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Claire McFall

Making Turquoise Kindle Edition

by Claire McFall (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

8 ratings

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"Falls somewhere in between Irvine Welsh and Romeo & Juliet"

Liam

Hayley, she just doesn’t get it. Doesn’t get that doors which are open for her, are closed for me. Doesn’t get that I’m following in my dad’s footsteps, Aiden’s footsteps, even if the shoes don’t fit. She tells me we can be together, that we can make it work. And I wish, I really wish, that we could. But wishing doesn’t change anything.

Hayley

When I was eleven, green was my favourite colour. That was before I realised my nose was blue. It was also the year I met Liam. Right from the off, we were best friends. Then more. Then... nothing. Because Tim and Hun, they’re oil and water: they don’t mix. Ask my dad. Ask Aiden. But blue, green, they’re just colours. And I like green.

(Content warning: contains strong language and elements of drug taking, teenage pregnancy, abortion and abuse.)

Print length

220 pages
Language

English
Publication date

April 10, 2020
File size

2749 KB
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Product details

ASIN : B086TX489B
Publication date : April 10, 2020
Language : English
File size : 2749 KB
Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 220 pages
Lending : Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #470,620 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #507 in Teen & Young Adult Emotions & Feelings Fiction eBooks
- #1,877 in Teen & Young Adult Contemporary Romance eBooks
- #3,799 in Teen & Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Customer Reviews:
8 ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

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JBowles

A Great Young Adult Character Study

Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2020

Verified Purchase

I was really impressed by this book. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and I think it's wonderful the author chose to donate her proceeds to COVID-19 relief up through the end of July 2020. That's an incredibly good cause for an incredibly good book.

What I really liked most about "Making Turquoise" was just how unflinching it was in its portrayal of the lives of young people and what it can be like to sort of have to fend for yourself or feel like you're dealing with incredibly serious issues and situations at a sensitive age. The semi-vignette style established right at the beginning keyed me into the fact that I was going to get to know these characters in snippets and pieces, but it totally works as a narrative, because it allows the story to exist as a dialed-in, focused character study that culminated, for me at least, with a much deeper understanding of these characters and the events surrounding their lives than I otherwise might have experienced.

Plus, I'm an American, and I always enjoy seeing what life is like in other parts of the world. Especially young life, because my childhood and early adulthood were ultimately very different from the lives of Liam, Hayley, Callum, and Aiden. Anyway, if you're looking for some young adult fiction that's grounded in real drama, and you like the idea of a non-traditional narrative that allows you to zoom in on the individual personalities of some pretty cool young characters, I highly recommend "Making Turquoise." Plus, such a good cause. Buy this enjoyable book and help out with COVID-19 relief. Sort of a win-win!

Helpful

Savannah

Modern Romeo and Juliet

Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2020

Making Turquoise is a modern day Romeo and Juliet. This book is gritty, painful, and also hopeful. It leaves the reader feeling a bit of sorrow but also faith that life will get better.

This book is mainly about Hayley and Liam. They grow up as friends and fall in love, but their relationship faces many hardships, such as classism, rivalry, and loss. But, when it seems like they couldn’t get further from each other, Hayley’s brother, Callum, is murdered. The two prime suspects are Aiden, Liam’s brother, and Liam himself. At every turn they are being pulled away from each other but they always end up gravitating back together. This is the ultimate story of will they or won’t they?

What I like about this novel is that we get a full back story to Hayley and Liam, we watch them grow up together and make the life choices we all go through. They make mistakes and choices that help define who they are. The timeline is clear and we get to see where each character is at point A and then at point B, we get a full snapshot of their evolution. These characters could easily be you or your neighbor.

This novel is based in Scotland, which is a new setting for me. Making Turquoise taught me a few key cultural differences between Scotland and the United States. Football is like a religion over there. In fact, it causes a huge divide between Hayley and Liam’s families. Liam’s family are Celtic fans and Hayley‘s family are Rangers fans. I understand sports rivalry but it is not even close to the same where I am from. The football fever in Scotland is so ingrained in Scottish culture that it causes fights in the streets. This was a very intense concept for me and I am glad that I was able to learn about it.

I was also blown away by the fact that you can get arrested in Scotland for just carrying a knife. It is like an actual offense to carry a knife over there. I walk around with pocket knives any time I have to walk somewhere in the dark, just as a precaution. I know in my mind that obviously different countries have different rules, but it’s just crazy to think of how something nonchalant over here is a criminal activity over there.

Needless to say I am a huge fan of reading different cultural perspectives.

This book also jumps right to the action. You are there with Hayley and Liam from the very beginning and it doesn’t get dull in the middle. McFall knows exactly what to include in a love story, and she also knows how to create tension. From page one this book is interesting.

Also Making Turquoise asks a lot of questions about what it’s like to be a teenager in love. We get a bit of the sweetheart angle, we cover acceptance, and the process of changing. Liam and Hayley have a lot to overcome together and separately. It feels like an authentic teenage experience to me, I am still with my high school sweetheart and I can tell you that it has come with its challenges. Luckily, not as severe as Hayley and Liam’s relationship, but it does capture that essence that I went through as a teen.

