Green Angel by Alice Hoffman

Left on her own when her family is lost 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.

From the moment I laid eyes on the cover of this book, I knew I would love it. I read and loved another of Hoffman’s books, The Foretelling, a few years ago and Green Angel was just as good. I have always been a fan of post-apocalyptic fiction and this book was filled with just the right amount of haunting and stark images of loss and beautiful glimpses of hope. I love books that can hold their own with little to no dialogue; Green Angel is a perfect example of a book like that. Short and achingly sweet, Alice Hoffman’s little 116 page book is extremely fulfilling and a joy to read.