Born Blue - Hardcover

Nolan, Han

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0152019162 ISBN 13: 9780152019167

Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books, 2001

Synopsis

Janie . . . Leshaya . . . whatever she’s called, she’s a survivor. Rescued from the brink of death, this child of a heroin addict has seen it all: revolving foster homes, physical abuse, an unwanted pregnancy. Now, as her tumultuous childhood is coming to an end, she is determined not only to survive but to make a life for herself by doing the only thing that makes her feel whole . . . singing.
Born Blue is the hard-hitting story of a girl who searches for love and security despite the roadblocks in her way—a gritty story that inspires understanding, tolerance, and compassion. National Book Award winner Han Nolan introduces a heroine unlike any before. A girl with the voice of a woman. A woman with the dreams of a little girl. Readers will never forget Leshaya.

A portion of the sales from this book will be donated to the Monarch High School Project in San Diego, California.

About this title

Review:

Despite her natural talent for singing, 6-year-old Janie knows deep in her heart that if you really want to sing and feel the blues, you gotta be black. Aren't the tapes of the "ladies"--Aretha, Etta, and Billie--that she listens to every night in the stinking basement of her first foster home proof enough of that? So the scrawny, blond-haired, blue-eyed child of a heroin addict changes her name to Leshaya, decides that her unknown father was African American, and shuts down all feeling; only allowing the sorrow of her hard life to escape when she opens her mouth to sing. Raised by addicts and drug dealers, Leshaya trusts no one and loves nothing except her music: "Didn't need nobody else. I could make love to my own self with that sound ridin' the beat." Finally, after surviving several foster homes, a harrowing heroin withdrawal, and an unwanted pregnancy, 16-year-old Leshaya finds a band and ends up with a single on the radio. But can even that be enough for a girl so hungry for love that she looks everywhere for it except the one place she's sure to find it--within herself?

National Book Award recipient Han Nolan's fifth novel is an emotional stunner. Like Brock Cole's equally haunting The Facts Speak for Themselves, Born Blue is an unflinching look at a girl forced to grow up too fast in a callous world. Nolan's raw portrayal of Leshaya may hurt to read, but like a recently healed broken heart, it's a good pain. (Ages 14 and older) --Jennifer Hubert

About the Author:

HAN NOLAN is the author of If I Should Die Before I Wake; the National Book Award finalist Send Me Down a Miracle; the National Book Award winner Dancing on the Edge; and A Face in Every Window. She lives in New England.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0152019162
• ISBN 13: 9780152019167
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288