J.C. Buchanan

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Title: Dark Blue: Color Me Lonely (TrueColors, #1)

Author: Melody Carlson

Published By: Th1nk Books (2007)

Synopsis: Kara Hendricks and Jordan Ferguson have been best friends since kindergarten. That is until Jordan started hanging out with a new “cool” crowd and decided Kara was a popularity liability. Devastated, Kara feels betrayed and abandoned by everyone–even God. Yet for all the hurt and insecurity, these dark blue days contain a life-changing secret. Kara has the chance to discover something about herself that she never knew before. This first book in the teen fiction series TrueColors deals with self-worth, identity, and loneliness. Includes discussion questions. (Taken from Goodreads)

 

Review:

I wanted so badly to like this book—no, correct that. I wanted so badly for this to be a good book. If it was, then I have tons of more Melody Carlson books to dive into! But unfortunately, Dark Blue wasn’t that good at all.

On the positive side, I really liked the Christian elements, and loved the way the characters come to know God. That aspect of the storyline I felt was done realistically and I really liked.

The plot was very predictable and the main character was very unlikeable. I’m sorry, but it was impossible to like her. She was relatable in some areas but for the most part she was whiny and wrapped up in her own sorrows. I get that Kara was in a difficult situation—with her best friend ditching her for the ‘cool crowd’—but it was extremely, extremely overdone. It sounded dramatic and cheesy. The characters were also very, very predictable. It was hard to sympathize with Kara or any of her problems, even though they are doubtlessly problems. Her view on the world is so cliche—with people sorted as ‘nerds’ ‘cool’ ‘uncool’; it got really old really fast. I did appreciate the messages that were sent about popularity, though.

Negative Content/Notes:

However, the rest of the book was questionable. There was nothing directly that popped out as “wrong” to me, but there was a lot of negative elements. It was written from first-person and incredibly realistic, but in this case it wasn’t a good thing. Since it was written from a teenager’s perspective, it sounds just how teenagers write in texts or in comments. It was incredibly casual and lazy, and the writing wasn’t that good at all either. The amount of times the word ‘stupid’ ‘idiot’ etc appeared was enough to drive me up a wall! Every other sentence the narrator was calling something else or herself or someone else or herself or herself “stupid”! It was ridiculous.

Overall:

At the end of the day, it had enough positive themes and a strong enough Christian message that I didn’t hate it. However, there was too much negative elements that it really doesn’t go beyond being “okay”. I guess there wasn’t anything directly wrong, it was just too sloppily written and predictable to be anything really amazing.

Rating: 2.5

Recommended to: Not recommended.

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Title: One Plus One Equals Blue

Author: M. J. Auch

Published By: Henry Holt and Co. (2013)

Synopsis: Twelve year-old Basil knows he’s special—he’s been associating numbers with colors since he was a kid. His gift (or curse) has turned him into somewhat of a loner, but his world begins to change when he meets Tenzie, the new girl in school who has similar freakisms. She, too, has synesthesia (a condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another). At first, Basil is somewhat annoyed with Tenzie’s pushiness, but after Basil’s estranged mother returns, his life is turned upside down . . . and Tenzie may be the only person to help him put it back together again. (Taken from Goodreads)

 

Review:

I wasn’t impressed. The story was decent enough, I guess, but it was just so flat. From reviews I’d read, I’d expected something touching and an amazing chronicle of synesthesia, but instead I found a juvenile, weakly written story of a boy struggling with the fact that his mother dumped him, and the difference a friend has on him.

Though at first glance this appears to be a story about synesthia, it really only is an element. The real story is about Basil, a boy raised by his grandmother ever since his mother, Carly, dumped him as a child. He struggles with that, with having friends, with school in general. The synesthia adds a cool element, but it wasn’t the focus at all.

The characters were inconsistant and unlikeable. I’m sorry, but it’s how I felt. Basil was so inconsistant and bitter it was impossible to feel bad for or like him. One scene he says he misses his mother so much and wants her back and the next he’s shouting at her and saying he hates her. Back and forth. Back and forth. Maybe it would have been believable if it was written well, but the writing wasn’t all that good at all. Tenzie was too everything: too cheery, too happy, too energetic, too loud, too outgoing. She didn’t seem realisitic at all. True, in the end she seems a bit more dejected when she runs away—but overall, she never changes and is just too much.

