Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar


Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar
Published: June 29, 2009 Penguin Books Australia
Received: on loan from Bibliophile Brouhaha
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? {goodreads.com}




There is something unique and poignant about Aussie YA Contemps.  I've had the pleasure of reading a handful of them by a few different authors, and each one has gotten a five-star review from me.  Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar is no exception. Once again I have found myself completely blown away by the beauty of this author's style of writing.  I have no idea what's in the water over there, but they are producing some seriously talented writers!

Carly is a surfer girl.  She lives and breaths to be on the swells, catching the perfect wave in to shore.  She's also a girl who escapes to the waves in avoidance of one horrific night that won't leave her memory.  Since that traumatizing event, she's shut off her family and friends.  She's quit school and moved to another town.  Surfing is what keeps her sane now.  Riding the waves alone is what her purpose has now become.

All of that changes when she meets a fellow surfer boy by the name of Ryan.  He's mysterious, yet calm.  He's the one to make contact first with her, and little by little she starts to shed her outer shell and let Ryan in.  Life has become easier by avoiding her past, and pretending it never happened, until Ryan discovers the secret she's kept buried for so long.  Carly's fears are churning inside her on the brink of over flowing.  She's not quite ready to deal with the reality of what had happened, and like before, her instincts kick in to retreat back inside her shell.

This is a story about over-coming obstacles we battle within ourselves.  Every one has personal demons, whether they're caused by someone else, or inflicted by our own doings -- they are there.  We can choose to bury them, like Carly did, letting them eat at us from the inside out.  Or we have a choice to deal with these demons, no matter how unbearably difficult it may be.  If we're lucky, we'll find people like Ryan along the way to help us see the beauty that still lies inside us.

This novel weighs heavy in my mind, and in my heart.  It's the raw, vulnerable words that have stirred something inside me though.  Every once in awhile I'll come across a novel that is more than just a story to me, it's a piece of honest artistry that's been molded between the pages. I am honored to post this review as my first 5-star review of 2012. 

Though this novel is not available in the U.S., you can purchase a PB copy from fishpondworld.
Thank you Linds for being such a strong advocate for Raw Blue and sharing this beautiful story with me.





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17 comments:

  1. Great review I enjoyed this one but I wasn't ready for such an emotional ride when I read it.

    Giselle
    Xpresso Reads

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  2. This review is beautifully written, and also quite intriguing. I've seen this book before around the web, and now, after your endorsement, I think I'll have to get my hands on it soon.

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  3. I've never read an Australian book before, but after your beautiful review I may have to give this one a try. (I'm guilty of living in the bubble that what is available is what we have here in the U.S. and I should really branch out and try something else.)

    -Jac @ For Love and Books

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  4. Love this review, and the pleasure is all mine, Ginger!  I am so glad you loved Raw Blue as much as I do!  Thanks for spreading the word!

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  5. So happy Linds passed this one around to all of us! Australian YA cometmps FTW

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  6. My ALL-TIME FAVORITE book.

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  7. I can't wait to read this one. I think I'm on the borrow tour. A lot of authors try to write raw, vulnerable works but few succeed in actually being that way...but it sounds like this one does.

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  8. Wow, this sounds great. I look forward to checking it out. Great review :)

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  9. I agree with you 100% in regards to this book! 

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  10. I really love Australian books, too. I am definitely adding this one to my to-read list. I've seen a few bloggers love it over the past several weeks. It makes me excited to get my hands on a copy asap. :)

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  11. It sounds like a heart wrenching read. And I like those. :)

    Shannon
    http://www.extremereadingandwriting.wordpress.com

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  12. This looks so amazing. It makes me upset that all books aren't available everywhere.

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  13. I so want to read this book too, I got an Aussie friend who keeps urging me to do it.
    I got the book a few months ago and I hope I can squeeze it in my reading schedule.

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts. 

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  14. You KNOW how I feel about self discovery and coming of age novels! YES PLEASE.

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  15. I love the reviews you do of these contemps.. I recently finished Moonglass after seeing you post about it here, and I loved it. 

    It's true that everyone has personal demons. It's hard to let it go, instead of it eating you from the inside. I spent a year of my life doing just that. I pushed everyone away, I almost lost everyone and everything that mattered to me, because I just couldn't deal with the loss. But after a year, that fog cleared for me, and I was able to get a grasp of myself again. So I can really appreciate these sort of novels. I would never have picked some of these up if not for your well written reviews. Thanks for sharing this one, i'll be adding it to my list!  

    would really love to try an Aussie one some day. I'll have to order some from that fishpond site. 

    Oh, and have fun this weekend at ALA! I think that' what it's called. lol

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  16. YES! Right?! What IS it about the water over there?! These Aussie authors totally rock my face! :D

    I think I need to reread this one sometime to fully appreciate and understand how I feel about it, because I think my expectations were wrong going into the book (I had been told, by more than one person that the writing was very Melina Marchetta, and I would love it THAT way... Which, considering how much I LOVE MM is completely unfair to any other author :P )

    But I do recognize the amazing of this book, and definitely think it's a book that needs to make it over to the states. Like, yesterday

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  17. I really loved the cover it's very hot.

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