Review: "Blue" by Lou Aronica

Chris has been lost since his divorce. He misses the hum and routines of his former household, but he mainly misses his daughter, Becky. She's into her teens now and he's finding it increasingly difficult to connect with her, especially since she seems to blame him for the changes in her life since the divorce. Becky has overcome some tremendous challenges in her young life, one of them being a battle with leukemia, and one of the things that comforted her through that time was the fantasy world of Tamarisk that she created with her dad. When Becky discovers that the fantasy world that she and her dad created is real, and is a place that she can reach through meditation, she eagerly embraces the things and places that she created in her childhood. She becomes friends with the queen, Miea, who is astonished that Becky created her world when she was only a child. Both young women are unsure why their paths are crossing only now, and it's up to them to discover the secret to why their worlds have collided.

Blue is one of those fictional novels that has it all- suspense and fantasy, solid characters and a little drama thrown in for good measure. I really enjoyed the story of Becky and her dad, Chris. The character of Becky felt so realistic to me. She was going through so many typically teenage events in her life: dating, longing for acceptance, and periods of extreme moodiness. Yet there was more than that to her- she really came alive as a character when she starts visiting the land that she created when she was a child.

I'll admit that I enjoyed the non-fantastical portions of Blue the best. The portions that occur in Tamarisk were beautifully written, but I didn't enjoy them as much. It's been a long time since I've read a novel with fantastical elements in the plot, and I thought that I would give fantasy novels another try, but I suppose that they're just not for me personally.

On the whole I enjoyed Blue. It was well-written and the characters were easy to relate to, but be warned: read this one with a box of tissues on hand! Recommended to those who enjoy their novels with a healthy dose of fantasy thrown in.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5