Smoke

Gr 10 Up–How far will one girl go to help her father recover from PTSD, and save her aunt’s greenhouse? After their mother left them years before, Honor Augustine and her brother have nursed their father through traumatic flashbacks resulting from his service in the Iraq War. Honor has found her niche at her aunt’s greenhouse and succeeds at school, though an incident makes her wary of a few popular boys. But Honor must leap into action to save her comfortable existence from crumbling, and that means desperate measures. Woods’s sophomore book questions the ethics of the protagonist. Honor sees the benefits of marijuana for her father’s mental health, and it might also be able to save the greenhouse—illegally. This conundrum coupled with a sympathetic main character and desperate times makes for a compelling page-turner. A side of romance provides another dimension to her character. The unbelievable elements are outweighed by the reality of Honor’s situation and her fight to persevere. The obvious connections to similar television dramas enhance the interest.