Follow the Blue [Paperback]

Brigid Lowry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 21, 2006

Life isn't neat and tidy. It's like a whole lot of balls of brightly colored wool thrown in a basket, with stray beginnings and endings and possibilities everywhere. Let's follow the blue.

Fifteen-year-old Bec has always been the good girl. Growing up with an eccentric celebrity chef mother and a father who suffers from depression, Bec is used to taking care of her two younger siblings and being labeled "the sensible one." But when Bec's parents decide to take a six-week tour of the U.S., she decides that she is sick of being responsible and is ready for some adventures of her own. She meets a new friend named Jaz, dyes her hair, wins money, throws her first party, and then there's the boy thing...
In this intoxicating novel by award-winning author and poet Brigid Lowry, Bec realizes that maybe she isn't so ordinary after all--and that sometimes it doesn't hurt to, as her mother would say, "lighten up and enjoy the ride."

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up-This coming-of-age novel set in Australia is peppered with local slang. Bec, the narrator, has a carefree, dashing style, and sprinklings of familiar family dramas, school-lunch gossips, and inevitable crushes on older boys abound. At 15, she must cope with her father's breakdown and gradual recovery, her parents' extended trip abroad, and the "dull and plodding" housekeeper who is put in charge. Flying by the seat of her apricot chiffon skirt, Bec fields her younger siblings' quirks, deals with peer pressure to experiment with drugs and lose her "vees," and experiences the skateboard recklessness of first love. Essentially a well-balanced, bright, and creative girl, she finds too much happening in her life and has trouble coping. Readers will identify with her caution, whimsy, and outrageousness-a fine adolescent mix of good girl and free spirit. Despite Bec's often feeling like a complete "wally," she is very likable and ingenuous. Lowry is also a poet, and she paints lovely splashes of color that transcend and augment the characters' trials and tribulations. An of-the-moment quality permeates this novel, with frequent mentions of current pop bands and fashion fads. Although it may become quickly dated, this one is worth "bunging" onto the shelves as it's a "hell-fun" read.
Roxanne Myers Spencer, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Gr. 8-12. Imagine a more functional Georgia Nicolson (of Louise Rennison's Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging) in Perth, Australia, and you'll have the main character in this exhilarating novel. When 15-year-old Bec's parents leave for a month-long business trip (following her father's mental breakdown and subsequent recovery), Bec and her two younger siblings are left in the care of a dowdy housekeeper. Bec is tired of being the good, sensible girl who keeps everything together, and she takes advantage of this parent-free time to indulge in a little rebellion, such as coloring her hair and discovering the opposite sex. A lot goes on in this very funny romp, some of it quite profound, and Lowry manages to remain mercifully nonpreachy throughout. As in her previous title, Guitar Highway Rose [BKL F 15 04], Lowry uses many different stylistic devices (lists, postcards, poems, how-to instructions, and cleverly titled vignettes) to terrific effect. The text is filled with Aussie and British phrases and sayings (and there's no glossary), but that won't stop readers from thoroughly enjoying this delightful trip down under. Debbie Carton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (March 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312342977
• ISBN-13: 978-0312342975
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,487,736 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An honest and intelligent novel, May 31, 2006

By 

Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Follow the Blue (Paperback)

In this funny and wise Australian novel, 15-year-old Bec's mother, Vera, is a celebrity chef. Her father, Lewis, is an architect who recently has had a breakdown and been admitted to a mental hospital with severe depression.

It's a black time for Bec's family. Her nine-year-old sister Bing finds some comfort in her new guinea pig, Begonia. Eleven-year-old Josh is glued to his computer and no longer tries to share long-winded information on off-the-wall subjects. Vera drinks too much wine, while Bec composes collages to quell her own sorrow over her father.

Finally, Lewis is released from the hospital. That afternoon, the three kids are home alone when the gate is left open and Begonia escapes. Bing is so upset over her missing pet, which puts a damper on the homecoming --- until Begonia reappears.

Time passes. Just as the family begins to settle back into contentment, Vera and Lewis announce they're going to the United States on a book tour and will be gone for six weeks. Bec is furious but feels she must be a good sport about it. Mrs. Dempster, soon known as "Mrs. D," joins the household as housekeeper in the parents' absence. Unfortunately, Mrs. D is the dullest woman Bec knows.

But Mrs. D is not without her charms. She cooks a mean pizza, watches "The Simpsons" with the kids, feeds them junk food --- and she once knew the Beatles! Although her siblings are soon Mrs. D's fans, Bec doesn't like her. She misses her parents with a fierce dark yearning.

Bec's horoscope predicts great luck, which immediately comes true in a big WOWza way. She also makes a new friend, Jaz --- and meets Jaz's gorgeous older brother. Bec senses a major change happening within herself. Before she knows it, she's acting in a manner that is both foreign and confusing. Can she find her way out of the maze of boy troubles, home disaster and school issues?

There is so much to love about FOLLOW THE BLUE, I don't know where to begin. First of all, it is both humorous and intelligent. The plot is simple yet deep, with subtle twists. Bec is a completely real person who can make the reader laugh out loud and who sometimes makes mistakes. She has adventures but they never feel like comic book episodes, enjoys a refreshing and tender (yet never icky-sweet) relationship with her siblings, and is a caring friend. In addition to this likeable main character, there is a quirky but complex cast (even the adults are multi-layered and believable --- a rather rare accomplishment). And author Brigid Lowry's voice is lyrical and original.

One of the many great pleasures of reading is discovering a new favorite author. I look forward to reading every book this gifted writer has published. Highest recommendation.

--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon ([e-mail])

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book I'll ever read, November 30, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Follow the Blue (Hardcover)

Three words. Read. This. Book. Seriously. This is an awesome book. Bec, the narrator, is believable, honest, and funny. Here's a synopsis of the story: Bec is 15 years old, and living in Perth, Australia. Her mother, Vera, is a celebrity cook. Vera's agent arranges for her to travel around Australia and the US to promote her cookboks. But here's the catch: Vera is only taking Bec's father, Lewis, recently released from a mental hospital, with her. This leaves Bec, her brother Josh, and her sister Beatrice, a.k.a. "Bing," stranded in Perth with Mrs. Dempster, a strict, boring housekeeper. When Mrs. D breaks her leg, the kids enjoy a week on their own, living off the 500 dollars that Bec won in the lottery, with funny and unexpected results.

This is honestly the best book I'd ever read. It grabs your attention and doesn't let go until the very last page. I feel like Bec is my sister or my best friend. Most writers of teen fiction have already forgotten what it's like to be that age. Brigid Lowry hasn't. In Bec, she creates a character that anyone, even guys, can relate to.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful., April 17, 2005

By 

tigerlily (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Follow the Blue (Hardcover)

I can't believe that I am the first to write a review for this great book. As she did in "Guitar Highway Rose", Brigid Lowry manages to create a lyrical imagery of words, strung together, capturing emotions of young teenage girls (her target audience I assume). While her writing may not be the most deep or educational, her novels provide the reader with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia and warmth. This book is comforting and simple; yet just lovely to read, over and over again.