The Green Boy by Ashleen O’Gaea © 2009 Create Space ISBN: 978-1442197848 290 pages Paperback $12.95 (U.S.)
Normally, I find that authors of non-fiction works have trouble handling fiction. I am happy to say that this is not the case with Ashleen. Her characters seem to step off the page and into our world without the slightest hesitation. There are a few coincidences which strain the limits of credulity, but that is a mainstay of any good mystery (and this is a mystery, among other things).
This book appears partially autobiographical, in that Ashleen and her family have been in involved in hosting rituals for a number of years, and they have written several books detailing family Wiccan beliefs. Throughout the book Ashleen takes the opportunity to explain concepts which, while familiar to members of the Pagan community, may not be familiar to those in the “normal” world.
Decisions are delayed, and made, with consequences which can be anticipated, but which nonetheless bring home lessons we all have to learn. Although many of these lessons are le4ss than pleasant, they are important.
This is the sort of book I thoroughly enjoy reading, since the magic used is the type I am most familiar with, the belief systems are easy to understand (including the fundamentalist viewpoint of the young man at the center of the story), and the evolution of understanding is believable.
I most heartily recommend this book if you are looking for some light reading with a Pagan slant, although the Paganism is merely a background with the focus on family relationships. This is about living your life and letting the world proceed on its way.
If you liked Ashleen’s non-fiction work, you will enjoy this. It would make an excellent Yule gift for the teen Pagan in your life.
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Green Boy, The (Reviewed 2009)
Posted - 10/30/2009 : 13:11:02
