Big Green Country

by Frances Rivetti

The journey into Northern California's infamous Emerald Triangle would change the lives of two girls — and the women that followed them — forever.
 
Big Green Country is a gripping and unforgettable family suspense story lifting the veil from the shrouded secrecy surrounding the ugly underbelly of Northern California's complex cannabis culture.
 
Culling from her research as an independent journalist at home at the gateway to the region's infamous Redwood Curtain, Frances Rivetti paints a gritty, graphic fictional portrait of the contemporary Green-Rush from one women-driven family's unique perspective — the lure, the benefits, the potential for boom and bust, but most importantly, its impact on the human condition and the real and present danger posed to young women attracted by large cash earnings.
 
Big Green Country is a controversial crisis of rural poverty, environmental degradation, addiction, a broken health care system, alternative medicine and the stark reality of human trafficking within the region known as the Emerald Triangle.

445 pages, Paperback

Published November 19, 2019

About the author

National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist & Independent Publisher's Book Awards 2020 Gold Medal winner for Best Regional Fiction, Pacific West, Big Green Country author Frances Rivetti is a British American writer based in Sonoma County, Northern California.

Her second novel The House on Liberty Street was released in Dec 2022 & was a finalist in the 2023 National Indie Excellence Awards.

Frances Rivetti's third novel, Floating in the Middle was published in Nov 2025.

Reviews

[Janis Couvreux · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read Frances Rivetti’s two previous nonfiction books about the culture, history, food, geography, and uniqueness of Sonoma County, it was fun to see how she weaved much of that into this Northern California based novel. If you are local from the area, you will enjoy recognizing the spots she writes about (occasionally some of the names changed, but easily recognizable), if you live elsewhere, it is a great introduction to the area. However, the author also delves into cultural and political issues unique to the Sonoma, Mendocino, and Humboldt counties concerning cannabis, its undeniable presence and influence upon the political, social, and economic landscape: past, present, and future. Through her characters she sketches the dark underbelly of this former parallel economy—now mainstream and legal in California. Her novel is a textbook for both the uninformed as well as those who live daily on the fringes of this culture, unaware of the some of the hidden toll it has taken, and continues to wrought today amidst a legal environment. “Big Green Country” left me pondering the lot of these characters and an unfinished story.

[BooksCoffee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two young women’s trials of physical and mental abuse in Northern California’s infamous emerald Triangle makes the heart of Rivetti’s searing debut.

When Mia and Jazmin left their homes to take seasonal jobs as trimmigrants in Northern California’s Sonoma County to earn some extra cash, they had no idea the short escapade would change their lives forever.

Though violence, sexual abuse, and the illegal marijuana industry of Sonoma County form the central theme of the novel, subplots of Maggie and Bridget’s lives and their sisterly bonds along with issues of relationships, lasting friendship, and enduring family ties illuminate the story further.

Rivetti’s research is meticulous, the writing assured, and prose crisp. She portrays Jazmin and Mia with understanding and empathy, making the reader root for the flawed but courageous teens as they prevail their personal traumas through sheer will and resilience.

A must read.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow- just finished this book so full of rich, complex, believable characters, harrowing experiences, complicated (& forgiving!) relationships. So much intriguing & informative historical & environmental detail about my native Northern California that I was previously unaware of. I had no idea of this dark underbelly - human trafficking - of the marijuana industry. Thank you to Ms. Rivetti for giving voice to the largely unheard victims of trafficking & raising awareness about this under publicized crisis. An emotional read for sure - the abuse and grief and loss are balanced out by a strong sense of hope & the healing power of nonjudgmental love.

[Otis]

I really enjoyed this book. It was very interesting and a liked it because I knew where everything was. So when they where talking about a place I knew where it was. It also made me more aware of really goes on in pot farms. I never knew that behind pot farms there was actually enslavement going on and a lot of people where affected by this. Young people just trying to make some quick money would go to pot farms and then be captured by the people tat owned it and would not be able to leave.

[Stacie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried. I really tried, but I just couldn’t do it.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story, but at points ploddingly slow. Descriptions of the area and its history are interesting to local residents but I wonder if a wider audience wouldn't find them so.

[Suzanne Maggio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this novel was a work of fiction, it is a realistic window into the dark underbelly of the Northern California coastal region. The author's descriptive style gives the reader a strong sense of connection to her characters and their lives. Rivetti's attention to the history of the region, in particular the rise of the cannabis industry from mom and pop businesses to large scale criminal enterprise, provides a backdrop to the host of challenges that befall her characters and captivate the reader's attention.