Book Review: Aqua Blue

Author:  Marian L. Thomas
Title: Aqua Blue
Publisher: LB Publishing
Publish Date: July 1, 2013
Buy: Amazon

Review Copy Provided By: Reading Addiction Book Tours & the author
Book Blurb: 

In 1968 a child was born. Her father's eyes boast a beautiful green and her mother was born with hazel. Yet, AQUA BLUE was brought into the world with neither.

Haley wishes her parents would forget her. Her mother wants to control her, her father constantly beats on her and Haley, however, just wants to dance on Broadway. Will her dreams cost her more than she ever expected?

Jonathan Jacob Benjamin Brown is running from the memory of a mother he loved. His journey will thrust him into a world filled with secrets so shocking, he must determine whether he will forgive or walk away.

As they each step foot into the intoxicating city of New York, their dreams are standing before them with open arms. Yet, in order to embrace the possibilities, they must first learn to live, love, and breathe.

Review:  What to say about this book? At first I didn't know what to make of it. It was a little disjointed and listening to Haley and Aqua Blue talk was unnerving because Marian wrote their dialogue the way it should have been written for these two poor Southern girls.

There's so much crammed into these 200 pages that it is hard to believe that Marian has told such an emotional story, of not one...or two..or even three characters..but really five. This book chronicles the lives of both girls as well as Jonathan and then his aunt and mother in flashback form from the 60s.

And their stories don't involve fluffy family life. There's spousal abuse, child abuse, interracial marriage, bigotry. You name it, it seems to fit on these pages.

I still haven't figured out how such a short book, filled with such heavy themes managed to be so fulfilling.

Each character's story was well rounded even though they were told often side by side and skipping through time, with Jonathan's mother and aunt's story being told as part 2 of the book.

The ending is heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time.

This isn't your typical Southern novel...though you can't take the south of the characters, because their background plays such a huge part in defining who each of them are. It is more a novel of finding themselves, of coming of age, and starting to live.

I also love how she mentions two of her other books in the story as well.

Marian Thomas is definitely an author to watch!

Rating: 5 flowers