Review: Blue by Lou Aronica

I am terribly excited to review the novel Blue by Lou Aronica. The world that was created for this book is so vivid and creative, and I read it in 3 sittings (but only because I had to go to work. I did NOT want to put this one down)!!

The story mainly focuses on Becky, a 14 year old girl dealing with the divorce of her parents, and Chris, Becky’s father. When Becky was 5, she was diagnosed with leukemia. Throughout her illness, Chris and Becky made up a ‘bedtime story’ about Princess Miea and the kingdom of Tamarisk. These stories become a nightly ritual all the way up until the divorce of her parents, almost 10 years later.

One night, Becky is pulled into the world of Tamarisk, where she actually meets Princess Miea (who has since become the Queen). This is where she finds that not only is Tamarisk real, but they are in danger from a blight that is killing off plants and animals within the kingdom. Becky becomes determined to save Tamarisk, and enlists her father to help.

This novel is so well written. I was immediately pulled in to Becky’s story and found a connection to the characters. I felt for Becky while she was dealing with the contention between her parents. The relationships between Becky and each of her parents were realistic, as was the relationship between Chris and Becky’s mom, Polly. I also felt like the transitions from the real world to Tamarisk were seamless. The descriptions of the fantasy world that Chris and Becky made up were colorful and imaginative. A whole new world was created – with new creatures and made up colors, but it was still similar enough to the real world. Tamarisk evolved as Becky grew up, and became an inspired world of imagination.

As I understand, Blue is a labor of love for Lou Aronica. Every detail of this novel was carefully thought through and enhanced the story. I can’t say enough about this amazing novel, it is definitely the best book I have read so far this year - and probably even the last half of 2010, too!!!!

Thank you to Lou Aronica for sending me a copy of this amazing novel. And, I do have to apologize for it taking so long for me to post this review.