Bitter Rose: Color Me Crushed (TrueColors Series #8) [Paperback]

Melody Carlson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 2006

Maggie blames her mom for the family's disintegration. "She’s driven him away with her constant nagging and complaining and arguing. Honestly, who could stand to live with that woman?" she vents to her friend Claire.

However, there's more to the story, and Maggie desperately wants to know the truth--something nobody seems willing to tell her.

The eighth book in the TrueColors teen fiction series, Bitter Rose takes an honest look at divorce, forgiveness, and relationships.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Maggie blames her mom for the family's disintegration. "She’s driven him away with her constant nagging and complaining and arguing. Honestly, who could stand to live with that woman?" she vents to her friend Claire. However, there's more to the story, and Maggie desperately wants to know the truth--something nobody seems willing to tell her.

About the Author

Melody Carlson is the best-selling author of more than one hundred books, including young adult favorites Dark Blue, Deep Green, and Torch Red--the first three books in the TrueColors Series. She has two grown sons and enjoys an active lifestyle of hiking, skiing, and biking. She lives in the beautiful Oregon Cascade Mountains with her husband and Labrador retriever.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: NavPress (January 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576835367
• ISBN-13: 978-1576835364
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #509,073 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Melody Carlson has written around 200 books for teens, women and children. That's a lot of books, but mostly she considers herself a "storyteller." Her books range from serious issues like schizophrenia (Finding Alice) to lighter topics like house-flipping (A Mile in My Flip-Flops) but most of the inspiration behind her fiction comes right out of real life. Her young adult novels (Diary of a Teenage Girl, TrueColors etc.) appeal to teenage girls around the world. Her annual Christmas novellas become more popular each year. She's won a number of awards (including the Rita and Gold Medallion) and some of her books have been optioned for film/TV. Carlson has two grown sons and makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and yellow Lab dog. To find out more about Melody Carlson, visit her website at http://www.melodycarlson.com/

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bitter Rose, May 22, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Bitter Rose: Color Me Crushed (TrueColors Series #8) (Paperback)

Bitter Rose by Melody Carlson is about a girl whose parents are splitting up. The girl is named Maggie. Maggie is trying to get her parents back together. Maggie finds out that the reason her mom kicked her dad out was because he was cheating on her. In the end, Maggie realized to stay out of it even though her parents don't get back together.
When I read this book, I thought it was going to be boring. After I got farther in the book, it got more interesting. The lesson I learned was to stay out of other people's business. People who like the other color books in this series would like this one. I would love to read more books by Melody Carlson. All of her books try to teach all of us a lesson.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding book, wonderfully done..., August 18, 2006

By 

Lisa (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bitter Rose: Color Me Crushed (TrueColors Series #8) (Paperback)

This is a great book, by Melody Carson, about a girl who is a senior in high school, Maggie, whose parents are suddenly getting a divorce. I think this is the only book that I have read, that truly captures the impact of divorce on the kids in the family. Maggie is torn between her father who she loves, and her mother who she never got along with. When she learns the real reason of the divorce, she is shocked, hurt, and stunned that this could happen to her family, but she also is trying to piece the family she once knew, back together with what little information she has. This is a real life lesson in this book, and that is EVERY family has problems. Every family out there has something wrong, and the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. This was a novel that wasn't exciting to read, but had some truths in it, and that made it worthwhile to read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Family Feud, August 6, 2007

By 

Deborah "Books, Movies and Chinese Food" (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Bitter Rose: Color Me Crushed (TrueColors Series #8) (Paperback)

Maggie's family is going through a very rough time. Her parents have separated and on the verge of getting a divorce. Their bitterness spreads to Maggie who wants her parents to get back together and realize that they can work things out. But this won't happen because Maggie blames her mom for her dad leaving. Feeling as though her family has failed her, she turns to her aunt with whom she can share her true feelings with. However when the truth about her parents' split comes out and a tragedy strikes the family, Maggie has to learn whether she really wants this bitterness to take control of her life.

Once again, Melody Carlson focuses on another subject that is touchy among the Christian church. Divorce is not something a lot of people like to talk about. Therefore teens who are in families that have divorce often have no one to talk to and go through their suffering alone. Maggie's pain is understandable. No one wants to see their family split up. You don't want to see the two people who are supposed to promote family unity just give up and walk out on you. It makes sense that Maggie is bitter and cynical towards her parents. I just didn't like though how she didn't have all the facts and kept lashing out at her mother and blaming her for the split. She didn't give her a chance to explain and kept siding with her dad. So when the truth finally comes out, it hurts Maggie more than anything. I'm glad the ending of the novel doesn't end happily. Many Christian novels have everyone making up with the family getting back together and hugs all around. Unfortunately that is not always realistic. Maggie's faith keeps her strong throughout this whole ordeal. There is a subplot which involves teen drinking and the ill effects of it. With both parents involved with their own affairs, there's no one for Maggie to turn to so she gives into peer pressure and then pays for the consequences. This is an excellent book for teens who have experienced divorce. Highly recommended teen reading.