Red Sand Blue Sky (Girls First!) [Paperback]

Cathy Applegate (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Girls First!

This funny and surprising mystery/adventure is set in the brilliant desert landscape of the Australian outback. Twelve-year-old Amy arrives from Melbourne, unsettled by the starkly different landscape and people. There she meets an Aboriginal girl, Lana, who seems as different as anyone could be—in Amy’s eyes. As they learn more about each other’s cultures, they also find that they share the loss of their mothers, and their friendship deepens. Soon they are working together to uncover a sinister plot—which may put unto jeopardy everything and everyone they hold dear.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

One of two titles (along with Barbara Wilson's A Clear Spring 1-55861-277-7) launching the Girls First! mystery/adventure series, Applegate's (Rain Dance) thin novel takes place in the author's native Australia. While her father attends a conference in Canada, 12-year-old Amy leaves her Melbourne home to stay with her eccentric aunt on the Australian outback, where her aunt works in a health clinic. Initially feeling very much an outsider among the residents, Amy eventually becomes friends with Lana, an Aborigine who, like Amy, has fairly recently lost her mother. The author stiffly incorporates bits of the country's history and Aboriginal lore and tradition into a plot in which the girls take on criminals stealing Aboriginal sacred objects. Many passages are either forced ("Amy felt hurt and lonely. She was different from all these other children and felt left out of all the fun and excitement") or awkward ("It was hard for the two girls to remain glum when they were surrounded by so many smiling children who laughed at each other, sucking up the spaghetti like long worms").Unfortunately, Applegate's attempts at suspense and her dialogue also fall flat, making this a slow and unconvincing read. Ages 9-12.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-7 A rather formulaic and predictable book in which two main characters with ostensibly nothing in common discover they are more alike than different. Amy, a 12-year-old from Melbourne, meets Lana, an Aboriginal peer, while visiting her Aunt Caroline in the Australian outback. At first, the girls clash, but as Amy gradually learns more about the Aboriginal culture and history, she gains a deeper understanding of Lana's way of life. At the novel's climax, the youngsters are forced to pool their resources to rescue Caroline when she is injured and protect a sacred site. This book could fill requests for stories set in other countries, but it lacks originality and spark and the characters are not interesting. -Ronni Krasnow, New York Public Library
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: The Feminist Press at CUNY; 1 edition (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558612785
• ISBN-13: 978-1558612785
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #98 in Books > Children's Books > Social Situations > Prejudice & Racism

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thief is robbing a sacred Aboriginal site, October 12, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Red Sand Blue Sky (Girls First!) (Paperback)

Set in the outback desert of Australia, Red Sand, Blue Sky by Cathy Applegate is an engaging and entertaining novel for young readers about a chance meeting and friendship between two young girls, lonely Amy Wilson from Melbourne and Lana, an Aboriginal girl. Together, the girls discover that a thief is robbing a sacred Aboriginal site, and they must gather the courage to perform a rescue mission, with a life at stake. Red Sand, Blue Sky is highly recommended reading and would make an excellent addition to school and community library collections.

5.0 out of 5 stars "Full of Adventure", October 18, 2009

By 

minneapplemama "minneapplemama" (MN, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Red Sand Blue Sky (Girls First!) (Paperback)

My 6th grade daughter said she "loved it" and it was "full of adventure". Pleasing words for a mother to hear. It tied in well with the Australia unit studied in school and an aboriginal art project.

I read through some of the book myself to get a feel for it. The vocab and storytelling was good, but be aware that the story line would be a good made-for-tv Disney movie.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lots not to like., October 13, 2011

By 

Christian Reviewer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Red Sand Blue Sky (Girls First!) (Paperback)

This book was recommended as part of our history curriculum. I had no idea when I ordered it through our library that it is now printed by the Feminist Press. It suddenly makes sense that most of the characters are female and rarely portrayed in a negative light while the main "bad" guys are men. The pagan religion is presented as truth. In fact, the main character seems to become a believer when she hears spirits and sees her dead mom at a sacred site. Ironically, for a book that battles against prejudice, this one carries it's own brand. At the end, the main character looks down her nose at her rich neighbors simply for being rich. What?? Maybe she should get to know them before judging? The little bit of factual information incorporated is not worth reading the book, in our opinion.