Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Silhouetted by the Blue



Serena Shaw is dealing with a lot of stuff. She is still grieving the loss of her mother, who died just over a year ago. She is busy with the school musical, where she was cast as the lead. And, she is left to care for her younger brother, Henry, because her father is struggling with depression - unable to even get dressed each day.

There were times when I was reading when I hesitated to turn the page, wondering what else could possibly go wrong in Serena's life. Although Serena puts up a good front, she does call her father's brother for help. However, he is busy with his jet-setting life, and doesn't quite realize the depths of his brother's despair.

Parts of Jones' book were a bit predictable to me, yet a tween reader might not have been able to guess where this story was headed. I appreciate Jones' desire to create a book that deals with depression and its signs and symptoms. There are certainly young readers who are enduring this same thing and will find Silhouetted by the Blue to be a book that resonates with them.

This was a fast read about an important subject and Jones does a good job of showing this illness accurately and sensitively while still making the topic readable to her young audience.

No comments: