The Green Man by Michael Bedard

This book just goes to show you don’t have to be a great writer to write a great book. Some of the language was not what you would consider correct in terms of modern English teachers but it was still beautiful. Michael Bedard wove a story that was not only touching but funny and suspenseful. O has just been recruited to spend the summer with her aunt, Emily, while her father goes to Italy. Emily is an elderly woman, poet and bookstore owner with a bad heart. O is not thrilled to spend the summer with her aunt but she’s not exactly disappointed. She’s just used to the way things go. O has a secret – she’s writing poetry herself. She fears that she, too, is crazy or will become crazy because that seems to be the fate of poets. Emily may be crazy but she is haunted by ghosts of poets that have taken residence up in her bookstore and by a darkness that appears every leap year that August 8th falls on a Saturday. There are many facets to this story and they seem to work well together. For me, the real story is about writing and those who are captivated by the words. There is a poetry to this book that spoke to me more than any book I have read recently. I laughed, cried and felt inspired.