True Blue

While waiting for my hold of the Blueeyedboy to come in, I started thinking about other meanings and titles for the word blue. You can be blue (depressed), play the blues (emotional music) while watching the clouds in the wonderful blue sky dreaming of the boy (or girl) with the magical blue eyes, etc… Hey! They are even promoting blue Smarties!

The latest book I am reading is Blue Boy by Rakesh Satyal. To quote the author’s website “meet Kiran Sharma; love of music, dance…..son of immigrants, social outcast…A boy who doesn’t quite understand his lot –until he realizes he is a god…” Mind you he only realizes he is a god after his mother catches him putting on her blue eyeshadow and lipstick. Twelve year old Kiran, really is a stranger in a strange land of 1990 – different cultures and sexuality. He finds it difficult to deal with his Hindi parents, the neighbourhood he lives in and the strange (and wonderful) things that are happening to his body. He decides to play Krishna in the school talent show, therefore shocking all those around him. To quote Josh-Kilmer Purcell “ Blue Boy proves that if you don’t quite fit in, then you might as well stand out with as much wit, color and audacity as you can muster.”

Blue Heaven by C. J Box is the 2008 Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel and was 4 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Twelve year old Anne and her brother, William go fishing by themselves as an act of rebellion. They accidentally witness an execution type murder and are on the run in the woods of Northern Idaho. North Idaho has been nicknamed “Blue Heaven” due to the number of retired police officers who have moved there. By running, the children set off a missing persons report. The question is who can they or their frantic mother trust. This fast paced thriller spans 48 hours in real time. The children do not know who to turn to and their mother is desperately waiting their fate. Blue Heaven delivers twists and turns with every page….to have a bad pun….it is definitely a page turner.

The Bluest Eye is the first novel by Toni Morrison, one of Oprah’s favorite authors. The story is about a year in the life a young black girl in Lorain Ohio, during the years following the Great Depression. The theme of perfection in beauty figures deeply in this novel. Young, black Pecola has constantly been told that she is ugly, thus creating her desire to be a white girl with blue eyes. This novel brings out the racism that the black community expressed at the time; the whiter/lighter the skin of a person of colour, the better the person is. The blue in this book could also be the language/subject matter of racism, incest and child molestation. Because of these themes, there have been numerous attempts to ban this book from schools and libraries. If you wish to find out more, go on Oprah’s Book Club Official Site.

ouch. ouch. ouch.

Loud parties & booze, possible robbery overnight