A Blue So Dark by Holly Schindler

Genre: Young Adult

Synopsis: Fifteen year old Aura Ambrose is hiding a dark secret. Her mother, a talented and gifted artist, is a schizophrenic. Aura is the primary caretaker. Her father is practically out of the picture. Nobody else understands. Sometimes, Aura herself does not either.

Review:
Plot: 5 stars

I have never read anything like this before, plot-wise. It's truly unique and something different for a change. Sure, it may sound unrealistic. What kind of parent would let their child take charge of someone suffering from a mental illness, right? It's not likely that this would happen in real life. However, I think that is the power of A Blue So Dark, because the truth of the matter is, we actually don't know for sure. There's no way of knowing, and perhaps we never will. A Blue So Dark explores what might be happening behind closed doors in a seemingly normal home. Not knowing whether or not there are situations like these out there, is the scary part. So to me, what the author did was explore a very foreign and difficult place, that I think all would rather not visit.

Characters: 2.5 stars
Don't get me wrong, I liked the characters. However, I don't think they are memorable enough for me. Their situation is what sticks and stands out, but the actual people involved unfortunately do not.

Writing: 4 stars

This one is actually one of my favorite parts. I didn't get tired of the way the author writes. Her wordplay is wonderful and poetic, and the pace and flow are effortless.

Overall: 3.5 stars
A Blue So Dark is a courageous novel, as it tackles an extremely difficult subject matter -- the realities of a normal family dealing with Schizophrenia. It is a mental illness often misunderstood, and one that is usually not covered in novels in this particular way. The author, Holly Schindler, writes about it in a realistic manner, with such compassion and sensitivity that one just can not stop reading all about it. I recommend this book, but probably more for mature YA readers.