Customer Reviews

Born Blue

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Many professionals are writing about reactive attachment disorder, but this is the first book I've encountered that allows the reader to see into the soul of a child with this condition. The author does not attempt to sponge up the messes the protagonist creates for herself. Instead Han Nolan helps the reader understand why a child with this condition views the world without empathy for others. The protagonist's only concern is for herself because she cannot trust anyone else to care for her. The world is, after all, a very dangerous place. Despite the protagonist's anti-social actions, the reader experiences compassion for her. Perhaps this book will help more people become aware of RAD. We must continue to seek therapeutic alternatives for these children.

When you first meet Janie, you know her life must be tough from the way she speeks and her lack of comprehension of everyday concepts common to suburban life. Janie comes from a heroine addict mother and right away the reader is sprung into her journey. Janie goes through many hardships including foster care, being sold for heroine, kidnapping, and constantly has new people in and out of her life. All the while Janie-Leshaysa is going after her dream of being a singer. Don't be fooled, this novel isn't some sappy musician's story. This novel is fierce and Leshaya is raw. It's amazing to see her effect on the people she comes across and their reaction to her. You think you know what is going to happen, but really you have no idea.There are so many twists and issues such as Janie's identitiy- who is her father, her baby's father, her denial of being white. I loved the ending because Nolan surprises the readers. The book is somewhat unconventional and readers will read the book from start to finish. Please beleive that readers will remember Janie-Leshaya long after finishing the novel.

Born Blue by Han Nolan is about a girl with a herion addict mother. Janie or Leshaya has been through many foster homes, physical abuse, unwanted pregnancy and death. The only thing that makes Leshaya feel good is signing. Leshaya is a survivor of her painful past.
I liked this book because it tells people what some foster children go through. The book also tells me how hard it is to live in foster homes, and how hard it is to be physically abused. This book teaches me that if you have a goal and you want to achive it do what ever it takes no matter how bad your life has been. to survive you must be a survivor.-Tyeisha

This book was so amazing.I read this book ounce and just had to read it again.It is one of my favorite books and it is a book that I recomend for any1.Born Blue deserves an award................a very special one.Whenever blue you know what book to turn to

Leshaya will climb inside your head and bounce around for weeks after you've finished Born Blue. It's a tragic story of girl who didn't get what she needed - and deserved - and your heart will ache for her at every turn of the page.

Leshaya is one of the most memorable young American narrators since Huck Finn.

This was an appropriate book at the high school for inner city students who find they can relate with the story and the characters. I had no trouble getting my students to take turns reading, doing their homework, and writing on this book. It hit home for my low-income students who are faced with sexuality, drugs, alcohol, running away, and poor choices. It was excellent for discussing what alternate choices could have been made and what those outcomes could have been.

Leshaya (Janie) can't get things strait. Why wasn't she black? Why did her mother leave her to drown in the ocean? Why is everyone against her?

As you read this you find yourself becoming mad because you can't believe the things she does to herself and others. People like Paul , Mrs. Trane, the James, and Rosalie only wanted to help her but she refuses the loving kindness and help and continues to tumble downhill.

I recommend this to anyone who loves depressing bittersweet books. I've read it at least 5 times and still can't stop reading it. You'll find yourself thinking about Leshaya for weeks afterward. I would not recommend this book to kids under 13. I myself had to sort of skip over the adult matieral. So get out there and read it already!!

Leshaya isn't your average teenage girl; well I wouldn't be either if I had a childhood like hers. All her life, Leshaya lived in a stupid foster home where the parents didn't even care about her. The only thing she ever enjoyed was listening to the ladies with Harmon, her foster brother. When Leshaya grew up, she wanted to be just like them, a singer. She'll do anything to become one. All her life she has made really bad decisions, stealing from the James', running away, and having a baby at age 13. Will she ever make a right decision and become a singer? Will she find a nice place for her to live forever? These questions and many more are answered throughout the book.
This was okay; it was a bit depressing. It did, however, keep me wanting to read, wondering what crazy thing that Leshaya was going to do next. Sometimes I would just be like, "Did she really just do that?" I would recommend this book to anyone who likes bittersweet books.

This was an extremely dramatic book. It dealt with some pretty delicate situations.

Leshaya lives with her mother for a short time. Her mother is a heroine addict. Leshaya goes to a first foster home; her new mother is a nervous control freak and her new father is quiet and gone all the time, but Leshaya likes him. Then her mother shows up: her new Father is a drug dealer and sold her mother heroine. Leshaya goes to many foster homes and goes through alot. She ends up at the same place she started, right at the side of her mother.

I liked the book, don't get me wrong, but there were alot of things that got to me about the book:

1) Leshaya is any thing but a hero: she lets herself go at any time: drugs, sex, any thing.
2) Leshaya is stupid. She does stupid things to people who care about her and ruins all the relationships in her life.
3) The end of the book was extremely disappointing.

A good book, but defidentily not one of my favorites.

~Atalanta

This was an excellent book. I recommend this book for teens, or very mature people. No kids! Han Nolan is a real writer. She takes real problems and gives them real answers, not like fairy tales. In this book she writes about a girl who is desperate to sing the blues. Born into a life of hardship, this girl is determined to get on top, no matter what.