Author: Louisa Reid
Reading Level: Young Adult
Pages: 274
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Person: first
Tense: Present
Rating: 10 / 10
Blurb:
“‘They tried to make me go to my sister’s funeral today. In the end I had to give in... I’d been walking in her shadow for sixteen years and I liked its cool darkness. It was a good place to hide.’
Rebecca’s twin sister Hephzibah was beautiful and daring. She was the one who always wanted more. The one who wouldn’t listen. Now she’s gone, Rebecca is alone.
While there were two of them, they stayed silent about their home life. But Rebecca, who knows the truth about how her twin died, suddenly finds herself keeping too many secrets. Hephzibah dreamt of escape, but failed. Could Rebecca be the one to find freedom?
Original and unforgettable, Black Heart Blue is not just Rebecca and Hephzibah’s story. It’s a story about all of us: a story about the lies we want to believe, the truth we sometimes can’t accept, and having the courage to discover the difference.”
Opinion:
This novel hooked me almost instantly. It’s a review copy, so I didn’t have much choice about reading it - and to be honest, that is the only reason I picked it up, because this is not the sort of novel I normally read. Though I have to say, I’m incredibly glad of it. Black Heart Blue is a thrilling novel about family abuse; it forces you to think (when you aren’t tied up reading it) about the rest of the world and what could be happening somewhere at this moment. The descriptions and storyline are realistic - I actually had to remind myself it wasn’t a autobiography.
The characters emotions become your own, and you feel their urgency, their fear, their need. The book switches point of view, from one twin to another, which I found to be highly effective - even if a little confusing when it switched from present to past and such. I found myself hating along with the twins, I found myself holding my breath as they struggled to survive.
There were two characters I struggled to understand for a good portion of the book, one being the mother. I found it hard to get a sense of the role she played and where she stood in the story; nevertheless, the characters were incredibly lifelike, and could have been people I knew.
This was an unforgettable, amazing read. I highly recommend it, even if it isn’t your preference.
