The world changes forever when some teenagers develop the ability to grow plants. They become known as Greenfingers, but not everyone will use their new powers to help others or the planet.
Gabrielle, the first teen to exhibit the ability, is a climate-change activist, and is willing to do anything to get the governments of the world to take climate-change seriously.
Hester is the daughter of the CEO of one of the biggest oil companies in the world and tries to use the new Greenfingers phenomenon to help the company.
Theo comes from a fishing family and will do everything he can to help his parents with their money troubles.
Gabrielle, Hester and Theo are all very different, but can they work together to save the planet?

Having been a fan of the author for a long time, I was interested to read their latest release. However, having not enjoyed their last few books as much as earlier ones, I was also a bit unsure how much I would like this.
Gabrielle, Hester and Theo were all likeable and relatable protagonists. I admired Gabrielle's determination, Hester's drive and Theo's love for his parents. Hester was my favourite of the three and I enjoyed reading as she grew as a character. None of the side characters particularly stood out to me, apart from Theo's parents.
One of my favourite parts of the book was the diversity.
The science in the book and concept of the Greenfingers were really interesting. The author thought of consequences and ideas that I hadn't or wouldn't have.
The plot was interesting overall, but I wasn't gripped or shocked by anything that happened. I don't feel that I was overly invested in what happened to the characters.
The writing style was easy to follow and I found the book quite fast to read.
While I didn't enjoy this quite as much as I hoped I would, I enjoyed it overall and thought the messages in it were very important and relevant.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read.

Well this book packed a punch, it definitely had a lot of interesting and relevant things to say about climate change and our planet. I loved the characters and the story itself was really solid. I enjoyed my time reading this as I always do with Lauren James' books.

I either love Lauren’s books or hate them, this is a love! I absolutely loved her last book so I was so nervous about going into this one in case I hated it but this was so interesting and also such an important read too!

Loved it! I have to admit that I was unsure before reading the book and would possibly have overlooked it. However, now that I have read it, I will be bringing this to Costa Rica.

Climatically, the world is getting to the point of no return. Edgar Warren is only interested in creating a new community on Mars for when Earth becomes uninhabitable. Students are demonstrating, but it's going nowhere, especially as large companies continue to spew out pollution at a huge rate. Then suddenly teens start growing plants out of their own bodies! Theo and his family are on the losing side of the climate changes, Hester and her Dad are profiting. However Theo and Hester have something in common. They are both Greenfingers and they both end up wanting to save this planet.

The existence of these 'greenfingers' brings up a huge list of questions and ethical decisions. There are the teenagers trying to make positive change, others becoming rather belligerent. still others taking a more criminal route. These were seen more as interesting asides than main plot, but they got me thinking and would be great for social studies projects.

I like the approach to climate change and the strong scientific base of the book. I am sure that there are a lot of companies ‘managing the science’ in order to lobby governments and that plenty of underhand deals do go on.. Certainly we see politicians negating the evidence in front of them about climate change and whilst the whole world can try to be more sustainable, if the big industrial polluters continue as usual, then its a losing battle. With COP 2021 in November this year, its a timely release. An excellent addition to a school or personal library and also as a teen Bookclub title.

I loved this one so much! I have loved every book written by Lauren James, and this was no exception.

I loved the storyline, and not only because it is so current (other than the magical aspects of course), but because it is so informative. It really opened my eyes to the effects of global warming.

It has really inspired me.

I loved the Greenfingers, and everything that they represent. I wish I had my own greenfinger ability! It was so cool what they managed to accomplish in such a short space of time, and from space too!

The relationship between Hester and Theo was lovely too. I liked how they made each other stronger.

This was a brilliant read, and I look forward to Lauren’s next book!

I absolutely loved this. I really enjoyed how it is fiction yet there are SO many ties in today's world.

Imagine if suddenly you were able to sprout plants from your fingers. This is what is happening to 3% of teenagers throughout the world. The story focuses on three main characters, Gabrielle, who sprouted first, she is a young climate activist who wants to use her powers to change the world, Theo, who is working hard to keep is family away from poverty, will he accept a deal from a horrid oil company? And Hester who is the daughter of the CEO of the oil company, she is trained in HR and doesn't believe in climate change.

I loved that there were past characters mentioned, how global it was... and not just on this planet! It's a fast paced nature thriller where you can't help to root (lol!) for the characters. This book is well researched (including a list of books at the back) and really inspires green activism. I will be recommending this book to everyone!

