Color Blind - Hardcover

Sobel, Sheila

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1440597464 ISBN 13: 9781440597466

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2016

Synopsis

April was only an infant when her teenage mother abandoned her. With the sudden death of her father, April feels abandoned once more. With nobody to take April in except her mom's sister, a chef in New Orleans--and someone who she's never met, April has no choice but to move to Louisiana. After a cryptic conversation with her Aunt Kate, April is more lost than ever. But it's Miles, a handsome tour guide, who really brings April into the heart of the Big Easy. When he takes her to the cemetery where nineteenth-century voodoo queen Marie Laveau is buried, April gets a shocking clue about her own past. Once she has a piece of the puzzle, she knows she will never give up. What she doesn't know is that finding out the truth about her past and the key to her future could cost her everything--maybe even her life.

About this title

About the Author

An active member of the youth writing and film community, Sheila Sobel was recently nominated for the Allegra Johnson Prize in Fiction Writing. She lives in Southern California with her husband, her dogs, and her cats. This is her first novel.

Reviews

Gr 8 Up—In this realistic novel, readers meet April, whose father has just died and whose mother is missing in action in the Middle East. She is sent to live with her aunt Kate, her mother's estranged sister and a New Orleans chef. The story takes a while to get started as readers meet some of the other characters, including a love interest. Teens also encounter a young girl named Angel and her mother, Simone, who live in the Ninth Ward and end up having family ties to April. The protagonist and her aunt don't get along, and both are thrown into a life together that they are unprepared for. The teen attempts to contact the spirit of her dead father through a local voodoo priestess. The climax involves April making very poor decisions concerning Angel, a goat, and a voodoo ceremony gone horribly wrong. This moment seems to come at an odd point in the plot, with the connection between April and Marie Laveau, a prominent historical figure of New Orleans and a voodoo priestess, acting as the catalyst for April to put the pieces of her new life together. The ending feels forced, and the writing is serviceable. The French Quarter setting, historical references to the rich history of New Orleans, and descriptions of Kate's cooking are the highlights of this work. VERDICT Teens will keep hoping for a supernatural element that never comes, making this book an additional purchase for most collections.—Nancy Jo Lambert, Reedy High School, Frisco, TX

Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1440597464
• ISBN 13: 9781440597466
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 253