Title: Raw Blue [Amazon]
Author: Kirsty Eagar [website]
Publisher: Penguin Books Australia
Genre: Contemporary
Source/Type: Purchased/eBook
Stars: 4.5 of 5
Publisher Description:
Carly has dropped out of uni to spend her days surfing and her nights working as a cook in a Manly café. Surfing is the one thing she loves doing … and the only thing that helps her stop thinking about what happened two years ago at schoolies week.
And then Carly meets Ryan, a local at the break, fresh out of jail. When Ryan learns the truth, Carly has to decide. Will she let the past bury her? Or can she let go of her anger and shame, and find the courage to be happy?
My Thoughts:
I must first thank Trish Doller for suggesting this book to me. If it wasn’t for her I would have missed this one completely and that would be bordering as a travesty. Because Raw Blue was a really fantastic read and a really real read about a girl trying to hide from her past by not living life in the present. It hit on a lot of great points that left me wanting to weep and hug Carly at the same time.
Raw Blue is about Carly, a girl that has dropped out of university and has moved away from her family so she can forget a tragedy that happened to her 2 years prior. Living on her own with no support, Carly spends her days working at a café to make rent and surfing, the one thing she loves more than anything. She has mostly kept to herself not letting anyone in until she meets Ryan, a local recently released from jail that likes to surf at the safe break she does. As the two get closer and Carly starts to open herself up to him and make actual friends she has to decide how long to let the past hold on to her or she will finally let it go like she should.
Like I said, Carly made me want to just hug her, after I was done crying for her. She was so broken and really had no one to rely on. Her parents had no idea what had happened to her during schoolies week but from the sound of things they weren’t all that sympathetic to begin with. Instead Carly shut herself off and it was really sad. She had no one to trust but the water. That was her strongest relationship for most of the book anyway. Well until she met Ryan and then everything changed. Carly started to change and that was truly remarkable to see. Ryan, amazingly sweet, the kind of guy every girl needs, Ryan, who not once ran from Carly. He was never scared off by her erratic behavior. He never told her she was just too much work. He was there for her in whatever capacity she needed and that made him so unbelievably swoonworthy it isn’t even funny. But the best part about Ryan was his ability to not give up. He really was the perfect complement to Carly.
Besides Carly and Ryan I have to say one of my favorite parts of this book was Danny. Eagar used him as a supporting character pretty much to perfection. He was quirky enough to lighten some of the scenes that needed to be lightened up, but he was also a good sounding board for Carly and had no problem telling her what he thought and essentially making her become his friend. Even though Carly didn’t know it she needed someone like Danny in her life. She needed a friend that would bug her and ask her the hard stuff and make her just live her life.
Basically Raw Blue is a book about self-discovery and figuring out how to not let the past rule your present. It is about falling in love and making friends and craving a life for yourself out of tragedy. It was well written with interesting characters and a story you can’t help but fall in love with. An author not really known in the states that I would definitely recommend.
Other Books by the Author:
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