I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the VIOLETS ARE BLUE by Barbara Dee Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
Author: Barbara Dee
Pub. Date: October 12, 2021
Publisher: Aladdin
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Pages: 304
From the author of the acclaimed My Life in the Fish Tank and Maybe He Just Likes You comes a moving and relatable middle grade novel about secrets, family, and the power of forgiveness.
Twelve-year-old Wren loves makeup—special effect makeup, to be exact. When she
is experimenting with new looks, Wren can create a different version of
herself. A girl who isn’t in a sort-of-best friendship with someone who seems
like she hates her. A girl whose parents aren’t divorced and doesn’t have to
learn to like her new stepmom.
So, when Wren and her mom move to a new town for a fresh start, she is
cautiously optimistic. And things seem to fall into place when Wren meets
potential friends and gets selected as the makeup artist for her school’s
upcoming production of Wicked.
Only, Wren’s mom isn’t doing so well. She’s taking a lot of naps, starts
snapping at Wren for no reason, and always seems to be sick. And what’s worse,
Wren keeps getting hints that things aren’t going well at her new job at the
hospital, where her mom is a nurse. And after an opening night disaster leads
to a heartbreaking discovery, Wren realizes that her mother has a serious
problem—a problem that can’t be wiped away or covered up.
After all the progress she’s made, can Wren start over again with her devastating
new normal? And will she ever be able to heal the broken trust with her mom?
Praise
for The VIOLETS ARE BLUE:
“Dee addresses with aplomb important topics such as opioid addiction, divorce,
bullying, and moving. This inspired novel deftly depicts the self-doubt and
loneliness that many children (and adults) feel.” -- September 2021 ― School
Library Journal
My Rating: 4
(I received this book free in exchange for my honest review)
I wasn't sure what to expect when I decided to read this book, as it is out of my comfort zone, and overall reading preferences. This book hit all the feels, and I had to put it down a few times. As someone who has seen the effects of addiction, and as someone who came close to choosing the bottle over life, it hit home in a few different ways.
The way the story was portrayed through the eyes of 12 years old, was something else. It was to me, real. The author managed to captured the essence of a 12 years old trying to understand divorce, addition, new friends, and just being a confused adolescence trying to process those complexes emotions. Overall this book was worth venturing out into the unknown.
It a wonderful book for both parent and child, and I believe more books like these need to be made into movies. This book gets my super high recommendation and my stamp of approval.
Happy Reading
-E.A. Walsh
ey, guys, Cat FX here. Sorry if my voice sounds funny—my allergies are going full blast this morning. Also, I couldn’t sleep. So I spent the night thinking what I wanted to say to you, and here it is: It’s really important not to overdo stuff, okay? Yes, I know it’s exciting when you have all these shiny new products to play with, and you want to use everything all at once. But trust me on this, it’s better to go slowly, adding layer on top of layer, building your character from the inside out. Know what I mean? Also—and guys, I can’t stress this enough— try not to be too obvious. Have fun with these techniques. Experiment, take risks, but always leave room for a bit of mystery.
Tonight my face was Seafoam Blue. Not my whole face. Just a light swish across my forehead, the tops of my cheekbones, and around my chin. The trick was to go slowly, like Cat FX said, applying layer on top of layer. Better to add than to subtract. Build the character from the inside out. And to be who I imagined—my mental mermaid—I couldn’t just slather on a ton of blue pigment. My mermaid’s superpower was a kind of camouflage: blending into her surroundings. Slipping undetected through sunken ships. Escaping deadly sea monsters. Coming up for air when necessary. The other thing I’d decided was that she was a collector. So when she won a battle, or discovered buried treasure, she would always decorate herself with souvenirs. To never forget what she’d been through, what she’d seen. To make it part of herself forever.
Which was why I was gluing a plastic pearl to my eyebrow when I heard the GRRRRUUUNNNCCCHHH.
My stomach clenched.
Barbara Dee is the author of twelve middle grade novels published by
Simon & Schuster, including Violets Are Blue, My Life in the Fish
Tank, Maybe He Just Likes You, Everything I Know About You, Halfway
Normal, and Star-Crossed. Her books have earned several starred
reviews and have been named to many best-of lists, including the The
Washington Post’s Best Children’s Books, the ALA Notable Children’s Books,
the ALA Rise: A Feminist Book Project List, the NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies
Trade Books for Young People, and the ALA Rainbow List Top Ten. Barbara lives
with her family, including a naughty cat named Luna and a sweet rescue hound
named Ripley, in Westchester County, New York.
Giveaway Details:
- 3 winners will receive a finished copy of VIOLETS ARE BLUE, US Only.
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