"Blue" by Lou Aronica + CONTEST

From Goodreads: "Chris Astor is a man in his early forties who is going through the toughest stretch of his life. Becky is Chris's fourteen-year-old daughter, a girl who overcame enormous challenges to become a vibrant, vital young woman - and now faces her greatest obstacle yet. Miea is the young queen of a fantasy land that Becky and Chris created when Becky was little, a fantasy land that has developed a life of its own and now finds itself in terrible, maybe fatal trouble. Together, Chris, Becky, and Miea need to uncover a secret. The secret to why their worlds have joined at this moment. The secret to their purpose. The secret to the future. It is a secret that, when discovered, will redefine imagination for all of them. Blue is a novel of trial and hope, invention and rediscovery. It might very well take you someplace you never knew existed."

There is a treasure hiding behind this somewhat ambiguous cover. I feel like if you were to mix together "My Sister's Keeper" (or any book written by Lurlene McDaniel), "Bridge to Terabithia", with a little dash of "The Time Traveler's Wife" and "The Lovely Bones" and you would end up with this book. It is a beautiful story of the rekindling of relationships which should not have been lost- that of father and daughter and that of imagination and everyday life.

Though this book is intended for young adults I sort of feel like this book has a bit more of a heavier storyline/ subject matter than most teens are accustomed to. That is not to say that young adults will not like this book by any means, I think that many will, but I think that adults will more so enjoy this book.  Furthermore, I do believe that some teens will have a bit of difficulty relating to this story due to the fact that it is written out of a father's fear that his daughter is outgrowing him and as such he will no longer play such a prevalent role in her life.

Becky was such a strong character and entirely likeable. I loved the way that she interacted with all of the secondary characters like her best friend Lonnie and her stepfather Al. Furthermore her reconnecting with her father was extremely touching. Tamarisk was such a beautifully created world and Miea was extremely interesting to read about, she is unlike any character I have come across before. As mentioned, it was a bit difficult to connect to Chris because being a young adult I have yet to experience all of the emotional turmoils that he has, but that was one of his greatest contributions to the story- that he was so realistic and I could easily imagine him being one of my neighbors or a person I always see at the grocery store. Though the plot might be somewhat predictable but that doesn't make the anticipated outcome of the novel any easier to swallow when it does occur.

If you like fantasy I think that you will love this book, and if you don't like fantasy? Well, I still think that you will love this book as it touches upon so many other aspects of fiction in it besides just fantasy.

Rating: 3/5

(I received this book from Tracee L. Gleichner (PR Specialist and Virtual Book Tour Coordinator) and Lou Aronica. I was not compensated for my review).

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 CONTEST!!! 

How often do you hear about something that sounds too good to be true? Well, I am here to offer 10 lucky winners the opportunity of a lifetime.

New York Times bestselling co-author, novelist, and former Publisher of Avon Books and Berkley Books, Lou Aronica has created a unique and exciting offer to anyone that is going to follow his upcoming book tour with Pump Up Your Book. His extensive experience in the publishing and editing fields has given him insight into an industry that continues to grow and change daily. Once again, that insight has led him to offer a contest that is truly special in so many ways. Lou will be accepting story pitches from followers of his blog tour. These story pitches must be for short stories pertaining to the fantasy world of his novel, “Blue.” This contest will allow 10 lucky people the opportunity of a lifetime, the chance to have their story published in an upcoming companion anthology to “Blue.” Lou will hand pick the winners, edit their stories, include them in the anthology and give them a pro-rated share of the royalties. How can you pass up an opportunity like this?

Now for the details:

• The pitch should include a synopsis of the proposed story and a sample of the submitting author’s fiction writing. Specify the expected length of the story.

• The pitch needs to be submitted by April 16, 2011

• Please email your submission to Lou at laronica@fictionstudio.com

• All winners will be notified by email by May 27, 2011.