Polly Greene has always been considered strange, a girl who can see a persons older sister, Bree, vanishes into the woods. The only one who believe...
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May 05, 2008
Jennifer
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Reviewed by Allison Fraclose for TeensReadToo.com
One night, Polly is awakened from a sound sleep to find her older sister, Bree, kissing her. As Bree's blood red aura trails behind her like the tattered wings of a ruined fairy, she tells Polly that she's leaving for the woods, so that she can try to be alright again. Half asleep, and not sure if she's really seeing her emaciated, drugged out sister or an actual fairy, Polly lets her go, with no argument over how much Bree has destroy More...
One night, Polly is awakened from a sound sleep to find her older sister, Bree, kissing her. As Bree's blood red aura trails behind her like the tattered wings of a ruined fairy, she tells Polly that she's leaving for the woods, so that she can try to be alright again. Half asleep, and not sure if she's really seeing her emaciated, drugged out sister or an actual fairy, Polly lets her go, with no argument over how much Bree has destroy More...
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Apr 10, 2008
Ever
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Reminiscent of StarHawk and Francesca Lia Block. A lovely first novel.
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Jul 02, 2008
Chris
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I'm a 40-year-old mom with a 12-year-old daughter. This was the perfect mother-daughter read, and I HIGHLY recommend it for mothers and daughters of all ages. Some magic, suspense, and a spunky heroine for the daughters, and strong female characters, interesting plant lore, and girls making the right decisions for the mothers. GIRLWOOD is a great alternative to the darker, edgier books for teens that are out there in force. There are some suggestions of drug use and teen pregnancy, but what
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Jul 28, 2011
This would have been a much better book if it hadn't been so intent on its New Age/hippie/neo-pagan agenda. I know, I know, lots of things get accused of that; still, it was just plain laid on too thick. Also, while I have no problem with a bit of environmentalism/Green politics in a book, did the author *have* to hit us over the head that many times with it? Put it all together, and the book basically turns into a feel-good conversion tract for its respective causes.
To be fair, I did enjoy p More...
To be fair, I did enjoy p More...
May 20, 2011
Larissa
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Bree and Polly had always felt at home in the woods playing at their games, Bree as the princess in need of rescuing and Polly as her woodland fairy always the one there for her, that is until Bree decided she was too old to play such childish games, too old to be running about the woods. But when Bree ran away to the woods leaving behind a broken family and a lost little sister, Polly was a little jealous that she had not thought to flee into the woods first.
With her sister missing, h More...
With her sister missing, h More...
Apr 28, 2011
This article was published on the website for Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots.
ROOTS & SHOOTS BOOK CLUB June 2008: "Girlwood" by Claire Dean
06/01/2008
If you like "hope and magic and fairies," then you'll love this month's Roots & Shoots Book Club selection: Girlwood by Claire Dean. At the request of the author's daughter, for whom the book was written, Girlwood is full of all these things.
Geared to an adolescent and "tween" au More...
ROOTS & SHOOTS BOOK CLUB June 2008: "Girlwood" by Claire Dean
06/01/2008
If you like "hope and magic and fairies," then you'll love this month's Roots & Shoots Book Club selection: Girlwood by Claire Dean. At the request of the author's daughter, for whom the book was written, Girlwood is full of all these things.
Geared to an adolescent and "tween" au More...
Jun 03, 2009
Linnae
rated it: 
Girlwood is a hidden grove of larches, that can only be reached by crawling through a thorny thicket. Polly is certain that the grove has some magic in it--and she will need all the magic she can get to help her sister, Bree. Bree: strung out, barely 100 pounds, maybe even pregnant, and now she's gone. She told Polly that she was going to the woods, and there has been a fire burning a couple of the times Polly has gone to Girlwood, but fire alone can't keep Bree alive through the winter. Pol
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May 13, 2008
Katherine
rated it:
Took some getting through the first chapter, and getting a sense of the magical world that Polly lives in, along with all the issues that face her during the course of the novel. Once I got a sense of the pacing, I could not. put. this. down. I loved it.
