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Review: The Girl and the Green hat

ByJennifer Harris

The Girl and the Green Hat is the second installment in the Addie Brown series by UK-based author, Rachel Allord. Middle grade readers will be able to relate to this modern-day story of growing pains, monumentous life changes, navigating both old and new friendships, and the deep heart issues we need to wrestle with if we are to welcome change in our lives and open our hearts and lives to others.

Addie Brown has survived her first year in her new London school. Bound for a summer vacation back home in the States, she is ready for freedom and the familiarity of home, family, and faithful friends. No ties, no uniform, no school rules, no foreign country and idioms to figure out. Addie is ready for everything to be normal.

Since the tragic loss of her mother, her home, and her American way of life, Addie is now a teenager navigating a new life with her dad in London. Though she has made some acquaintances like her neighbor, Lilian, her cat Earl Grey, and a surface-level friend, Victoria, Addie still feels adrift in the chaos of her ever-changing life.

Serendipitously, Addie and Victoria are both planning to spend the summer in Chicago. Once Addie arrives at her Aunt Becky’s house, she soon finds out the reason for their trip: her dad has a girlfriend named Lane, and he wants to introduce them to each other!

Aunt Becky is a strong character in this story. In her persistent efforts to help Addie see the good in Lane, she speaks with the kind of wisdom Addie needs to hear to overcome this relational hurdle.

“You’ve only just met. People can surprise us. Sometimes the least likely people end up becoming the most important to us.” (Page 38)

Aunt Becky’s strong faith in God has a softening influence on Addie throughout the story. Addie needs a mother’s touch, and Aunt Becky becomes a natural mentor to her as she continues to learn about God, His love for her, and that He hears her prayers.

Dealing With Pain

Throughout the story, we see more clearly how Addie’s heart has grown hard under the weight of carrying so much pain at such a young age. She misses her mother deeply and can’t yet see why her dad is lonely too. Developmentally, it is normal for young people this age to be wrapped up in their own circumstances, focused on themselves, and unable to notice the struggles others are walking through. We see this as Addie resists meeting this new woman in her dad’s life.

When she finally does meet Lane, a moment of temptation is presented to her, and she takes the chance at revenge on Lane for being in her dad’s life by stealing Lane’s expensive sunglasses. This moment of failure feels good to her at first. To Addie, this feels like receiving justice for the new pain Lane is unintentionally causing her. Addie’s guilt becomes a thread that ties the rest of the book together. What should she do with the sunglasses? When her guilt is too heavy, what will she do?

Addie arrives at camp and finds out Victoria is at the same camp… and drawing a lot of attention to herself! Meanwhile, Addie’s BFF, Lauren, seems to have found a new confidante, and her world continues to spiral out of her control. Everything and everyone is changing. Will she be able to enjoy her summer at camp? Or will she let all these disappointments stop her from adapting and opening her heart to new friendships?

Like many young girls, Addie is trying to figure out who she is and where she belongs. She is grasping at anything that will give her identity. She has homework, uses FaceTime and text to connect with friends and family, plays video games, eats gummy bears, and loves to spend time with meaningful people in her life. She both longs for deep friendship and struggles with jealousy, comparison, and the difficulties of forming (and keeping) lasting friendships. As a young person, it takes time to mature, usually while leaving a trail of failures along the way.

Throughout the book, we see the friendship between Addie and Victoria go through its own growing pains, from distance and distrust to needing to depend on each other, both in a moment of danger and a moment of collaboration. They learn to view their friendship not as a competition for attention, but as a true duet.

A Mysterious Figure

One recurring thread in this story is the woman in the green hat whom Addie seems to run into often at the train station. I think of her as a combination of Carmen San Diego and the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella. A beautiful charismatic woman of mystery, she seems to show up at just the right time with a look or a word that convicts Addie with what she knows she must do.

“Has she been summoned by my tears? Like a fairy godmother? Or an angel? Or the person I hope to be someday? Or is she merely a nice lady who happens to be around when I need help?” (p. 139) I hope we will learn more about her in subsequent books!

Change is hard for all of us, and Addie is in the midst of a lot of change all at once. Her pain, loneliness, and behavior show that she feels adrift in a world that seems to be going on without her. Will her heart soften toward her dad and his girlfriend, giving space in her heart for a new person to love? With the help of our patient and forgiving God, Addie shows us that we, too, can grow into maturity step by step, as we learn to trust and anchor our changing lives in our unchanging and faithful God.

Jennifer Harris
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