I don’t usually read fantasy novels, but I do like to give one a chance every so often. And I am sure glad I decided to take a chance on Blue, a novel by Lou Aronica. The story follows a family, Chris Astor and his fourteen year old daughter Becky. Becky has suffered through health conditions throughout her young life, and when times were at their worst, Chris helped Becky escape her pain by creating a magical world. Each night, father and daughter would revisit the Tamarisk Kingdom, and fill the land with their imaginations.
Queen Miea of Tamarisk is facing a great battle. Her land is suffering and on the verge of becoming extinct. No on can seem to find the answers she needs in order to save her community and the people along with it. But when Becky discovers that the fantasy world she created so many years ago is real, she becomes determined to save Tamarisk, and enlists her father to help. At first thinking his daughter is dreaming of the stories, Chris is hesitant to help. But once he sees for himself the magical land he created for his daughter during the worst moments of her life, Chris will do anything to save Tamarisk- and save his daughter.
This was such a well written novel, I couldn’t praise Aronica more for the beautiful way he intertwined characters and worlds. Every last detail in the fantasy world was creative and added more to the story. There were some heartbreaking scenes along the way that had me crying, but the love between father and daughter was extremely clear and quite emotional. I loved that I chose to read this book, because there wasn’t much romance or scandal to read about. The story focused solely on the love of a family, the painful journey some must take when losing a loved one, and the gift of believing. A recommendation to all readers.
[Rating: 4.5]
