Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Waiting on Wednesday (56)

A Blue So Dark by Holly Schindler

Fifteen-year-old Aura Ambrose has been hiding a secret. Her mother, a talented artist and art teacher, is slowly being consumed by schizophrenia, and Aura has been her sole caretaker ever since Aura's dad left them. Convinced that "creative" equals crazy, Aura shuns her own artistic talent. But as her mother sinks deeper into the darkness of mental illness, the hunger for a creative outlet draws Aura toward the depths of her imagination. Just as desperation threatens to swallow her whole, Aura discovers that art, love, and family are profoundly linked—and together may offer an escape from her fears.

I'm fascinated by the depiction and workings of mental illness in YA lit. I can't explain it. Books with narrators on the autistic spectrum, depression, hallucinations caused by borderline "insanity" so that you can never be sure whether they're really or not... and now schizophrenia, one of the trickiest mental illnesses to catch, define, and treat--if there is even a need for treatment: some people function better under schizophrenia than they would without. This sensitive and deep subgenre never fails to draw me in and make me think. Holly's book is the first I remember coming across that deals with schizophrenia in teens. I'm looking forward to reading it!

A Blue So Dark will be published in paperback by Flux on May 28, 2010.

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

12 comments:

  1. Sounds very interesting. I'll have to check it out.

    Here is my WoW: http://swordsforfighting.blogspot.com/2010/03/waiting-on-wednesday-3.html

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  2. Sounds like an intense read...it's got a beautiful cover, I also hope to read it when it comes out!

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  3. Sounds interesting! And in a way so understandable that the main character shies away from the thing she believes equals insanity.

    This week I'm waiting for Mistwood by Leah Cypess :)

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  4. Great choice! This sounds really good. I'll have to keep me eye out for it. I agree with Jenn- great cover!

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  5. Ohh..I haven't seen a post about this book before..it sounds like a dark and interesting read..love the cover too

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  6. Hey! Good to see you again! This book sounds interesting, but sad. I'd have to read this on a happy day.

    Frankie

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  7. This certainly sounds interesting but I'm waiting to read some reviews before I get too excited. It might be too bleak for me.

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  8. This does sound absolutely fascinating. It sounds like there'll be an element of hope in there, which should make this one a dark story I can still face reading. Really interesting pick.

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  9. Hi Steph! I'm really looking forward to this book, too. And the cover is gorgeous.

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  10. Oh, very interesting! I find psychology to be a fascinating subject to learn and read about. This books sounds like it will be a good one!

    Emidy
    from Une Parole

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  11. Beautiful book cover it attracted me to read it. And from your review the book sounds different than other YA novels out there. I look forward to reading it.

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Hello! I'm so excited to read what you have to say. Due to high amounts of spam, I'm forced to disabled anonymous comments for the time being. Sorry for any inconvenience this causes, and I hope you can understand and still appreciate the content here!

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