A very dark and sad tale. Schizophrenia is never a disease to be romanticized, and the author of this story makes it clear that the heartbreak of mental illness can last DECADES.
Aura is a great character, and she's one of those that I'd love to be able to give her a hug, let her know she doesn't have to be alone, and that it's all going to be okay.
I would think carefully about having an actual young adult read this book. It's a "deep in the trenches" type book, and it's a story to be told, but not all teens can handle something like this. I can see this book being very useful in a college curriculum, but not at a high school level. This is my personal opinion though, and since I don't have any actual live teens in my social circle, I could be way off base.
Aura is a great character, and she's one of those that I'd love to be able to give her a hug, let her know she doesn't have to be alone, and that it's all going to be okay.
I would think carefully about having an actual young adult read this book. It's a "deep in the trenches" type book, and it's a story to be told, but not all teens can handle something like this. I can see this book being very useful in a college curriculum, but not at a high school level. This is my personal opinion though, and since I don't have any actual live teens in my social circle, I could be way off base.
Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com
Schizophrenia is at the center of A BLUE SO DARK. Aura has grown up surrounded by the disease. She never knew her grandfather, who suffered from the condition, and because her mother also developed the disease, Aura lives in fear that she will someday become schizophrenic as well.
For the last three years, high school student Aura has been her mother's primary care-giver. Despite memories of her parents' deep love for one another, Aura's father finally gave up on his wife and left her for someone younger and healthier. Aura can't believe he simply dismissed them for his new life - with only the advice that Aura should be sure to keep giving her mother her meds.
Unfortunately, Aura didn't heed his advice. When Grace begged her daughter to throw away her medications, Aura agreed. Since then it has been a downhill slide for the mentally ill woman. With her best friend involved in her own personal issues and her father busy with his new wife and child, Aura's support system has collapsed. Watching her mother suffer one episode after another, Aura final realizes things are beyond her control.
There is one last person who might be able to provide the help Aura desperately needs, but does she have the nerve to seek out that help? All she knows is that her own descent into schizophrenia is her greatest fear.
Debut author Holly Schindler takes readers into the world of the mentally ill. Through her main character, Schindler presents a realistic and frightening view of a disease that takes a devastating toll on the individual and his/her loved ones. Schindler shows great promise as a contributor in the area of young adult fiction.
Schizophrenia is at the center of A BLUE SO DARK. Aura has grown up surrounded by the disease. She never knew her grandfather, who suffered from the condition, and because her mother also developed the disease, Aura lives in fear that she will someday become schizophrenic as well.
For the last three years, high school student Aura has been her mother's primary care-giver. Despite memories of her parents' deep love for one another, Aura's father finally gave up on his wife and left her for someone younger and healthier. Aura can't believe he simply dismissed them for his new life - with only the advice that Aura should be sure to keep giving her mother her meds.
Unfortunately, Aura didn't heed his advice. When Grace begged her daughter to throw away her medications, Aura agreed. Since then it has been a downhill slide for the mentally ill woman. With her best friend involved in her own personal issues and her father busy with his new wife and child, Aura's support system has collapsed. Watching her mother suffer one episode after another, Aura final realizes things are beyond her control.
There is one last person who might be able to provide the help Aura desperately needs, but does she have the nerve to seek out that help? All she knows is that her own descent into schizophrenia is her greatest fear.
Debut author Holly Schindler takes readers into the world of the mentally ill. Through her main character, Schindler presents a realistic and frightening view of a disease that takes a devastating toll on the individual and his/her loved ones. Schindler shows great promise as a contributor in the area of young adult fiction.
A BLUE SO DARK is an astonishing achievement by debut author Holly Schindler. Aura's story is horrifying, enthralling, and touching all at once.
I have never read a book about schizophrenia before, but Holly Schindler writes these heartbreaking scenes between Aura and her mother with a conviction that thus carries into the reader, absorbing us until we, like Aura, cannot escape from the horror. This writer's confidence shows in the character of Aura, who doesn't necessarily approach her situation with more aplomb than reasonable in a teenager, but who also doesn't dissolve into histrionics. Aura keeps her narration poetic yet direct, even as her mother further deteriorates, and this contrast in situation vs. presentation only serves to amplify the terror that she--and we, connected as we are to her--feel as we watch her mom.
A BLUE SO DARK is really a story about family, and thus while some non-family characters are not quite as strongly developed (e.g. Aura's crush and best friend), we really get a complete sense of the important family members: the three generations of women in Aura's family, each of whom is satisfyingly different in action yet similar because they are family.
A BLUE SO DARK, with its evocative cover and fascinating premise, blew me away with the way it handled such a delicate issue. This is a real good one to read if you're looking to expand your experience with books about psychological illnesses. Can't wait to see what Holly has for us next!
I have never read a book about schizophrenia before, but Holly Schindler writes these heartbreaking scenes between Aura and her mother with a conviction that thus carries into the reader, absorbing us until we, like Aura, cannot escape from the horror. This writer's confidence shows in the character of Aura, who doesn't necessarily approach her situation with more aplomb than reasonable in a teenager, but who also doesn't dissolve into histrionics. Aura keeps her narration poetic yet direct, even as her mother further deteriorates, and this contrast in situation vs. presentation only serves to amplify the terror that she--and we, connected as we are to her--feel as we watch her mom.
A BLUE SO DARK is really a story about family, and thus while some non-family characters are not quite as strongly developed (e.g. Aura's crush and best friend), we really get a complete sense of the important family members: the three generations of women in Aura's family, each of whom is satisfyingly different in action yet similar because they are family.
A BLUE SO DARK, with its evocative cover and fascinating premise, blew me away with the way it handled such a delicate issue. This is a real good one to read if you're looking to expand your experience with books about psychological illnesses. Can't wait to see what Holly has for us next!
