking messages. To put it simply, it explores how people deal with the same event in different ways and that love is the only thing that can truly heal a person...at least that's my interpretation. And I learn something new every time I read it. It is different book and it definitely comes down to a matter of personal taste. Other people who I've recommended it to have either loved it like I did or said, "That was really weird." That being said, check it out if you'd like and let me know what you think.
