Polly Greene is different from other seventh graders at Laramie Junior High. In fact, she comes from a long line of women who are different. She can see auras --- colors and shapes around people --- which Baba, her grandmother, says is a powerful gift. The night Polly’s sister Bree disappears, Polly sees a “red glow swirling around her middle.”
Baba also has a special gift: she can see secrets and pain. She is a healer, who uses plants and nature to mend bodies and souls, and believes that people are a lot like plants (“both do better with a little tending, both turn toward the sun, both grow together over time, and both die.”).
Being different doesn’t make for happy times at school, and Polly’s life becomes even less pleasant after her sister disappears. In the hallways, classmates stare and whisper. At home, neighbors and strangers bring casseroles and fruit baskets and offer help, but their food and words of comfort don’t bring back Bree. At first, the community is consumed with looking for the missing teen, but after it appears that Bree has run away, the search and the sympathy dry up quickly.
Laramie, Idaho, the setting for GIRLWOOD, is “a city of newcomers, a city of strangers.” With the growing population, real estate developers see the potential to turn a quick profit. They bulldoze the forests to build homes and “hack up the mountains so a few people can enjoy the view.” The developers’ desire for money comes in conflict with residents who cherish the natural beauty of the woods.
Polly believes that Bree is hiding out in the woods, but with winter approaching, she fears for her safety and well being. One evening, Baba shows Polly a hidden path in the middle of the woods that leads to a beautiful place Polly names Girlwood. She is convinced that Bree has taken refuge there and she can rescue her. With winter approaching and the pending development threatening to destroy the safe haven where she believes Bree is hiding, Polly desperately tries to protect the woods she treasures while saving her wayward sister.
Each chapter begins with an illustration of a plant bordering a paragraph about the plant’s origin, habitat and healing properties, which is a nice touch. The book’s message, and the legacy of Baba, is to speak out for one’s beliefs and take risks to protect those you love. The image of the heartless, greedy developer with no redeeming qualities is overdone, and Carly, the developer’s daughter, is portrayed a bit harshly for my tastes. Overall, however, GIRLWOOD is a moving story about the fragile nature of family and the environment --- and how a lot of love and a little attention can save them both.
--- Reviewed by Donna Volkenannt
