Blue

By Lou Aronica

From the back of the book:

“Chris Astor is a man in his early forties who is going through the toughest stretch of his life. Becky is Chris’s fourteen-year-old daughter, a girl who overcame enormous challenges to become a vibrant, vital young woman – and now faces her greatest obstacle yet. Miea is the young queen of a fantasy land that Becky and Chris created when Becky was little, a fantasy land that has developed a life of its own and now finds itself in terrible, maybe fatal trouble. Together, Chris, Becky, and Miea need to uncover a secret. The secret to why their worlds have been joined at this moment.”

When Becky was just a toddler, she was diagnosed with leukemia. To help her cope with the treatments and sickness, she and her father Chris made up stories about a fantasy land where she could escape to feel better. Now, at the age of 14, Becky is finding herself feeling ill again and all the signs point to the return of her cancer. Suddenly, she discovers she can literally transport to the fantasy world. The problem is convincing her parents that she can visit this wonderful place where she feels whole again. Her father is more accepting and is able to travel with her. Her mother, however, is completely skeptical and thinks Becky’s father should see a professional to bring himself back to reality.

This book ranks right up there with my top reads for 2010. I absolutely loved this book and found myself so wrapped up in the story. In fact, I hated to see it end. I wanted to read more about Becky and her fantasy land.

The characters were likable and well developed. I especially enjoyed Becky’s stepfather and the way he tried to bridge the gap that was growing between Becky and her parents. He did this in somewhat subtle ways that weren’t at all obvious unless you were reading between the lines of the story.

You should definitely think about making this story one of your first reads for 2011 – it hits the stands in early January. Even those who don’t usually read fantasy will enjoy this tale.

And stop by Lou’s profile page at Good Reads to learn more about this author in his own words. He just recently joined and I'm sure he'd love to meet some new friends!