It's an important book, it talks about the climate crisis and imagine a solution.
It's full of food for thought and it made me think and love what I was reading.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

In the not to distant future, teenagers are finding they have the power to grow plants from their bodies. How can they use this power for the good of the planet? Why did they develop this power in the first place?

A story of power, magic and climate disaster. A relevant story for today with a fictional twist.

Lauren James has given us a story to get us thinking about our planet and our future.

It has been a while since I have read a book that is so so relevant to our world today. All teens should read this, and maybe some adults too!

Another triumph from Lauren James. I love how she flawlessly blends science, diversity, tension, intrigue and multiple medias. Her writing always has a realistic and prescient feel to it. I also spotted some Easter eggs relating to her previous works.
Green Rising is great for fans of Lauren James and people who haven't read her books before. I loved Hester and Theo's story. I do think we needed more of Gabrielle because at times she came across as too in-your-face for me and I would have liked to get to know her better.
This book was, I believe, my first cli-fi novel and was so good that I'll be checking out more in this genre. It has an important message about climate change. The human world is a mess and some things need to change so that the planet remains healthy for us and future generations. Yeah, we might not have GreenFingers powers but there are ways we can make a difference. It has to be now though. Save it or lose it.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I love Lauren James, especially The Loneliest Girl In the Universe - one of my favourite books in the last couple of years.
I really enjoyed the idea and the premise behind her newest book, but it didn’t quite hit the mark. At times it made me cringe and feel a bit grossed out. I didn’t connect with any of the characters, which is such a shame because the storyline is so important.

This was my first Lauren James novel and boy, was it a fantastic introduction to her work. Timely, witty and fun, this is as full of heart as it is thoughtprovoking. James delivers the kind of novel that is bound to strike conversations, never sacrificing the ease of reading in order to do so, which I think speaks to her skill. The issues in James' novel are all too real and of our time. Her characters are complex and feel alive. The mixed media format makes for a fun reading experience and works really well in expanding the world with ease.
A triumph.

Green Rising was one of my most anticipated releases of 2021 for a number of reasons. Lauren James is easily one of my favourite authors and I would buy whatever she wrote. Also, the concept of this book caught my attention immediately as it could what happens to our world if action is not taken. Finally, I know I am in for a thrilling ride when reading a book by Lauren James and I was excited to go on the journey!

The action starts right away and has you intrigued by what might happen throughout the book. Green Rising is not short on action and I loved it. I knew this would be the sort of book that I could not put down and thought about non-stop, even when I was not reading it. I read it in a matter of hours and thoroughly enjoyed the journey it took me on.

I loved the characters in this book, especially our main protagonists, Theo and Hester. They come from very different worlds and challenge one another to think differently. I loved their slow burn enemies-to-lovers storyline, it brought a huge smile to my face. Theo was wonderful! He challenges Hester on all her thoughts, reflects on his own thoughts and pushes himself to do what is best. Hester has an excellent character growth throughout the book. We get to see her think and change her mind about what she thought was real, what she believed in and a whole lot more. I loved them both. The other characters in this book are excellent too. Gabrielle is especially excellent and Edgar makes an excellent villain to both the characters and the world.

One of the things I love about Lauren James’ writing is her ability to weave snippets of social media, tv shows, websites and more into her stories. We see her use this in Green Rising and it adds so much to the story in such an interesting way. Also, if you have read previous books by Lauren James you will be able to spot a number of easter eggs from characters we know very well. I loved these little easter eggs and they always put a smile on my face.

The Greenfingers power was incredible and so well thought out. I loved the mystery that was behind how it came to be and how every character could do something different with their own Greenfingers power. You can tell that Lauren James conducted a lot of research for this book in order to make it feel incredibly authentic.

I do wish that our world could be fixed with the use of Greenfingers. This book has definitely got me thinking about a lot of things that I can do in order to help climate change and make a difference to the world. I’m sure it will do the same to others as well.

Overall, Green Rising by Lauren James is an astonishing YA climate thriller that I would highly recommend to everyone. It takes you on a thrilling, thought-provoking and powerful journey that I will not forget anytime soon. Give Green Rising a read!

I love Lauren James. She's an auto-buy author for me, and I get excited whenever she announces a new release. What I like about her books is that she always writes in a variation of genres, historical fic/time travel, horror, paranormal - but all of them have that sci-fi element, with great characters. So, again, I was very excited to read this one, especially as I can't recall ever having read a 'climate thriller'. (I've read dystopias with this element, but James has made it clear she doesn't classify this as such).