The storyline felt forced. It kind of made no sense to me and the twists were not done well. I couldn’t figure out who was good and who was bad: one scene Carly’s the good guy, the next she’s not, the next she is…There were so many twists that really just flopped, despite the potential it had to be good. The whole runaway thing made no sense to me; rather it seemed like the author was just trying to fill space. The ending was unnatural and too long. The actual ending I guess was sweet, but it took so long to get to it. I just got so bored by the end.

The story was just so repetitive—that’s the word I was looking for. It was extremely repetitive and most of the plot made no sense and contributed in no way to the storyline. Like the Peter Pan play in the book. It shows up in full drama for ten pages and then disappears off the face of the earth, never to return. What was the point of it, exactly? One minute Carly is being painted as a kind, goodhearted girl, and the next a deadbeat mom who’s wicked and messed up. Back and forth. Repetitive. Predictable.

This was also extremely juvenile and unrealisitic. Seventh graders are not studying multiplication problems, yet in this book they are. It felt like a fantasy, not a real life book, and the unrealisitic school facts didn’t contribute. These characters are supposed to be middle schoolers, yet they’re still doing math problems like “74 x 9.” Seriously, M.J. Auch? Seriously?

All and all, though, I did like it enough to finish it and the few facts about synesthia were fascinating. I just really wasn’t impressed and rather kind of disappointed. I guess it is a pretty sweet story, just for me personally I did not like it all that much.

Negative Content:

None.

Rating: 2.5

Recommended to: Not recommended.

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Title: To See the Light

Author: Elisha Andres

Published By: CreateSpace (2014)

Synopsis: Dawn and Courtney start their summer with fresh hopes. However, as the summer continues, their worlds begin to fall apart. A kidnapper is on the loose and children are being kidnapped everywhere. Courtney’s family begins to fall apart. They are hired at a Daycare, and from then on, their lives are changed – forever. (Taken from Goodreads)

 

 

 

Review:

My reaction after finishing this book: WOW.

I got this book because it was written by a young Christian author and so I decided to give it a try. Wow, was I not expecting such a profound story. It was incredibly deep and just awe-inspiring. The storyline, the things the characters go through. The writing was more amateur, with weaker sentences and a little more scatteredness, but I was so captivated by the storyline that for once, it didn’t matter as much. What mattered more was the profoundness of this story that really made you think.

This book was incredibly Christian in a good way: the whole book is basically a theatric storytelling of how you can always trust God and He will never let you down. It was literally a story about characters finding their light at the end of the tunnel. The characters are stuck in a dark tunnel the majority of the story.

Dawn as a character was a little unreal, a lot of people might say. She’s happy stuck in a deep dark cellar with a good chance of dying and she’s joyful because the Lord is amazing. Wouldn’t she be panicking? Worrying? Scared? I can take my best guess that people would say this was unrealistic and hard to relate to. And I can see how it would be. However, I’m going to take this from a totally different standpoint and say that author could’ve meant for that. The author really seems to like to get literal and bring to life phrases like “a light at the end of the tunnel” and I think this could’ve been a way to express that in, literally, our darkest moments we should still be praising God. And in that sense, then that makes this an even more incredible story that such things were able to transmit.

To emphasize: I think that this book is a lot more introspective then a lot of people think, and because it’s very introspective instead of the adventure people are expecting, readers are going to be let down. But a hundred years from now when this is the next classic novel (because I can totally see this becoming a Christian classic), they’ll appreciate the themes worked in.

My one disappointment personally was that the writing was more amatuar. I’ve read a lot of young writers and gently put this wasn’t the best writing I’ve read. It was amazing for the author’s age, but it wasn’t excellence. Not that the author won’t be able to achieve excellence; I think her books are going to, in time, surpass all our expectations.

The other thing was the ending. Though it was satisfying, tense in all the right moments, and sad in others, it just felt unrealistic. Dawn gets home after being trapped underground for months and her family hugs her and then says, “We should all play a family game tonight.” All cheerful and happy again. I feel like a situation like that would’ve been more emotional. But then again it could just be more thematic stuff that I haven’t noticed yet.

Overall:

So as a whole this was a deeply profound read. It was suspensful, tense, and kept you on the edge of your seat. It was a largely introspective book full of wonderful Christian themes that any Christian teen will appreciate.

Negative Content:

None.

Rating: 5.0

Recommended to: Ages 10+.