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Behind Green Glass: A Fantasy Novel

by Amanda Von Hoffmann (Goodreads Author), Angelita Ramos (Illustrator)

3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 · rating details · 22 ratings · 10 reviews

Isolde is a shy and artistic sixteen-year-old who moves into a house rumored to be haunted. When she discovers a shard of green glass, a new world opens for her. Through the glass she sees Lyric, who mistakenly believes that he is a ghost, and other ethereally beautiful creatures. As their mystery unfolds, Isolde learns that they are not ghosts, but The Forgotten Ones, fai

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Hardcover, 184 pages

Published May 1st 2010 by Soto Pub.

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Feb 13, 2011 Rollie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Yay! I’m very much grateful for giving me a chance to read this book.
Isolde, usually called Izzy by her friends, is the newly resident of a rumored hunted house. When she found a green glass, weird things started to happen. She supposed that standing of her hairs on the back of her neck was as normal as living in her newly house. But when she saw a man behind the green glass, she concluded it wasn’t part of the normal stuff she forced to believe anymore.

Lyric was an amnesia ghost. He didn’t rem...more Yay! I’m very much grateful for giving me a chance to read this book.
Isolde, usually called Izzy by her friends, is the newly resident of a rumored hunted house. When she found a green glass, weird things started to happen. She supposed that standing of her hairs on the back of her neck was as normal as living in her newly house. But when she saw a man behind the green glass, she concluded it wasn’t part of the normal stuff she forced to believe anymore.

Lyric was an amnesia ghost. He didn’t remember what life he was in before he died even the day when he died. When a new girl resided in the new house where his first love used to live, his world started to be revealed again. But part of the revelation of his existence was the imminent truth to be unfolded. Would it cause him a relief out of joy or rage for committing mistakes due to his false belief?

I expected this book to be more in romance, for the synopsis almost implied how romantic the story is. After reading this book, now, I would say that this is not totally a love story. If you stick with the synopsis of this book, I’m telling you: you’re lost. The relationship of Izzy and Lyric isn’t relatively romantic. At first, I admit, I thought the book was meant for the two main characters but it declined at the last quarter when I realized that the relationship of the two characters to evolve can’t already make it till the last page.

Isolde is a conservative girl and I love to know that even in books there are still people living like her. I admire his personality and, of course, her intelligence is with it. I even like how she balances the fairness situation between the people involved in a certain issue. Overall, she’s an interesting character of a book. However, I found surreal reactions of this character at the first quarter of the book. She fathoms ideas absurdly—too impossible to be done in real situation. But it wasn’t a big issue to me, then. And it didn't give me a big impact to dislike the character nor the book.

The concept has a brush of spiderweck. Using a glass of seeing otherworld beings is still a trend concept. It hasn’t been used too much in literary world as much as the vampire stuff does. The tone of the book is light and this book is an easy-read one. I don’t usually read fair folks novels but this book has changed my taste.
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Jun 11, 2011 NebraskaIcebergs rated it 3 of 5 stars

Today's teenager market is so saturated with fantasy that paranormal offerings are featuring less common creatures such as angels, fae, familiars, mermaids, and selkies. Into this bloated market comes a novel that is not just another fantasy. Behind Green Glass by newcomer Amanda von Hoffman possesses such an innocent and sweet quality that, despite its uneven quality, I ended up really liking it.

Meet Isolde Rackham, a shy and artistic sixteen year old who blushes when introduced. She and her mo...more Today's teenager market is so saturated with fantasy that paranormal offerings are featuring less common creatures such as angels, fae, familiars, mermaids, and selkies. Into this bloated market comes a novel that is not just another fantasy. Behind Green Glass by newcomer Amanda von Hoffman possesses such an innocent and sweet quality that, despite its uneven quality, I ended up really liking it.

Meet Isolde Rackham, a shy and artistic sixteen year old who blushes when introduced. She and her mother have moved into the old haunted farmhouse in Thornville. Although Isolde doesn't initially know the farm's troubled history, she gets this eerie sensation of being watched. To shake off creepiness, she rummages through a drawer for matching socks where she finds a false bottom with a hidden emerald colored glass. Although I will reveal that in the glass Isolde sees the mystical Lyric who believes he is a ghost, you will need to read Behind Green Glass for yourself to discover his true identity, other secrets that she uncovers, and the dangers she encounters because of all the revelations. One of Hoffman's quiet strengths is how she builds suspense and unfolds mysteries. I will not to ruin that experience for you.

