La Nueva Vida De Bluebell Gadsby (2014) - Plot & Excerpts
Not even close to get a "pass". I had really high hopes on this book but I lost them when I had only 10 pages left to finish it and NOTHING had happened yet. The book is purely a diary both written and on camera, and of course it has a teen style of expressing, but being a teen shouldn't be parallel to being boring or simple. I wasn't.It felt like a waste of time, but I'll blame the high hopes.I guess I'll write a proper review on my own book blog, but in Spanish. If anybody wants a deeper insight on it, feel free to contact me via here =) This one captured my heart. It takes place in London with Bluebell, known as Blue, as the twin that gets left behind when her sister dies in an accident. The story begins 3 years following this accident and Blue has become a shadow at her school, a moderately interesting sibling to an bossy, flamboyant older sister and two younger siblings (boy and girl). Her parents have become very much removed from their lives, partially due to extremely busy working lives and partially as a way to deal with the loss of their daughter. At times the kids wonder if their parents will divorceIt's one of those great books where the kids get up to mischief, have problems with their friends, a great bit of heartache (as Blue is the perfect age for crushes) and have little intervention from adults. In Blue's case their parents have tried to make things a little easier by hiring an au pair. He is a moderate presence in their lives but functions more like an older brother who is very busy with so many things going on that he dips in and out of their daily lives with a kind presence. The children have a second kind presence in a grandmother who lives in a small village outside of London and believes in old-fashioned fun like riding horses at a gallop and taking 5 mile hikes in the rain to a distant village where the very best fudge can be found and then brought back to her as evidence of their completion of this 'important' journey that will bring colour to their cheeks. The grandmother and au pair bring colour to the story as well and make for an alternative family unit for these kids.So much of Blue and her family reminded me of books I would have loved to read when I was her age but Natasha Farrant has placed this story firmly in the current day as the kids use ipods and modern cell phones, they Skype with their parents and post things on Facebook walls. Blue narrates the book through video diaries she is writing as a modern form of diary and it works a bit like a form of therapy for Iris and as a method to view the world through her eyes. There are beautiful and achy situations throughout this novel yet it still holds those great sibling fights and sibling loyalties that can really draw someone in. I can't wait to see what she publishes next and will put it on my list of great holiday presents.
What do You think about La Nueva Vida De Bluebell Gadsby (2014)?
Beautiful, funny and sad. Terrific middle grade novel, full review forthcoming at Slatebreakers.com
—BeatrizAdrianaaa
Really good but oh em gee I wanted to give those parents a talking to.
—spencer
Me gusto muchisimo, ya que te engancha desde el principio
—krippman
