Friday Book Report: Blue by Lou Aronica

Written by Lou Aronica, and published by Fiction Studio in 2010, Blue is a novel about the power of limitless imagination and the ability to create when you truly believe. 

Chris Astor’s daughter; Becky, is the light in his world.  From the day she was born she has been his greatest joy, his entire world.  But when Becky was five she was diagnosed with leukemia and his entire world shifted on its axis.  Becky went into remission, but his marriage failed and when Becky was 10 he was divorced and moving out of the home that had once brought him so much happiness.  Now Becky is 14, just starting high school and becoming more and more detached from Chris as the days go by.  They barely see each other anymore, and when they do conversations are forced.  The connection they once had is gone and Chris desperately wants the bond he once had with his daughter to come back.

When Becky was going through chemotherapy years ago, Chris came up with the idea to create an imaginary place to take Becky’s mind off of the pain of the treatments.  They named the place “Tamarisk” and every night for years they came up with fantastical stories about the young Princess Miea who lived there.  The stories are so elaborate at times; they even had names for all the whimsical flora and fauna they created.  It was truly a special place, a place where there was no cancer for Becky, a place where Chris and his daughter could bond together.  But once the divorce was final, Becky gave up on Tamarisk which essentially severed the bond she and her father had.

It appears that Tamarisk isn’t imaginary after all.  Princess Miea is now Queen and is facing one of the biggest challenges since becoming Queen.  Tamarisk as she knows it is suffering, plants are dying off for no known reason and the results of the dying ecosystem could be fatal to Tamarisk and all who live there.  At their most challenging stage in their lives, Becky and Miea discover each another one fateful night.  Becky shares this with her father who can hardly believe what his daughter is telling him.  Becky can’t believe the place she created is actually real, Miea can’t understand how a child could imagine a world into existence, and Chris can’t believe he’s finally sharing something important with his daughter again.  For all of them, an entire new world of opportunity has presented itself.  But time is running out.  Tamarisk is dying, Becky’s cancer has come back and the three of them must work together to figure out the secret to keeping all they hold dear alive. 

This is an exceptionally moving novel.  I found I thoroughly enjoyed it, and the author does a fantastic job of bringing the imaginary world of Tamarisk to life.  He creates not only the people and places of Tamarisk, but goes so far as constructing a world with new and original plants, animals, substances, and even designs games that the children of Tamarisk can play.  Aronica truly makes you believe this place could exist, and his descriptions of this world are extremely vivid.  The one exception was his character; Gage.  Gage is an otherworldly “gatekeeper” of sorts that allows Becky to cross between the two worlds.  He’s mysterious and somewhat of an enigma, and I suppose that’s how he was written to be, but to me it just felt like he was underdeveloped and thrown in there for the sole purpose of allowing Becky to cross over without providing a real conclusive explanation for it.  Other than that, I thought all his characters were very well thought out and developed nicely throughout the book.

I found I was easily able to connect with both Chris and Becky, and the point that Aronica was trying to make throughout this book.  He’s able to really depict how divorce and estrangement can put a strain on past relationships, and he illustrates how each side reacts differently.  Chris is lost without his daughter, he’s confused that his relationship with his daughter is slipping away from him and he doesn’t know how to get it back.  Becky is absolutely hurt because of the divorce.  It feels as if her parents are forcing her to choose sides, when all she wants is for things to be the way they were.  Becky’s mother is trying to move on from everything.  She’s remarried and is trying to make a stable home for Becky, but sometimes joint custody seems to get in the way of that.  She doesn’t understand the imaginary land Chris and Becky created, and therefore resents the unique bond it gives the two of them.  Oftentimes I think she feels left out because she doesn’t believe.   While I think Aronica wanted Becky’s mother to be the “bad guy” in all of this, he was still able to illustrate that while Polly may not believe, she still loves her daughter and wants only what is best for her, even if she herself feels differently.

I’d grade this book with a B+, the storyline was clear and concise and the imagination involved was extraordinary.  It reminded me a lot of C.S Lewis.  There’s some adult language and adult situations, but I think this book would be appropriate for anyone aged 13 and up.  It’s a very good book about father’s and daughters and the special bond they have.  It’s a very touching novel about the healing powers of the imagination.  It’s about how whisking away to a fun and fanciful place can enrich and enhance our lives.  It’s also about how unselfish love can create the biggest miracles, and that magic can exist to those that are willing to open their heart and believe.