Baba always said, when there's trouble, girls, run for the woods. Nature is such an integral part of Polly's life - and touches every aspect of this novel. I love magical realism.
Baba always said, when there's trouble, girls, run for the woods. Nature is such an integral part of Polly's life - and touches every aspect of this novel. I love magical realism.
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May 28, 2008
Annie
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I initially picked this book up because of the amazing cover illustration, and would not have read it based on the flap copy otherwise. The book is not what it might appear to be. A modern story of a younger sister whose drug abusing older sister disappears. Lots of interesting issues are brought forth, and any fantastic elements of the story are open to interpretation. Modern, ancient, new-agey and concrete--all at the same time.
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May 06, 2008
Boisecohen
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Lovely, green book about a girl who discovers who sister missing and believes she's hiding out in the woods. Definitely not one of the dark, edgy books that are everywhere, and that's why I liked it. But not too light either. A well-written, hopeful story that should speak to most teens. Interesting information on plants, too!
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May 06, 2008
Lauren
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This is my favorite book of all time! If you love nature, you have to read this. A great story for girls--powerful, uplifting, and filled with the magic of the woods. A must-read!
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Jul 14, 2011
Pack
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This is a lovely, refreshingly unique YA novel. While there is plenty of typical YA Angst
(narrator's older sister disappears on the first page- presumably to go off into the woods and die)it is more than just the usual gloom and doom. The narrator and her family are super connected to the woods in which they live. She can read auras, and see energy coming from living beings, including the different plants and trees. Her grandmother is a spiritual healer. It is fascinating without, some More...
(narrator's older sister disappears on the first page- presumably to go off into the woods and die)it is more than just the usual gloom and doom. The narrator and her family are super connected to the woods in which they live. She can read auras, and see energy coming from living beings, including the different plants and trees. Her grandmother is a spiritual healer. It is fascinating without, some More...
Feb 23, 2009
Johanna
rated it:
I saw this book on the feature shelve at my local library and loved the cover so I picked it up.
I read the inside flap and thought I'd give it a try even thought it was the author's first novel.
I am very glad I did.
This book was a great coming of age type story, not to fantastical but still fun.
I loved the way Claire Dean wrote the dialog between characters.
I loved the way she used nature as a huge character.
She created beautiful pictures in my head thanks to More...
I read the inside flap and thought I'd give it a try even thought it was the author's first novel.
I am very glad I did.
This book was a great coming of age type story, not to fantastical but still fun.
I loved the way Claire Dean wrote the dialog between characters.
I loved the way she used nature as a huge character.
She created beautiful pictures in my head thanks to More...
May 27, 2008
Heather
rated it:
So fabulous! I loved this book so much I want to share it with all my friends. The language was poetic and the story atmospheric.
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Jun 11, 2011
Claire
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I absolutely love this book. Yes, I'm 41 years old, and this is a teen/young adult book, but it's one of the best stories I've read in a long time! The beginning of each chapter tells about some edible plant and what its medicinal uses are. The story is about a young girl whose family is falling apart - her sister disappears and her parents break up, a developer is building homes, destroying the woods around them. It's so magically written, the protagonist's relationship with her grandmother
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Dec 10, 2008
Tara
rated it: 
This book is great for early teens. It has a great message to young girls about staying away from drugs, sex and the wrong crowd. If you love nature this book is a great one to read. I learned about people’s auras, according to this book we all have energy fields around us and give off color. You can train your eyes to see them, the colors that you give off all mean something. Purple, for instance, means you are sensitive, artistic and idealistic. People with green auras are helpful, strong, and
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Jan 05, 2010
Cindy
rated it:
With one foot in the modern world and one foot in a world of fantasy, Claire Dean's Girlwood takes us into the life of Polly Greene, who can see the colors that surround people, revealing their true selves. Polly's older sister, Bree, disappears into the woods one night, and Polly is the only one who believes she has not run far, that she's hiding nearby to heal her out-of-control life.
