⇒ Read A Blue So Dark Holly Schindler Books

A Blue So Dark Holly Schindler Books

Download As PDF : A Blue So Dark Holly Schindler Books

A Blue So Dark Holly Schindler Books

When I read a great novel, I like to highlight lines that stand out—phrases that put me inside the character’s heart, original metaphors that probe the nuances of humanness, images that trigger a mental gasp. In A BLUE SO DARK, I stopped highlighting almost immediately because every page evokes ah-ha moments. Every single page! I would have had to highlight the whole book. Moreover the story ripples along at such a fast pace, that I couldn’t resist the forward plunge. Pausing was not an option. The momentum pulled me into Aura’s desperate, unraveling situation.

A BLUE SO DARK spirals down into the schizophrenic-mother nightmare, but at the same time Aura’s connections with other characters ground the story in relatable teen experiences. Her innocent romance with Jeremy makes her “all hot and wobbly inside” and converts her brain into “a broken piece of driftwood being slammed by the tide.” Her complicated friendship with Janny, struggling teen mom, leads Aura to reflect “…life is like peering into a kaleidoscope, and just as you’re looking at a gorgeous pattern you think you’d maybe even like to keep around forever, the colors morph into something completely different, and there’s no getting back to that first pattern.” And I love, love, love her comical reactions to the cast of classmates and school officials, like the moment that “a hundred jack-in-the-boxes” spring open inside of her.

Now that I’ve finished this beautiful book, my perspective of the role the child of a schizophrenic can be forced to play is forever changed.

And every time I see “Starry Night,” I’ll think about Aura.


Tags : Amazon.com: A Blue So Dark (9780738719269): Holly Schindler: Books,Holly Schindler,A Blue So Dark,Flux,0738719269,Family - Parents,Social Themes - Depression,Artists,Dysfunctional families,Family problems,High schools,Mental illness,Mental illness;Fiction.,Missouri,Mothers and daughters,Mothers and daughters;Fiction.,Schizophrenia,Schizophrenia;Fiction.,Schools,Literature & Fiction,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9),Children's Teenage fiction: General fiction,Fiction,General fiction (Children's Teenage),JUVENILE,JUVENILE FICTION General,Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile Grades 7-9 Ages 12-14,Social Themes - Depression & Mental Illness,TEEN'S FICTION - GENERAL,United States,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Family General (see also headings under Social Themes),YOUNG ADULT FICTION Family Parents,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Social Themes Depression,Young Adult Fiction,Young Adult FictionRomance - Contemporary,Young Adult FictionSocial Themes - Mental Illness,young adult; teen fiction; fiction; teen; teenager; angst; drama,JUVENILE FICTION General,Social Themes - Depression & Mental Illness,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Family General (see also headings under Social Themes),YOUNG ADULT FICTION Family Parents,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Social Themes Depression,Young Adult FictionRomance - Contemporary,Young Adult FictionSocial Themes - Mental Illness,Young Adult Fiction,Fiction,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9),Children's Teenage fiction: General fiction,General fiction (Children's Teenage)

A Blue So Dark Holly Schindler Books Reviews

Why I read this The cover looked cool and it's a debut novel. I made the mistake of wanting a book because it was pretty.

Plot Aura's mother is schizophrenic and she decides to take it upon herself to deal with it. Her father is hands off, never broaching the topic because he is busy having his own new family. Aura doesn't go to anyone, afraid of losing her mother completely. In other words, she ends up having to deal with her mother as if she was the child - not vice versa.

Characters I feel like we never get to know who Aura is because of her focus on her mother. She throws all of her energy into keeping the appearance of normalcy up. Like her mother, she is artistic, but she worries that it is art that has driven her mother insane and so she stays away from it like the plague. Her best friend already has a kid and is only in high school, her father has started a new life with a new family, and she's pretty much alone in the world - her mother being mentally incapacitated sometimes. I feel like what she deals with defines her instead of what is inside her.

Relatability I couldn't quite relate to this. To be honest, I was a bit bored. There was only hints of could-be side plots, without any real delivery. I wanted to smack Aura for not calling someone and helping her mother sooner so that they wouldn't be in any danger of losing everything they had. I've really never had this situation and while it was slightly intriguing, I felt like it was dragged out.

Cover commentary Gorgeous - one of the reasons I picked up this book.
Unlike many books for young adults, A Blue So Dark tackles a difficult subject from a fresh perspective--not only what it is like to live with a mentally ill family member, but the pervasive fear that their illness is running in your blood as well.
Aura is artistic, but she becomes afraid of her talents when her artist mother's schizophrenia becomes more apparent. Perhaps art equals crazy. She doesn't want to end up like her mother, yet her life spirals out of control as discontent deepens and her mother's condition worsens. Her father is gone, divorced and remarried, so Aura and her mother are on their own. Aura faces this burden without knowing whom to turn to, shunning school and friends to help a woman who's become unrecognizable. This a captivating literary novel and an amazing debut from the author.
wow what an intense novel, but i loved every minute of it, and can't wait to read playing hurt that comes out in March of 2011.

This story focuses on a girl named Aura and her mother who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Aura's father leaves them because its too much for him to handle and her mother refuses to take her medication for her illness. Aura promises her mother she won't give her medications again and slowly see's her mother slip into the realm of madness. With a best friend who just had a baby and who's boyfriend left her alone to raise him, she has problems of her own, and Aura's are too much for her too handle on top on her own dilemmas.

This story is raw, emotional, and definitely a real look into the life of a schizophrenic and the madness and creativity that surronds it.
When I read a great novel, I like to highlight lines that stand out—phrases that put me inside the character’s heart, original metaphors that probe the nuances of humanness, images that trigger a mental gasp. In A BLUE SO DARK, I stopped highlighting almost immediately because every page evokes ah-ha moments. Every single page! I would have had to highlight the whole book. Moreover the story ripples along at such a fast pace, that I couldn’t resist the forward plunge. Pausing was not an option. The momentum pulled me into Aura’s desperate, unraveling situation.

A BLUE SO DARK spirals down into the schizophrenic-mother nightmare, but at the same time Aura’s connections with other characters ground the story in relatable teen experiences. Her innocent romance with Jeremy makes her “all hot and wobbly inside” and converts her brain into “a broken piece of driftwood being slammed by the tide.” Her complicated friendship with Janny, struggling teen mom, leads Aura to reflect “…life is like peering into a kaleidoscope, and just as you’re looking at a gorgeous pattern you think you’d maybe even like to keep around forever, the colors morph into something completely different, and there’s no getting back to that first pattern.” And I love, love, love her comical reactions to the cast of classmates and school officials, like the moment that “a hundred jack-in-the-boxes” spring open inside of her.

Now that I’ve finished this beautiful book, my perspective of the role the child of a schizophrenic can be forced to play is forever changed.

And every time I see “Starry Night,” I’ll think about Aura.