THE LOWDOWN:
All dead. No one survived. All dead.
This morbid chant haunts seventeen-year-old Blue as she trudges through the countryside with just the clothes on her back, heading to her childhood home on the ocean. Something absolutely awful has happened, she knows it, but she doesn’t know what. She can’t even remember her name, so she calls herself Blue. This gripping survival story—peppered with flashbacks to bittersweet times with her boyfriend, Jake—strips life down to its bare bones. Blue learns, with the help of a seemingly magical stray dog and kind people along the road, that the important thing is to live.
FIRST IMPRESSION:
All dead. No one survived. All dead.
The words pound in my head like mini explosions going off again and again and again.
All dead. Boom!
No one survived. Boom!
All dead. Boom!
I don’t know what these words mean.
SNAPSHOT:
Blue wakes up walking on a long, deserted stretch of road she doesn’t recognize, wearing shorts, flips-flops, and with only a stick of Lifesavers in her pockets. The teenager knows something bad has happened, but she doesn’t know what: only that no one survived. Her feet are taking her somewhere, and so she follows. Along the way, she encounters strangers both kind and cruel, a magical dog who helps her stay safe, and faces her fears and identity.
The narrative is told through the oft-unreliable Blue. Is Shadow, the dog, magical and telepathic? Or is it all just in her head? The slow pace of the reveals may have some readers skimming to get more information. While interesting, the ultimate twists feel like the beginning of the final act, as the truth is heavily hinted at early on.
Readers would benefit from deep discussions on the state of homelessness in the United States, and the reality of squatting, hitchhiking, and freeganism. Also deals with bullying, self-image, memory, death, and trauma.
Appropriate for ages 13+. Some strong language, intense situations, drugs and alcohol use, and the perils of being a teenage girl on her own walking 500 miles.
GET IT ON YOUR SHELF:
If you…
- Enjoy personal mysteries, magical animals, and the kindness of strangers
- Are a survivor
- Want a glimpse of life on the street for a teen on her own
- Have ever been too afraid to ask for help
THE ESSENTIALS:
Contemporary YA Mystery
Hardcover & Ebook, 224 pages
Published May 7th, 2013 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (ISBN 0618959610)
http://www.hmhco.com/shop/books/Nothing-but-Blue/9780618959617
(Review copy provided by Karen Walsh at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.)