GREEN HEART
by Alice Hoffman
We talk about comfort foods — mac and cheese, chocolate cake, meatloaf. But what about comfort books?
For me, Alice Hoffman’s Green Heart is a comfort book. I first read it six years ago on a balcony overlooking the Texas Gulf Coast with a dear friend, and I’ve re-read it numerous times since. Each time, rediscovering Green and Onion, her gathered family and enchanted garden, and the magic of the three witches who help her find herself again.
Ironically, the main character, Green, finds herself in a world turned upside down by tragedy. Her responses — disbelief, grief, fear, anger, resolution, courage, re-creation, gratitude — form a familiar path for all of us as we walk through this pandemic together.
This is a young adult novel, but there are sweet pieces of wisdom for readers of any age.
— JEN PAYNE
BUY NOW: Green Heart
A two-fold tale of grief and hope, loss and love, told as only Alice Hoffman can.
When her family is lost in a terrible disaster, 15-year-old Green is haunted by loss and the past. Struggling to survive 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. It is only through a series of mysterious encounters that Green relearns the lessons of love and begins to heal as she tells her own story.
As she heals, Green lives every day with feelings of loss. Her family is gone, the boy she loves is missing, and the world she once knew has been transformed by tragedy. In order to rediscover the truth about love, hope, and magic, she must venture away from her home, collecting the stories of a group of women who have been branded witches for their mysterious powers. Only through their stories will Green find her own heart’s desire.
Three Chairs Publishing 