Thursday 4 April 2013

A Different Blue by Amy Harmon

Reviewed by Donna 5 Stars

If I could give this book a million stars I would...this book was totally AMAZEBALLS, I absolutely loved it, adored it and fell in love with it. It had me hook, line and sinker from the very beginning and I devoured it in one sitting!

"Blue Echohawk doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know her real name or when she was born. Abandoned at two and raised by a drifter, she didn't attend school until she was ten years old. At nineteen, when most kids her age are attending college or moving on with life, she is just a senior in high school. With no mother, no father, no faith, and no future, Blue Echohawk is a difficult student, to say the least. Tough, hard and overtly sexy, she is the complete opposite of the young British teacher who decides he is up for the challenge, and takes the troublemaker under his wing.

This is the story of a nobody who becomes somebody. It is the story of an unlikely friendship, where hope fosters healing and redemption becomes love. But falling in love can be hard when you don't know who you are. Falling in love with someone who knows exactly who they are and exactly why they can't love you back might be impossible".

The writing had me gripped, was totally emotional all the way through and the connection I felt towards the characters was as if I was there with them. I adored Blue and Wilson..I was rooting for them from the start. Even though it was student/teacher after graduation I was come on Wilson!!!!!

This book starts with an outline into Blue's history, she is half Native American and half American..her mum took her on a road trip when she was 2 to get away from it all and ended up dumping her in another Native American's truck..she was subsequently murdered 2 days later..Jimmy Echohawk kept the child and named her Blue..she was living on the road till she was 10 years old with Jimmy learning the ways of the land and how to carve wood. This turned out to be her refuge. One day he did not come back and she was subsequently put into the care of Jimmy's sister. (she was not abandoned by Jimmy though but we see what happens later and I don't want to spoil it.

The story then picks up when Blue is 19/20 and at high school in her final year, Wilson is her history teacher..he is only 22 (he was a super intelligent guy that had graduated early). She tried to rebel in class and tried to make fun of him but her saw through her. There is a lot of history taught through this book and I really enjoyed it, it brought the story together perfectly. It was during an exercise for each student to write their history when Blue actually revealed to Wilson that she had no history as she did not know who she was..the words that she wrote during this exercise were painful to read and just made me love her even more.

I don't want to write too much as it will give the plot away and spoil it for everyone but Wilson takes Blue under his wing after she graduates and tries to help her find herself whilst going through so many struggles along the way. I loved the side characters especially Wilson's sister.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough I was totally blown away and it is a story that I will re read over and over again...I totally loved it..now to check out what else Amy Harmon has written.