Hoffman undertook a second challenge by making Isolde an awkward and introverted teenager. Isolde is not even rebellious; she generally complies with her mother's orders. When Isolde does defy her mother, she also contritely accepts her punishment of being sent to her room. In contrast to today's novels with their confident and defiant female leads, Isolde may serve as a more realistic role model for shy teenagers who surely must still exist. As for me, I related to Isolde's conflicted emotions: She loves her mom and understands her desire for solitude, but also fights against their sheltered life. She looks forward to a visit from her extroverted friend, but also fears Maria will outshine her. She wishes for the cute boy to notice her, but blushes and wishes to hide when he does. Other books that portray introverted teenagers often fail to truly capture shyness or create sullen characters that are about as appealing as a tooth extraction. In contrast, Isolde is painfully shy but endearingly real.

Description is another of Hoffman's strengths. Her pages are abundantly decorated with tight phrases that evoke visceral sensations: "his bare feet made little noise as he ran across the field"; "as if she were a little girl again drinking warm milk sweetened with honey"; "leaves were beginning to fall and dry like tiny discarded pages". Depending on the scene's need, Hoffman has superbly created beauty or fear with the sheer power of words.

Unfortunately, the occasional lengthy expositions between these nifty descriptions threatened the effectiveness of otherwise charming scenes. I had already understood the relationship between Isolde and her mother through their interactions; Hoffman didn't need to elaborate with two pages of explanation. Nor did I need a page of exposition to understand the divorce of Isolde's parents. Some of the character speeches also suffered from the same ailment, which is why I do not refer to them as dialog. Even if in real life we know people who bore us with monologues, this doesn't mean we will find it cute or tolerable in our fictional characters.

Its occasional overformal tone side, Behind Green Grass is a gentle book that wiggled its way into my heart. The main characters are people whom I would talk to and hang out with if they lived near me. Thornville is a pretty place. As I reached the end of each new chapter, I couldn't wait to find about more about the farm's secrets and the mystical creatures. The cover's description of the book as "a fantasy novel" belies its depths; it is also a coming of age story of friendship and romance, with an underlying theme of acceptance. Amanda Von Hoffman should have a bright writing future.
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Mar 12, 2011 Majanka rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, faeries, romance, young-adult

Behind Green Glass focuses on Isolde, a young adult who recently moved to the country with her mother. Isolde is a shy, artistic and kind person but she often struggles with who she is, and wishes she could be more outgoing, like her best friend. Soon after moving to the old countryhouse, Isolde starts feeling like she is being watched by someone or something, and strange occurances happen in her room. Convinced she is being haunted by the ghost of a girl who passed away in that very room – Mere...more Behind Green Glass focuses on Isolde, a young adult who recently moved to the country with her mother. Isolde is a shy, artistic and kind person but she often struggles with who she is, and wishes she could be more outgoing, like her best friend. Soon after moving to the old countryhouse, Isolde starts feeling like she is being watched by someone or something, and strange occurances happen in her room. Convinced she is being haunted by the ghost of a girl who passed away in that very room – Meredith, Isolde is determined to help the ghost move on to the afterlife. It’s only when she discovers a shards of green glass in her drawer, and sees the ghost of a young boy through this glass, that Isolde realises it isn’t Meredith who haunts her. It’s Lyric. He was in love with Meredith and stayed in her room even after she died, unable to let go of the girl he loved. It doesn’t take long before Isolde figures out that Lyric, and his friends, aren’t really ghosts. They’re faeries. And not just faeries: they are the Forgotten Ones, imperfect faeries cast out of the faerie world.

I can’t begin to explain to you how much I liked Isolde. Right when I was so fed up with always having to read books about feisty, fiery and stubborn heroines who take feminism one step too far, in walks Isolde. Such a refreshing change from the usual: so innocent and kind, and yet so strong and determined. It’s been a while since a character has managed to surprise me in such a nice way like Isolde did. For one, she was an actual human being, with all sorts of contradictory emotions, a desire to be someone else than who she really is, and all the insecurities normal human beings feel. She reminded me a lot of myself when I was that age, and it was pleasant to see that not all fantasy heroines need the same generic personality to accomplish things, and kindness can get you a long way as well.

The other characters were very interesting as well. I simply loved how Amanda von Hoffmann described the imperfect faeries: Fafnir with his stutter, Nola with her childlike behaviour and Lyric himself. The faeries had personalities of them own, but none were the cunning, mischevious and somewhat-evil kind described in mythology, fairytales and recent faerie-related books like The Iron Fey series and Glimmerglass. Von Hoffman’s faeries are kind, friendly creatures, who might be holding a few secrets of their own, but who won’t plan on feeding humans enchanted food or trick them into deals they don’t want. It was so refreshing not having to think about ‘what will the wicked faerie do next, and how will they trick the humans into making a deal with them’, and seeing another aspect of the faerieworld for once. I also like the character of Matt, although I was Team Lyric all the way. Lyric just had that mystery charm working for him that made me like him even more than I liked Matt. That, and he managed to show Isolde some of the strengths she possessed without her even realising it. That gives him additional credit as well.