I really liked both Theo and Hester, our primary protagonists. I like how they challenged each other, and that slow burn enemies-to-lovers romance they had going on. Hester had brilliant character growth, as she learned to challenge everything she thought she knew about her father, her company, the World and then to take action with that new information. Theo was great. I loved how he opened the door to explore the story in further depth. For example, as he challenges Hester on her ideologies, this also gives him a chance to reflect - keeping the book in a constant discourse about climate change, how we deal with it as an individual, and as a society.

The Greenfingers powers were incredibly cool. I liked the mystery behind how they formed. I do wish we got to see more of the 'trainees' that Hester and Theo worked with. While they did have scenes, I would have liked for them to be more involved with the main plot, as opposed to just being accessories.

Gabrielle was a difficult one for me. While we got snippets of what she was up to, I would've like a few more chapters from her POV - to really see her inner thoughts, etc.

The multi-media aspect was great, and honestly, quite chilling with how accurate it felt in reflecting the ways people would respond. Like the comment sections on some of the posts?? Yeah, I'm sure I've seen similar on Facebook and Twitter. The different blogs, news reports also allowed to flesh out the story and see different perspectives. Again, while I enjoyed that - I do wish we got more Gabrielle POV's.

I loved the little nods the multi-media aspects gave to other of James' works, like Harriet Stoker . . .

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was insightful and thought provoking, and I liked the main characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and Walker Books for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

Green Rising is a young adult climate change thriller about teenagers who can grow plants from their hands and who are intensely passionate about the environment and saving humanity. A climate-change thriller set in a near-future world that’s closer than we want to believe. Hester Daleport, Theodore Carthew and Gabrielle have grown up knowing that Earth is doomed. Hester, age 18, is the heir to Dalex Energy, one of the world's largest oil companies. She's privately tutored to prepare for her role as CEO when her dad retires. A business-savvy Texas girl, she doesn't have many friends her own age - but she loves to bake, has an impressive stock portfolio and collection of business blazers. Theodore, age 17, is the English son of a family of fisherman. He's dyslexic, loves video games and works at the local docks unloading shipping containers after school when he's not helping out on his dad's boat.

He makes really bad puns, and he absolutely hates Dalex Energy, whose oil rig is destroying his family's livelihood. Gabrielle is the first person to grow plants in Green Rising, she's a dedicated climate activist, and she's not afraid to break the law to do what she believes is right. She's aro-ace, an excellent fighter, and deeply opinionated. Not going to lie, Hester and Theo are a little bit afraid of her. The acceleration of climate changes means that the planet will soon be uninhabitable, and while those who are rich enough can escape to Mars, the rest of the population will be left to their fate. But in the year that the ice caps finally melt, teenagers around the world begin developing strange powers - the ability to grow plants with their minds. The only hope for reversing climate change seems to lie with these Greenfingers.

But there are plenty of profit-hungry organisations who want to use them for their own ends. And not everyone would like to see Earth saved. In a time of widespread corruption and greed, can three teenagers pull off the ultimate heist and bring about a green rising? This is a captivating, passionate ode to the wonders of mother earth’s bounty about the price nature is paying for our unfettered capitalistic societies, rules and lifestyles which are direct causes of climate change. It is a young adult climate-centric thriller about nature, geoengineering and civil disobedience in the face of overwhelming corporate negligence. The big message of Green Rising: as individuals, we can't do anything. But as a collective, we have the power to make change. It splendidly interweaves reality and fantasy to reveal the truth about our climate and what it means to be human in the 21st century. Together we can change the world.

Wow, what a book! From the rich characters to the inspiring storyline, Green Rising is undoubtedly a stand-out novel and one of my favourite YA books of the year so far.

The premise is quirky and original. Teenagers across the world begin developing mysterious "Greenfingers" powers that allow them to create plants and flowers seemingly from thin air. This magical ability quickly divides the world, yet leads to plenty of opportunities for those with the power to act quickly in a bid to save the planet from the worsening climate disaster.

It's fast-paced and high stakes, yet also leaves time for plenty of character development, twists and turns, and a blossoming love story. There's a little bit of everything in this brilliant book!