When Polly finds a magical clearing hidden among the trees, she's certain that her sister is close More...
When Polly finds a magical clearing hidden among the trees, she's certain that her sister is close More...
Jul 24, 2010
Gerri
rated it:
This is a magical book. It reminded me a little of Alice Hoffman, a little of Kim Antieau (I'm thinking of Mercy, Unbound ) or Patricia Geary (The Other Canyon more than Strange Toys or Living in Ether ) It's a very simple little book full of great moments as a young girl tries to balance a belief in magic in a world anything but magical with her sister's disappearance and what the absence does to her family. A quick read, thoroughly enjoyable.
Rated: A
Rated: A
Feb 08, 2010
Danie
rated it:
Bree runs away and Polly retreats more and more into the woods surrounding her house. She shows a few of her friends a clearing that can only be gotton to by climbing underneath some spiny bushes and they call their private playground Girlwood. She shows them what roots they can eat and they show her how to build a shelter. With them she can deal with her sisters disappearance.
Jan 16, 2010
Michelle BF
rated it:
A wonderful girl story about nature, trusting yourself and things that can't be. Polly's family must survive after her sister leaves with no trace. Polly learns to be okay with being an outcast and being true to herself.
Girlwood
Girlwood
Nov 10, 2010
Kristin
rated it:
I probably enjoyed it more because I happened to take it on my trip to an outdoors retreat, not realizing how appropriate that was. Slightly trite, but expressed well the friction I personally feel between modern, commercial life and the wonderful mysteries of nature.
Jul 18, 2010
Desiree
rated it:
This book should be rated over 5 stars, but they don't give me that choice. I absolutely loved this book, and thought about it for days after I had finished it wondering what had happened after the ending. I hope that many more people read this!!!!!
Sep 15, 2011
Krystle
rated it:
I expected this book to be filled with fairytale elements, unfortunately it was not. I felt there was no building climax, it felt more monotonous in nature. i think this book would be better suited for a much younger audience.
Jun 23, 2010
Barb
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Interesting premise--nature saves addicted teen. Younger sister's point of view describes this difficult winter. While I appreciated many aspects of this story, I found it a tad spacey. Lovely cover.
Jan 14, 2009
Joleen
rated it:
I loved this book. The author is from Idaho and she sets the story in the woods of Idaho I think more central and northern. It kept me going the whole way and once I got near the end I had to finish it.
Nov 28, 2011
Miss Theriault
rated it:
This was a cute book. It is definitely a middle - school/ intermediate read, and it felt like one. I found it interesting that the author included information on the uses of different wild books at the beginning of each chapter, but the characters were somewhat stereotypical, and it all tied up in a neat little package at the end. It appealed to my 12 year old self despite its shortcomings, and made me wish I had a place like Girlwood to escape to when I was in middle school.
Apr 27, 2008
Tamara
rated it:
The make-believe, true-life dichotomy in this one just didn't really flow for me. And the ending was very unsatisfying. But I read it anyway.
Favorite Quotes:
"It took no time at all to complete her transformation from girl to Aaron's shadow, as if love wasn't measured in goodness and devotio, but in how much you'd give up for a person, how far you'd sink."
"...praying that happiness simply grew more complicated as you got older, and sometimes, if More...
Favorite Quotes:
"It took no time at all to complete her transformation from girl to Aaron's shadow, as if love wasn't measured in goodness and devotio, but in how much you'd give up for a person, how far you'd sink."
"...praying that happiness simply grew more complicated as you got older, and sometimes, if More...
Jul 14, 2009
Brinlie
rated it:
It didn't have a very good story-line. The only part I really liked was how Joe stood up for her in the end. I thought it was weird how she could see people's aura.
May 20, 2009
Starkville Public Library
rated it:
This could have been better. It deals with a runaway sibling, seeing people's auras, and the possibility of faeries.
Oct 02, 2011
So far, i think this is a really great book. Kind of hard to follow at one point but still a very good book.