Although the storyline evolves around a little of different things:the possible haunting, Isolde’s issues with her mother homeschooling her, her relationship with Matt, the journey to the faerie realm, etc., I had the feeling Behind Green Glass is mostly a sort of coming-of-age story. We see how at first, Isolde is filled with concerns and insecurities. She isn’t happy with the person she is, and wants to be stronger and more outgoing. As the story develops, and Isolde is forced to make some harsh decisions and to rely on her own strength and courage to not only save herself, but also the friends she cares deeply about, I could see her personality developing as well. It was quite clear and easy to see, and I love it when a character manages to grow throughout the story, and become a better person in the end. This growth process is wonderfully written and shown, and in some ways it made me feel very proud of Isolde. By the end, I was going all ‘You go, girl!’.

I really enjoyed reading Behind Green Glass. I thought the writing was spot-on, the characters had interesting personalities, and the entire take on the faerieworld was refreshing, new and innovative. The storyline itself was fast-paced and original. If you want a light and easy read, but a well-written one with a more original take on faeries, then Behind Green Glass is definately an excellent option.(less)

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Feb 03, 2011 Mandy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Amanda Von Hoffman's Behind Green Glass focuses on a fantasy area often overlooked in today's young adult fiction: faeries. They aren't Disney's fairies (thankfully!) but more akin to J.R.R. Tolkien's.

Let me first say that my biggest complaint about the book is the homeschooling aspect. I would love to see a wonderful fiction book about a homeschooled youth, or better yet, an unschooled youth. However, just as with most young adult fiction, Von Hoffman has taken a stereotypical approach to this...more

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Sep 11, 2010 YA Reads Book Reviews rated it 3 of 5 stars

Isolde Rackham isn’t like other kids her age. For one, she is home schooled, automatically different to anyone in the small town of Thornville. Two, she just moved to Thornville with her slightly reclusive mother who is also her teacher. As if this wasn’t enough the house that Isolde and her mother moved into is supposedly haunted by a girl who committed suicide some 50-years before Isolde got there. So you might be able to understand Isolde hesitation to just walk around town, yet she can’t avo...more Isolde Rackham isn’t like other kids her age. For one, she is home schooled, automatically different to anyone in the small town of Thornville. Two, she just moved to Thornville with her slightly reclusive mother who is also her teacher. As if this wasn’t enough the house that Isolde and her mother moved into is supposedly haunted by a girl who committed suicide some 50-years before Isolde got there. So you might be able to understand Isolde hesitation to just walk around town, yet she can’t avoid going into town forever.

On her first trip in she runs into a guy called Matt. Well, not so much run into but Matt’s friends couldn’t leave her alone. So beings the relationship with Matt. At first, it’s a hesitant one, with both of them not really knowing how to act around the other, especially when they are so different to each other. But as time goes by, Isolde finds that she is trusting Matt more and more. Almost enough to tell him her secret – that was if, he wouldn’t think her completely insane for it. After all, how many 16-year-olds do you know that can see fairies?

It started when Isolde found a piece of green glass hidden in the draws of her new home. Then came the fingerprint on the painting – a fingerprint Isolde didn’t put there. And by chance, Isolde glances through the glass and in that moment, Isolde’s life as she knew it was changed forever.

For through the glass she saw a figure, human in shape yet graceful beyond anything a human could achieve. Isolde’s first thought must be that she is seeing ghosts. Yet ghosts aren’t meant to exist. As she gains courage and begins to have conversation with the mysterious figure, Isolde learns that his name is Lyric and that he isn’t the only one out there. Along with Lyric and his family, Isolde embarks on an adventure to discover the true meaning of who they are, why they are out there, seemingly the only ones of their kind. And not everyone is ready for that information to be uncovered…

Behind Green Glass is debut novel from Amanda von Hoffman and is a light and easy read with an engaging and captivating story. I found that reading from Isolde’s point of view to be quite easy and engaging, a skill that not all authors have. The story provided something different in the YA genre – fairies. Apart from Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely series, you don’t often see many fairy tales in the young adult section, and with Behind Green Glass, von Hoffman has made a notable contribution to this category. The characters I found intriguing and would have liked to know more about – especially Isolde and her mother’s friendly neighbor Joe Albright.

A genuinely easy to read and engaging story – I enjoyed!(less)

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Mar 10, 2011 Sheenah Freitas rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a really cute book. I love the simplicity of it. At first I thought Behind Green Glass was going to be paranormal with the rumors that Isolde's house was haunted and the owner's daughter before her had committed suicide. When Lyric made his appearance and talks of him being a ghost surfaced, I really began to question how this was considered to be a fairy tale at all.

