Green: The Light Within

The young adult novel Green: The Light Within is the second in author S.M. Huggins’s series Green. Self-published in 2014, the series was a way for Huggins to battle the traumatic brain injury she suffered after she fell and seriously injured herself during a horseback ride. Attempting to battle depression, speech aphasia, and memory loss, Huggins started writing down the story from a recurring dream she was having, which eventually turned into the Green books. As the author describes her work, “Green, is symbolic of a natural world and of love. The heart chakra gleams and radiates this precise hue. The Green series is driven by this force, by passion itself.”

In the first book of the series, Meelah Neegry discovered that she is not an ordinary human, but instead the reincarnation of an ancient warrior from the planet Churria, a beautiful nature-dominated world. In order to be protected from the shadowy reflections of the Dark Force that entered Churria when Meelah was born, she was stripped of some of her powers and memories and sent to Earth with her adoptive father in order to get the chance to “awaken” on her own. Eventually, Meelah recovered most of what she had lost from a magical amulet. On Churria, she reunited with the winged battalion she used to lead, promising to fulfill her destiny to defeat the Dark One. Finally, romanced by her lieutenant Mikiel, she chooses instead to be with Kriyo, a Churrian commoner.

The Light Within picks up from here. Now that Meelah has accepted her life’s purpose as the leader of the army of Light against the Dark Forces led by the Dark One, she grows closer to Mikiel. Not only is he her strategic right-hand man, but he also allows her to vicariously experience powers that she hasn’t yet regained, like flight.

Still, the main thing on all Churrian minds is the coming war, the outcome of which will determine the alignment of the planet for the near future. Once again, just like during her Awakening, Meelah must pledge herself to the Light Warriors of her own free will. Before she does so, the powerful immortals called the Timeera test her loyalty, making sure she is fully committed to the cause and checking that she will have the power to win the coming conflict.

Meanwhile, the Dark One uses his power to take over an incredibly powerful army and sends a Shadow assassin to Churria as an advance force. The Shadow spreads death as it makes its way through the planet’s villages and cities.

To overcome the growing power of the Dark Forces, Meelah and her allies will have to find the munad—a Churrian-born foreigner with the ability to restore the balance between Light and Darkness. Unfortunately, the Dark One knows about the munad as well, and part of the Shadow’s assignment is to eliminate this threat once and for all.

During the battle, it seems clear that despite everything, Meelah will end up losing everything and everyone she loves. However, at the last moment, the forces of Light prevail.