Green

By Laura Peyton Roberts

Turning thirteen starts off with a bang for Lily. Literally. A birthday present explodes on her porch . . . and soon after a trio of leprechauns (yes, leprechauns) appears in her bedroom. They whisk her away to a land of clover, piskies, a new friend, a cute boy, and lots of glimmering, glittering gold. A world of Green.

It turns out that Lily, like her grandmother before her, is next in line to be keeper for the Clan of Green, and in charge of all their gold. That is, if she passes three tests. And she has to pass them. Because if she doesn’t she may never get to go home again. She’ll be stuck with the Greens.

Forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jan 12, 2010
• ISBN: 9780375895456

Laura Peyton Roberts

Laura Peyton Roberts is the author of numerous books for teens and tweens, including the Clearwater Crossing series, GHOST OF A CHANCE, THE QUEEN OF SECOND PLACE, QUEEN B, GREEN, and WALK ON WATER. Visit her at www.LauraPeytonRoberts.com.

Reviews for Green

[mirandalg14 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Cute, but not super fantastic. I think it may have worked a little better for me if she was 16 instead of 13.

[zoesnicholson-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As someone who was very interested in leprechauns, Green was a phenomenal read! I thoroughly enjoyed Laura Peyton Roberts' debut, fast-paced novel.

The pacing in Green was phenomenal; there was never a moment where I felt the story was going too fast or too slow. Just as Lily's 13th birthday started off with a bang, so did this novel! Laura Peyton Roberts doesn't waste time at the beginning of the story; she spends just enough time so readers can get a sense of what Lily's life is like, and then she immediately whisks readers away to meet the "Clan o' Green." Roberts' world building is superb as well!

The character development was excellent. Roberts definitely hit a bulls eye while trying to describe the story from a typical teenager's point of view). The family relationship between Lily and her mom was so realistic of a typical teenager, and I enjoyed that realism in such a fantasy-oriented story.

My only critique is not really a critique but rather a personal preference. I, personally, expected a little more romance between Lily and "Wee" Kylie (or at least an explanation on Kylie's part). This would have made the conclusion (which I LOVED as well) even sweeter and happier.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy stories. You won't go wrong by picking Green up - it's a cute tale about the importance of family and friends (in this case leprechauns) that you'll never forget!

[readingfanatic09 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Lily is a very "relateable" tween character. Lily and her mom have moved around a lot so Lily doesn't have many friends and really doesn't feel like she fits in. She goes to gymnastics class basically because her mom told her to take it. She has one real friend, but that friend has another "best" friend, which leaves Lily alone the majority of the time anyway. While sometimes I find characters like this a tad "whiny," I didn't ever feel that way about Lily. She didn't whine and complain about not having friends; she just seemed kind of sad and got really excited about the one friend she did have.The story is well-paced, although maybe a tad on the slower side for readers looking for a fast-paced read. It starts off a tad slow with Lily's descriptions of gymnastics class and plans for her 13th birthday party. Things starts to pick up a tad when the leprechauns come and kidnap her. I thought Lily's reactions to the leprechauns were pretty well-written. She doesn't instantly accept their story and even as they are entering the Green meadow, she is trying to concoct an escape plan. I appreciated that she didn't instantly accept her magical heritage. She does eventually accept and even embrace her "destiny." The plot twists enough to keep you engaged as Lily battles through her three keeper tests, despite setbacks and manipulative leprechauns.

[santhony_35 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This novel, detailing the highly unorthodox strategy of recruiting a golf hustler to participate in the Ryder Cup, was at times brilliant, every bit the equal of some of Dan Jenkins' best work. At times, however, there were glaring mistakes in the description of some of the Ryder Cup matches and the shot selection of many of the players. For example, in one set of matches, it was stated that one group was playing number twelve, while the two previous matches had ended in ties. Not likely the third group would have fallen six holes behind the group in front of it. The author also messed up the shot sequence in one of the alternating shot matches. He has virtually every player hitting shots that land in front of the green and run up, a strategy not called for at PGA West and rarely seen anywhere other than British Links courses. These instances, while relatively minor, were frequent enough to detract from the flow of the novel and prevented me from awarding a fifth star. The author is supposedly a golfer, but you'd have to wonder, given many of the mistakes that should have been caught by the most casual golf fan. A well written, highly amusing novel, that could have been much better with just a little editing by a knowledgable golfer.