Review: Great!!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 12, 2012
Nancy Botwin has some competition. Weeds is one of my favorite shows and when I saw an email in my inbox about a book for review that featured a Weeds-esque storyline (similar in a way, but very different) I knew I had to check it out. And, I loved every second of the drama.Ari isn't the typical bad girl, in fact she's quite the opposite. Taking the plunge into the dark side isn't a choice she made lightly but after encountering some family drama and learning that her mother needed the help she made the decision to start dealing. She's a normal high schooler with friends, one of which I can't stand, she's easy to relate to and Karly does a wonderful job making sure the reader knows where she's coming from. Unlike the others at her elite school she's not privileged and doted on. Her mother works night and day to ensure that Ari can go to a great school and has the things she needed.Ari and her mother's relationship is strained, distant and sad. Her mom has no idea what is going on in her house because of how hard she is working for the life they have. It's a powerful message and a rather depressing home life. I'd say the biggest part of the story is Ari's life, drama, school, family, and boy problems. The story is set up like any other contemporary, with the minor detail that Ari's chosen profession is pretty taboo and illegal, which makes it an interesting read.The Green is a great book featuring a deep plot, suspenseful and dangerous situations, an adorable love story, plus a pretty awesome main character. Ari does what she has to, some might say why didn't she just work at McDonalds or somewhere like that but really for the money she was making and the hours she was working there was no way she'd make that green at a fast food place. Plus, Ari is a devoted NHS member as well as other activities and clubs, she had a reputation to keep up and working long hours wouldn't work. When it comes down to it, I think she made the decision that seemed right for her, it's a journey she travels and learns hard to handle lessons but in the end they build on her character and make her even stronger than when the book begins.I am pretty attached to this story. Karly did a magnificent job creating a realistic fiction that I hadn't read before, about something too real and familiar to a lot of us, and she successfully made it feel that real and more nonfiction than fiction. It's a great book for anyone looking for a little drama and action.