Green Valentine by Lili Wilkinson

Green Valentine
Written by Lili Wilkinson
Contemporary, Romance
Published August 1st 2015
288 Pages
Thanks to Allen & Unwin
Add to Goodreads
★★★★
When Astrid and Hiro meet they give each other superhero names. She's Lobster Girl and he's Shopping Trolley Boy. Not an auspicious beginning. But it gets better. Then it gets worse. Much worse.

Astrid Katy Smythe is beautiful, smart and popular. She's a straight A student and a committed environmental activist. She's basically perfect.

Hiro is the opposite of perfect. He's slouchy, rude and resentful. Despite his brains, he doesn't see the point of school.

But when Astrid meets Hiro at the shopping centre where he's wrangling shopping trolleys, he doesn't recognise her because she's in disguise,as a lobster. And she doesn't set him straight.

Astrid wants to change the world, Hiro wants to survive it. But ultimately both believe that the world needs to be saved from itself. Can they find enough in common to right all the wrongs between them?
Astrid is a home grown environmental warrior and attempting to gather support for her latest cause, the plight of the Margaret River Hairy Marron as a representation of biodiversity, luring shoppers in her lobster costume to sign her petition. Only it's not going very well. It's there that she meets Hiro, at work pushing trolleys and the two teens strike up a conversation. Labelled as a trouble making drug dealer amongst other things, Hiro doesn't recognise Astrid as one of the Missolinis, comparable to a fascist dictator for her popularity and sway within their high school. He sees her as Lobster Girl, a strange environmental advocate superhero in her face paint and costume. Being able to connect with Hiro of all people, Astrid knows she needs to tell him who she is, but is enjoying the close friendship the two are forming and she's finally able to be herself.

Until the two are forced to work together in Astrid's School Kitchen Garden, where Hiro has no idea that Astrid is Lobster Girl. Astrid realises that her nights of secret texting, conversations about superheros and saving the world over coffee are numbered, when she finally comes clean. Valentine is a suburb of concrete and Astrid plans to make it beautiful once more, with or without Hiro's help.

Kelly's Thoughts

Green Valentine is positively lovely. A wonderful coming of age with a strong environmental conscious, that proves that friendship and falling in love really knows no bounds. Astrid is a perfect student, her peers see her as part of the popular group, thanks to best friends Dev and Paige, with teachers hanging on her every word. But behind the popular facade of the environmental activist lies a girl who's life is falling apart. Her parents have separated after her father's affair, and her mother is too busy to notice her daughter's late night guerrilla gardening rendezvous. Hiro is the opposite, his family are close knit, too close. He feels pressured to make more of his life, but takes little interest in school. He's labelled as a bad boy, drug dependent and hopeless, when nothing could be further from the truth.

I love world's collide type romances, where the storyline feeds the differences in characters and joins them through a common goal. In this case, the beautification of their suburb in Valentine. Hiro is a reluctant participant, but can't deny that even knowing Astrid and Lobster Girl are one in the same, he still feels the same attraction towards her and her fiery defiance to make the world a better place.

Throughout the storyline, the readers are treated to environmental footnotes every few pages, relating to the storyline in which Astrid shares her knowledge of carbon emission, polluting our earth and our environmental footprints. It allows readers to enjoy the storyline, while providing explanations without her character becoming too tedious. The romantic aspect really is lovely, with Hiro teaching Astrid about the plants and seeds that was passed down from his Nonna.

The Final Verdict

Green Valentine was absolutely lovely. There was something so gentle about Hiro and Astrid's story, their connection and working long into the night to make Valentine beautiful. Wonderfully written with a fresh twist to contemporary young adult. I adored it.

36 comments

  1. Okay this sounds absolutely wonderful, Kelly! I love that it's so much more than just a romance book. It's always interesting when authors teach you something through books and environmentalism is not something I've read about before in YA books. And the romance sounds lovely. I'm going to love it.
    Adding this to my TBR!
    Beautiful review! :)

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    1. Me either Nick. There have been a few with environmental messages, but none as lovely as this one.

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  2. I LOVE how you write your reviews! It's informative and SO WELL written. Puts me to shame. 'Tis le truth. This seems like such a tender story and I'm super excited you enjoyed reading it so much. While I'm not an overly HUGE fan of YA contemporary, I'm still excited over the fact that 1. There's romance and 2. You loved it so much! Epical review lovely!♡♡

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    1. Thanks Keionda, you're absolutely precious!

      There's been so many incredible young adult contemporaries coming out this year, and this one was just so lovely. So gentle too, like a warm hug.

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  3. Oh my days this book sounds adorable. Astrid's name reminds me of Astrid in the GONE series...but obviously they're very different. HIRO SOUNDS SO COOL OH MY DAYS. I can't imagine how it must have been for her to come clean...or his reaction. Plus the whole environmentalist touch is awesome! Wow. *.* That cover too.

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    1. Oh no, this Astrid is nothing like that Astrid thankfully. Hiro is adorable, a bit of an ass at times, but given his circumstances you can understand why he's so disgruntled with the world. The cover is gorgeous, so eye catching!