I really enjoy how this novel tackles big topics such as classism, sibling relationships, and drug use. (I will add in a warning right here that this novel gets heavy. It delves deep into various types of abuse and even death. This is not a light read, it will make you hurt) Liam and Hayley are in two different class brackets and their families make that very clear. I would say Hayley is more middle class and Liam is lower class, and it becomes a point of contention between the lovers. They realize that their families will never accept their relationship because of they key differences in family dynamic. Also, the theme of brotherhood is so powerful in this book. Hayley’s twin brother Callum is immensely protective of her from day one. And, Liam’s brother, Aiden, is much the same as but also different from Callum. Aiden is fierce and mean-spirited, living under a façade of being protective of Liam. I enjoyed watching McFall draw this brotherly contrast. There is a perfect comparison of true brotherly love and false brotherly love.

I will admit some of it was too real. It was hard to read in places because the situations are believable. There’s this piece where Liam walks in on Aiden shooting up drugs and the quote goes like this:

“I went. I was too frightened to stay in the room, but I sat in the hallway, just outside his door, spilt cola soaking up in to my jeans, and I listened. As long as I could hear him breathing, I knew he wasn’t dead.

I was more scared of my brother than I’d ever been in my life. Because the man in his room was a stranger and I wished I’d never met him. I wished I was on the walk with Hayley, pretending I was Orange, pretending I was blue.”
For me, this part really hurt. I have seen people change from drug abuse and it just felt so real.

I did get irritated in a few parts because Hayley is supposed to be smart but she just does dumb stuff. She would do something I thought was stupid like walking through the wrong part of town and I’d have to stop reading to take a breather. I just don’t understand how a smart character would suddenly make really dumb mistakes. While I was irritated with this, it did do a good job of illustrating that Hayley is more book smart and her brother is more street smart. So I was able to forgive the little irritation.

I give Making Turquoise a 4/5 stars and I will definitely be recommending it to my friends. I want to send a huge thank you to Claire McFall for reaching out to me on Twitter, this book was a joy to read.

I would also like to point out that all of the proceeds from Making Turquoise will be donated to food banks during the coronavirus crisis, so your purchase will be going to a great cause.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Michele G

Heartbreakingly Beautiful YA Love Story!

Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2020

4 1/2 Colorful Stars!

Making Turquoise ....what a wonderfully written story. Green + Blue = Turquoise and it's such a beautiful color. Sadly, in this book, people didn't want "Green" and "Blue" to mix. They were very polarized. If you were Green, you didn't hang out with Blue and you certainly didn't start a romance with one. Apparently Green and Blue correlate to which football team you support and the rivalry is extreme..

Hayley and Liam meet when they are eleven and become friends. They drift apart but eventually find their way back to each other when they are older. Literally not one person supports Hayley and Liam's affection for one another. They find that they can't be fully open with their families or friends. Still, they can't give each other up. Then something dramatic occurs and Hayley is forced to walk away from Liam. After being apart for several years, an opportunity presents itself for Liam to see Hayley again. But is it worth the risk?

I was simply heartbroken with the way events played out. You could see the mistakes coming a mile away, but there was no way to stop things from occurring. It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Many have compared this story to a modern day Romeo and Juliet. I can definitely see the similarities. It also gives me a Normal People vibe and I'm not exactly sure why, but it does.

I highly recommend this book. It's a sensitive coming of age story with a message. Also, even though there are some tragic events, there is a beautiful love story wrapped up in the middle of it all. The story pulls you in and holds onto you until the last page.

Thank you to NetGalley for this reader's copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book and the opinions contained within are my own.

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Top reviews from other countries

V. R. W.

A Must Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 15, 2020

Verified Purchase

This is an insightful and gripping book about teenagers growing up on opposite sides of the invisible but very real divide that lies at the heart of life in Glasgow. Pulling no punches, the realism keeps the reader hooked as the plot unfolds over a decade of the main characters' lives, showing how their choices and opportunities are often shaped and limited by forces outwith their control that dictate whether they are 'blue' or 'green', and therefore who they can befriend, and worse, who they are allowed to fall in love with. Throughout the story, the alternating narrative focus allows reader to see right into the motivations of each character, making the difficulties and tragedies they face all the more heart-breaking. Gritty, realistic and unputdownable, Making Turquoise deserves to be hailed as a YA classic. A must read.

Amazon Customer

Gripping

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 14, 2020

Verified Purchase

Believable characters and twists and turns in the plot kept me gripped. The context of bigotry and violence pulsates in the background and invites the reader into a dark culture. Brilliant!

Amazon Customer

Wonderful read

Reviewed in Canada on May 1, 2020

Verified Purchase

Engaging read that tugs at the heartstrings. Regardless of your age, enjoy a story in which love conquers the hate of ‘us vs them’.

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