One thing I particularly liked was the subtle easter eggs where characters and references from the author's other books popped up. Little cameos of those familiar names was a lovely touch that certainly managed to make me smile.

I also think it's worth mentioning just how much I love that cover. All of Lauren James' book covers are gorgeous, but this one is spectacular!

I’m going to start this review with what could be quite a controversial statement. As much as I know that climate change is a big issue and the world needs to change if we’re going to survive in it much longer. However, I found in some cases, clime change became almost a fashionable bandwagon to jump on and books had become a bit repetitive when it came to facing this topic.

Green Rising, however, takes a completely unique view on the climate issue and puts young people right in the centre of the fight (which is reflected in our real world). The teenage characters in this book are really realistic. It can be hard to write a character not in your age group, but Lauren has done them justice.

I thought it was a good format as well; it wasn’t just 300 pages of straight prose, it included reports and forms and blog posts and social media and interviews. It puts you in the thick of it and you almost become a character yourself.

It is a well researched book and doesn’t just use climate change as an entertainment device. It could have quite easily become a preachy book but it hit the right balance between explaining why climate change is such a big issue without ramming it down our throats. It is clearly a science fiction/fantasy type book, but it’s steeped in enough reality to keep it believable. And if I’m honest, I’m a little disappointed that our own climate change problems can’t be solved in the same way. How much simpler would things be if we could?

This book really makes you think about how the world might look in only a few years. While the author states that what's mentioned isn't a guarantee, it isn't hard to picture. You can see that the billionaire in it is a version of Elon Musk and I really liked how 'real' it all felt, even though there were teenagers growing plants from their bodies.

Overall, I thought this book was well-written and very well researched. I didn't mind the MCs but I didn't really care about their romance. I think in a book that has such a strong, important plot, the romance felt unnecessary and just tagged on because that's what's expected. I also personally wasn't too keen on the ending.

SPOILDE ALERT: The billionaire basically tries to murder these kids but at the end it's like, we've got an agreement, it's all good. Like, I understand you'd really struggle to convict a guy with that much money but...the dude seriously faced no consequences for trying to murder teens beyond 'oh, maybe space won't be happening for me'.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Here's the thing about Lauren James (forgive the rambling):

I love her books. Some more than others, but I haven't read any that I didn't love. All the ones I've read have a connecting thread in a (fictional but how I wish it wasn't!) TV series called Loch and Ness. It's a bigger feature in some than in others, but it's always there, tying everything together into a shared universe.

But if they're all in a shared universe, then some things that happen in my second favourite of her books kind of render this one a little bit pointless. (Notice I'm not saying which one, because spoilers.) If all her books are in the same universe, then that book is after this one, and everything that happened in this one ended up not really mattering very much in the end. (Also, possibly explaining the major background plot point in that one...hmmm.) Maybe they're just all close enough on the multiverse tree that they have the same TV show.

None of this means I didn't enjoy this! I really did. Lauren comes up with such clever plots, things that seem - not confusing, that's not what I mean, but it seems there's no connection between things - at first, until you find the clue that makes everything fall into place. Hester is absolutely my favourite character in this; the growth she goes through, her strength and determination are amazing. Gabrielle was a little full on for me, but I admired her passion, and I thought her ultimate solution was amazing, really clever.

I am a little curious about when this is set - unless I missed it, there's no date given, and it reads like present day except all of a sudden there's tourist trips to Mars! And self driving cars! (I want both of those, by the way.) Whenever it is, social media works much the same way as it does now, as evidenced by the inserts with quizzes, messages and forum posts, a touch I really enjoyed. Of course, we know Lauren enjoys using social media in her writing...now I'm waiting for the novel that ties everything together into one fantastic new read!

I really enjoyed this. I love the cover, it'll look so good next to her other ones. I can't wait to read everything else she ever publishes, set in this universe or not!

I LOVE Lauren James, and this book is a brilliant example of why she is an auto-buy author for me. Fantastic characters and unexpected turns throughout a non stop plot, the attention to detail in Green Rising makes it a strong contender for my favourite fantasy of the year.

Without warning, teenagers around the world are starting to demonstrate incredible abilities to rapidly grow plantlife. Different people use their powers in different ways, but it quickly becomes clear that these abilities may be the answer to helping the climate crisis.

James cleverly includes snippets from social media, websites and new outlets to build a world beyond even her storytelling, and I am obsessed with every bit of it. I even finished the book slightly disappointed that the events were all fictional!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.