Friday, July 21, 2017

A Different Blue by Amy Harmon

                                          🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 out of 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Synopsis:
Blue Echohawk doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know her real name or when she was born. Abandoned at two and raised by a drifter, she didn't attend school until she was ten years old. At nineteen, when most kids her age are attending college or moving on with life, she is just a senior in high school. With no mother, no father, no faith, and no future, Blue Echohawk is a difficult student, to say the least. Tough, hard and overtly sexy, she is the complete opposite of the young British teacher who decides he is up for the challenge, and takes the troublemaker under his wing.

This is the story of a nobody who becomes somebody. It is the story of an unlikely friendship, where hope fosters healing and redemption becomes love. But falling in love can be hard when you don't know who you are. Falling in love with someone who knows exactly who they are and exactly why they can't love you back might be impossible.


I was afraid to read this book for so long. If I'm being honest, Blue intimidated me after I read a few pages of this book on amazon a while back. I also think that I knew on some level that this particular book would hit me harder or at least differently than other Amy Harmon books. I'm glad that I finally took the plunge and read this book. It was amazing! I honestly believe that she is incapable of writing a bad book! I could see elements from her other books in this one even though A Different Blue was one of the first books that she wrote. 
Blue reminded me of Moses(The Law of Moses) as well as Samuel (Running Barefoot) many times throughout the story. She desperately wanted attention and acceptance but found herself looking in the wrong places for it. I have to admit that I misjudged her just like Darcy did in the beginning of the book. I found her to be hard, overly sexual, and rude. I wanted her to change so that it would be easier to be around her. I think that was the point. I think that Amy wanted to put readers in Darcy's position, in a way, in order to understand how she was seen and labeled by others. I think that this was also because Blue didn't even really know who she was and Amy wanted to take readers on Blue's journey of self discovery with her. Once I was able to see past that exterior that she showed to everyone by reading more, I came to love her. I saw myself in her at times which helped me to empathize with her but also made the story difficult to get through at times. I wanted nothing more than for her to be able to heal and find herself. 
I can't move on with this review without mentioning Darcy. Who doesn't love a man that quotes poetry and has the ability to make history a fascinating set of stories?!? He was kind, gentle, and had an amazing amount of love for not only his teaching but his family as well. Darcy was patient and determined even when Blue tested him at every turn. He truly lived up to his namesake! 
I feel that I should mention that although this is a romance it is not the typical teacher student romance. I know that people that have read other Amy Harmon book will understand this but I feel it is important to mention for those who haven't. It is not a sordid tale of a much older teacher doing inappropriate things with a student and trying to cover it up. Darcy and Blue have a deep and meaningful friendship that allows both of them to heal from old and new wounds. Darcy gives Blue the support that she needs in her life and she in turn shines light on a different perspective on things that had happened to him in his past.
A Different Blue combined so many things that I loved about different books from Amy which made for one amazing book! There were Native American stories scattered throughout the book that I found fascinating, characters with beautiful souls, and topics that make a reader question the world around them. Questions like: Who am I? Where am I going in life? Where have I been? I think that one of the most important lessons to take away from this book is not to judge people or label them because you don't know where they came from or what they have been through. I think that it is also important to acknowledge that we all write our own story just as Darcy mentions in the book. We, like Blue and Darcy, decide what paths to take when there is a fork in the road.  

2 comments:

  1. I love when you love a book you are afraid of reading. I haven't heard of this author. I'll have to check her out.

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  2. She's a great author! I love all of her books but my personal favorite is called Making Faces.

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