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  4. Fantastic review!! I love that the main character has strong environmental values. I am trying to think it I have ever read a characters in YA with that element. This book sounds very cute and fun! The cover is fabulous too! :) Thanks for the great review!

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    1. Thanks Theresa. There aren't too many around is there. I loved the little environmental footnotes, some of the little facts I didn't actually know about. It's such a lovely and quirky little way to include information, without it impacting on the storyline. I loved it.

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  5. Awwww this sound so cute, can't wait to read it. And after seeing all about the launch last night on Twitter I'm even more excited! And I love the sound of the footnotes :)

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    1. The footnotes are super cute, but I loved the friendship / relationship between Hiro and Astrid. It wasn't instant love, but wonderfully placed and not the main focus of the storyline. It was such a refreshing read.

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  6. Ayy when I first heard "smart" and "Hiro" my mind automatically clicked towards Big Hero 6. Super random but idk. XD BUT OMG THIS SOUNDS SO CUTE. After reading dark and gloomy and twisted retelling, maybe I'm up for something fluffy xD Lovely revieww <3

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    1. I absolutely LOVED that movie Nirvana!

      It's fluffy, but with real substance behind it too. Their relationship is lovely, but I love Astrid's environmental crusade even more so.

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  7. Oh, this has footnotes? That sounds so great! Okay, I'm definitely interested in reading this one. At first glance I think I might've overlooked it, but if I see it around, I'll give it a chance.

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    1. I think this is one you'd really enjoy Kara. I love books with a strong social conscious and this one is lovingly written as well. Definitely grab a copy, it's such a wonderful read.

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  8. This one sounds adorable, Kelly! And I love that cover so so so much, contemporary books get the best cover treatment. I love the idea of the environmental footnotes. The relationship also sound great, I can get behind a couple that meets by calling each other superhero names!

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    1. It really is Aentee. Allen & Unwin have incredible covers don't they. The romance is really lovely, so sweet and gentle. I can't wait to see what you think of it!

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  9. I love the sound of this and have just added it to my Goodreads. I can't wait to read it, I think I'll really enjoy it. Wonderful review, thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thanks Rochelle, it really is lovely. Can't wait to see what you think of it!

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  10. Thanks for sharing! sounds like a really nice story, and I like the footnote addition. :)

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    1. Me too Lauren. It just added that little bit extra to an already incredible storyline. I think you'd really enjoy this one.

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  11. Sounds like a really cute book! I wanna dress up as a lobster too and meet someone at the mall or somewhere, lmao. Glad that this wasn't just the cliche romance we often see. Wonderful review, Kelly! :D

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    1. Imagine that, meeting the love of your life dressed as a crustacean. I'd be worried that he either really enjoyed seafood, or perhaps has a Spongebob fetish. It was such a brilliant read. Definitely add this one Blessie.

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  12. I don't think I've heard of this book before, but it's great to hear that the main character is an enviormentalist! I haven't read any book so far with that kind of focus. I think it's nice that she's multi-dimensional, too, which I just picked up from your review. The romance sounds adorable and the footnotes creative, I'll have to read this book! Lovely review!

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    1. It's a new release from a wonderful Aussie author. It's such a lovely and heartwarming read Claire, would love to see what you think of it.

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  13. Aww this book sounds beautiful Kels! I don't really see that many books with characters that are passionate about real world issues, so it's a nice breath of fresh air to see that Astrid is so passionate about the environment. Hiro sounds a little damaged, but I agree with you on the worlds collide romances. They sound perfect for each other!

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    1. That's sad but true Joy. Most seem to be typical teen issues that have been over dramatised. So it was so refreshing to see characters taking a stand with a social conscious. I adored both of them.

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  14. This sounds like a heart warmer! And that cover is just stunning. :) I can''t believe I haven't heard more of this book. I'm definitely adding it to my TBR list!

    Sarah @ One Curvy Blogger

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    1. It was truly lovely Sarah, the perfect heartwarming read when you're looking for something light but with real substance. I loved it and looking forward to seeing what you think of it.

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  15. What a nice idea to weave the underlying theme of environmental responsibility throughout the novel!

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    1. It really was. I loved the little footnotes add every so often, it just added that little extra something to an already incredible read.

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  16. This sounds really good. I admit that I'm not the most environmentally conscious person out there so hopefully this book can even teach me a thing or two :)

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    1. Me neither Sarah, although I really do try to be. It's positively lovely, and so refreshing to see characters caring for the environment without being too in your face or hostile.

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  17. Can I just say that I always give my superhero name whenever I meet someone for the first time? Ha ha! It's true! And a great ice-breaker too ;) Oh but Kelly, Green Valentine does sound marvelous. I would be more curious to know how Astrid manages to live underneath a facade of turmoil and tension though. I love stories that touch on real issues, and this is something I see plenty of in our modern day. Great review <3

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    1. With much difficulty Claudia. The poor girl, she knew as soon as she told Hiro who she was, that he would recoil from her but she still wanted to do the right thing. It was such an incredible read, made my heart soar.

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  18. This sounds wonderful! And I love stories that are set up like this.

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    1. Me too Christy. It was so wonderfully written and the storyline is absolutely lovely. I do hope you can pick up a copy and enjoy it as much as I did.

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