About Books Blog 37: Blue

Introduction

This review is part of the Lou Aronica virtural Blog Tour sponsored by Pump Up Your Book. I'd like to thank Tracee for giving me the opportunity to participate, and Lou Aronica for sending me the copy of Blue to review. On with the show.

Author: Lou Aronica

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy

Favorite Line

“Note to self: remember to use brains in the future.”

(Ha ha! This totally sounds like something I would say.)

Summary 

Chris Astor is a man in his early forties who is going through the toughest stretch of his life. Becky is Chris's fourteen-year-old daughter, a girl who overcame enormous challenges to become a vibrant, vital young woman - and now faces her greatest obstacle yet. Miea is the young queen of a fantasy land that Becky and Chris created when Becky was little, a fantasy land that has developed a life of its own and now finds itself in terrible, maybe fatal trouble. Together, Chris, Becky, and Miea need to uncover a secret. The secret to why their worlds have joined at this moment. The secret to their purpose. The secret to the future. It is a secret that, when discovered, will redefine imagination for all of them. Blue is a novel of trial and hope, invention and rediscovery. It might very well take you someplace you never knew existed.

What I Thought of This Book

There are books that you know you are going to adore from the first page. This was one of those for me. I always like fantasy stories, so it got points with me from the beginning. The fantasy world depicted in Blue is very imaginative, and fun to discover. I found the writing style to be both humorous and heartfelt in the right places.

The characters are sweet and easy to relate to. What I liked best about the book was that the book contains the points of view of three characters at different points in their lives. This factor makes the novel lend itself to being relatable to a variety of ages, despite the fact that it is classified as a young adult book. I also loved how the author showed the relationship between Becky and her parents. It made the emotional scenes even more striking.

Blue has quite a bit of set up in the beginning and I figured out where it was going after the first few chapters. However, neither of these factors got in the way to me enjoying it. By the way, this book made me cry. In a good way. I was glad it had a happy ending even there were a few tears toward the end of the journey.

Facts I Found Interesting

It took Lou Aronica six years to complete the novel.

The Movie

Obviously no film yet. I think it would make a nice movie though. At least I think the fantasy world of Tamarisk would be beautiful to see on screen.

Music to Read By

Favorite Albums

Blue was a book where I had favorite artists rather than particular favorite albums. I often found myself loving to listen to Arcade Fire, The Shins, Tyrone Wells, Coldplay, and Phillip Glass. I think Arcade Fire and Phillip Glass became favorites because they were actually a couple of the many musical artists mentioned in the novel.

Blue Playlist

Pressed In A Book - The Shins

Deep Blue - Arcade Fire

Speed of Sound - Coldplay

Evening Song - Philip Glass

Can’t Take It In - Imogen Heap

Together - Tyrone Wells

Escape - Philip Glass

Cancer - My Chemical Romance

Pull Me Through - Tyrone Wells

Father and Daughter - Paul Simon

Ribbons Undone - Tori Amos

Soul Meets Body - Death Cab For Cutie

Life In Technicolor - Coldplay

I Know You By Heart - Eva Cassidy

I hope you all enjoyed reading. One more day until spring break. Then I'm going on a reading spree. Yay! Keep it shiny my darlings!