Customer Reviews

Greener Grass

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When there's no food on the table and people are wasting away, there's little one won't do to stop it. "Greener Grass" is a tale that takes place during the infamous Irish potato famine. Kit Byrne and family are facing possible death due to malnutrition. Willing to do anything to stop it, Kit soon finds that 'anything' includes some things that she would rather not do, and finds herself in the world of the criminal. A story of the will to survive and the love of the family, "Greener Grass" is riveting reading all the way through.

This is a beautifully written heart-wrenching book. The book captures a time in history when thousands of Irish lived through the Great Hunger during the Potato Famine of the mid nineteenth century. Through the eyes of fifteen-year-old Kit Byrne we experience the suffering and losses of death and eviction of the people in her community. The story is a page-turner as we watch Kit grow from an innocent youth in love to a young woman that struggles with hatred and faces a moral dilemma over the theft of food and the murder of their landlord's middleman, Lynch. Although this book is intended for a younger audience, it can be appreciated by anyone wanting to experience a time long past.

Yes, the book is well researched and ably written. However, few of my students want to read it, and those who have started it, having read Pignat's earlier book--Egghead, have not stuck with it. The Irish cadence of the language feels forced and there is something about the book--can't quite place my finger on it--that does not ring true. Others have addressed the Irish famine and I don't feel this offering contributes markedly. I prefer Under the Hawthorn Tree.