Blue by L.E. DeLano
ABOUT THE BOOK
When Blue Mancini’s mother picked her name, it ended up being a self-fulfilling prophecy.
A year ago, Blue’s brother, Jack, was involved in a car accident that killed the father of her classmate, Maya Rodriguez. Luckily for Jack, he got out of a manslaughter charge and into a plea bargain thanks to the top-notch lawyer hired by Blue’s wealthy parents.
The fallout is now affecting Blue as Maya returns to school determined to carve out a pound of flesh from the only member of the Mancini family she can reach. On top of that, Blue has a demanding mother, a father who’s never around, a drama-addicted best friend, and a secretive new guy who’s determined to make Blue his own personal cheer-up project. It’s a perfect storm of misery.
When Maya’s social media taunts and in-person digs finally push Blue to retaliate, they find themselves in afterschool detention and forced into a project meant to foster cooperation and civility. As the layers of their tangled drama unravel, Blue learns more about Maya’s life—and her own sense of privilege—when secrets are revealed that cast a new perspective on everything in Blue’s world.
MY REVIEW
I’m loving the fact that I am reading so many new authors and Ms. Delano has written a wonderful book about death and the consequences of people’s actions.
Blue is a seventeen-year-old who is angry at the world. Her mother is in her business all of the time while she hardly sees her father, and her brother, Jack, has done something that makes her the pariah at school. In addition, Maya Rodriguez is coming back to school and is out to get her for something she didn’t do. If that isn’t enough, there is an annoyingly cheerful new guy named Devon who keeps harassing her. And did I mention, Blue hates her name?
Blue is a strong and patient young woman who truly wants a truce with Maya, but Maya is not having it until they are thrown in detention together after an altercation in class. Watching these two fight it out and express their feelings is very well written. It reveals the torment and loss that each of them has endured over the last year. Devon is an enigma with his cheery persona and his disappearing acts. Once he starts to get Blue to open up about her life and the tragic accident last year, he keeps his close to his vest. His romantic gestures and declaration that Blue is his girlfriend are fast, but he doesn’t want to waste time. He knows what he wants and these two really click with their playfulness and quirky sense of humor. Though Devon should have revealed his heartbreaking secret to Blue much sooner, she doesn’t hesitate to return the favor and be there for him.
Blue’s mom clearly has issues with her husband working all of the time seen by her attempts to keep busy selling a multitude of products from cosmetics, lotions, and healthy shakes which she has stored all over their house. Without giving anything away, Blue’s brother Jack is another character who is dealing with a lot and is having an incomprehensible effect on Blue’s life.
I highly recommend this enlightening young adult novel full of angst, forgiveness, and guilt by association. The characters are engaging and genuine and the plot is very realistic. I can’t wait to pick up a book by this author again.
Thank you to Ms. Delano for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.
Tour-wide giveaway (US only)
- Signed copy of BLUE
- Booklight
- Cloud Socks
- $25 Amazon Gift Card
BUY THE BOOK
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
L.E. DeLano comes equipped with a “useless” Theatre degree that has opened doors for her in numerous ways. Though mostly raised in New Mexico, she now lives in Pennsylvania with two adventurous kids and two ridiculous cats. When she’s not writing (which is almost never), she’s binge-watching Netflix and planning road trips.
Her debut novel, TRAVELER was selected as a Keystone To Reading Secondary Book Award finalist for school year 2018-19 by the Keystone State Reading Association (KSRA) and also voted one of The 20 Most Beautiful Books in the World for 2017 by MTV UK.
Follow L.E. on her website, Instagram, Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.
BLOG TOUR ORGANIZED BY:
Great review! This sounds like a real roller coaster and very well written! So happy you liked it! 🙂
Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!
My pleasure! It is such a moving and enlightening read! 🙂