Everything is explained when Lyric shows Isolde his home and "family". It's at that moment that Isolde tells the family t...more

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Nov 29, 2010 Kirk rated it 5 of 5 stars

Behind Green Glass is a wonderful blending of classic young adult fiction in the vein of authors like Judy Blume and contemporary fantasy young adult fiction which now holds the spotlight. This is only one of the reasons that Behind Green Glass offers the reader something new. The book also offers engaging characters and envy-inspiring description for the writer camping out inside all of us. After reading I wanted more, especially more on the fairies, who are portrayed in a unique way when compa...more

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Apr 02, 2012 Michael Araujo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: faeries

Whenever you see a Fairy novel and read the synopsis, there always seems to be one thing in common. A human girl meets a fairy boy and falls in love for his beauty and his perfection and something happens where they can not be together and they meet the fairy world and they live happily ever after in the end. You never hear about fairies that are not perfect and the girls who do not fall in love with them. Until one novel came along.

Behind Green Glass changed that all. The story centers around a...more Whenever you see a Fairy novel and read the synopsis, there always seems to be one thing in common. A human girl meets a fairy boy and falls in love for his beauty and his perfection and something happens where they can not be together and they meet the fairy world and they live happily ever after in the end. You never hear about fairies that are not perfect and the girls who do not fall in love with them. Until one novel came along.

Behind Green Glass changed that all. The story centers around a girl by the name of Isolde who moved into a new house with her mother. The house, which is in fact very old, is rumored to be haunted. And finding fingerprint smudges on one of your paintings just does not help that rumor go away. But when Isolde finds a green glass, suddenly her perspective of the house is different. Literally.

Through the said green glass, Isolde see’s a figure of a boy who she believes is a ghost. She learns of his story, how he fell in love with a human girl who lived a miserable life and ended up killing herself to be with this boy, who she also believed was a ghost and saw through the same green glass. It is not until this boy, Lyric, shows Isolde his family that she discovers that he is not a ghost but a fairy. Isolde wonders why there are only four and why they all look so different. And that is when she discovers the truth.

These fairies were cast out of their realm because of their imperfections. What we find common troubles, they find something vile and so cruel and an abomination to their perfection. We are talking about stutters, bipolar disorders, deceased wings and even no wings. It is not a surprise when Isolde wants to help these fairies in any way possible. And so their adventure begins.

Behind Green Glass is not just about the adventure though. It is about lessons. Amanda Vonn Hoffmann does an amazing job at making these two different creatures learn from each other. Isolde who is shy and non-risk taking soon learns that she must live for herself when she meets a boy in her new town. And Lyric who lived life full of sadness and loneliness must learn that he can make everything around him alive including himself.

The novel is not a huge monster of a novel. It’s close to 200 pages which makes displaying your story perfectly a challenge. In just those 200 pages, Amanda Vonn Hoffmann gave us exactly what we wanted. Forget about the fairy world this is about the fairies themselves. She gives enough insight to all the characters to make us want to dig deeper into their story. She gives the characters life by giving them troubles that many people experience ever day. No, I’m not talking about dating troubles, although that is in the novel, but real troubles. Troubles that people suffer from and can not escape at all. Another example of why her writing is spectacular is that she is giving us a novel of fairies. But how do we know that it is not about something else.

By now we know this is a book about mental illness’. About a girl who just moved to a new house and is starting to see these mythical creatures. At times I was thinking about how if Isolde herself was mentally ill and if all this was just in her head. How she couldn’t see anything except if she had the green glass. How the previous owner of the green glass was always kept in the home because her father was “horrible” to her and she later killed herself. When I clearly think about it, I do see that these two girls, the only owners of the glass and the only ones who we know saw the creatures, were in fact mentally ill. Yet, Amanda Von Hoffman did a wonderful job at adding a thick layer of fantasy on top and beautifully written words that we have to dig deep for them.

It is like a dollar bill. In our hands we have a piece of paper that is green with some stuff on it. But when we think about it, that dollar bill is much more than a piece of paper. That dollar bill brings us a whole new world to our fingertips.

All in all, Behind Green Glass is an amazing novel that makes one think and think again. The ending leaves us at a bit of a cliffhanger that makes us create our own in our head. Whether you go with the outer layer of fairies or if you go with the inner layer of Isolde’s supposable mental illness, this novel will not disappoint you.
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Jun 14, 2011 Tabitha rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is such a good fantasy and paranormal book. I have read only a couple books about fairies in the paranormal genre that is dominated by vampires, but this is a lovely addition. The story is fresh and a new spin, so even those who have read tons of fairy lore will really enjoy it. My only complaint is it was too short and I can not wait for a sequel! I love the world Miss Von Hoffman spun and really hope she writes more about these characters.

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Jun 25, 2011 Kwesi 章英狮 rated it 2 of 5 stars

Recommended to Kwesi 章英狮 by: Rollie

Shelves: amanda-von-hoffman, owned, 2011

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About Amanda Von Hoffmann

Amanda Von Hoffmann is a mother, daydreamer, gamer geek and coffee addict.

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