This was such a moving story about a 12-year old who is navigating her parent's divorce, a new school, and her mother's increasingly strange behavior. Her one saving grace is her obsession with Cat FX, a YouTuber who does special effect make-up. Wren discovers both her talent and refuge in learning to do make-up and has a tendency to keep to herself. The author's compassionate handling of divorce and addiction from a middle school girl's point of view is completely realistic, and the arc with the make-up was truly unique and kept me even more interested. I ended up reading most of it in one sitting as things became increasingly out of control for Wren. Although my heart ached for Wren, I thought that the stuff with the make-up helped keep the tough stuff from becoming completely overwhelming, even as it helped Wren to cope. I highly recommend this book to both students and adults, but especially if students are dealing with divorce or addiction in their family.

This was my first book by the author, but I"m already looking forward to checking out more of her work.

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in return for an honest review.

Since reading my first Barbara Dee book I am always on the lookout for new books, and Dee does it again. A well written middle grade book about tough topics...divorce and opioid addiction. I think going back and forth between two houses and parents is something many kids can relate to which made the book engaging. My heart broke for Wren, particularly because I know how many kids deal with the impact of opioid addictions, whether it's their parents, siblings, friends or themselves.

As a side note, I was absolutely fascinated by the special effects makeup and will definitely be looking up YouTube videos on this makeup!

Note: This book deals with heavy topics, so I may reserve it more for upper middle grade than 8-9 year-olds.

Another fantastic story of overcoming life challenges by the incomparable Barbara Dee. She effortlessly tells Wren's story of navigating the all-too-real reality of divorce and changing families. Seamlessly tucked into this story is Wren's mother's dependence on opioids to deal with the changes in her own life. From Wren's point of view, mom is just tired from her very busy nursing job and sad about dad's new life...until it starts impacting even more of Wren's life.

Many students, sadly, will connect with Wren's story and find comfort that they are not alone in navigating hard changes in their lives.

Dee has done it again! Another middle grade book that brings to light topics that so many kids are going through: divorce, blending families and drug addiction. This is a perfect read for an upper middle grade classroom and all libraries!

Violets are Blue will tug at your heart. It's well written, honest, and covers tough topics well. I was moved by the characters. I do wish some things that happened behind the scenes had been brought forward, but all in all I couldn't put this book down. Usually I am not a fan of overly described characters, but it works in this story very well because of the special fx make-up tie-in.

Barbara Dee’s Violets are Blue follows Wren, a twelve-year old going through a series of massive changes. Wren’s whole world has been shaken up, first with her parent’s divorce and then with a move, a new step-parent, and new siblings. Through it all, she turns to Cat FX on YouTube, a special effects makeup artist who offers her an escape and a ticket to belonging. But as Wren’s world begins unraveling in unpredictable ways, she’s forced to reckon with what she’s been escaping from.

Dee does an incredible job with character development and showing how these middle school hierarchies impact daily life. As Wren stresses about friendship, her new family dynamic, and moving to a new town, she escapes into the world of special effects makeup. Her favorite YouTube tutorial creator teachers her how to escape, one monster, mermaid, or character at a time. Wren’s various classmates and teachers have a ripple effect on her life. The dialogue is highly realistic and impactful.

Wren’s attempts to navigate the dangerous waters of talking to her parents about each other will resonate with anyone who has experienced divorce, and provide insight for anyone who hasn’t. Her feelings of being torn, of living two separate lives and not being able to share one of them with the people she loves most in the world is relatable to readers of all ages.

This book tackles big topics, and not just the ones you can glean from the book’s blurb. An implied affair, the difficulty of managing adult expectations, and addiction are all touched upon. Each topic is handled gently, but Dee doesn’t hold back. As Wren struggles with her relationship with her mom and her mom’s erratic behavior, it’s impossible to not feel heartbroken for her. This book will definitely encourage empathy and remind readers that they don’t truly know what life is like behind closed doors.

Relationships are built on give and take, whether what’s given is information, vulnerability, or interests. Wren slowly learning to trust again and sharing bits and pieces of herself with her new friend is exquisitely written, bringing light to the give and take of friendship in a way that isn’t condescending or transactional.

Violets are Blue tackles many big topics and grand emotions, but stays grounded, realistic, and relatable. The plot line involving the opioid epidemic is especially impactful.

Violets are Blue will be available October 12, 2021 from Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing. Thank you to Barbara Dee, Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, and NetGalley for an advanced copy such that I could write this review.

Another brilliant story from Barbara Dee about important but difficult issues, in this case, divorce and addiction. I loved the character development and compelling plot.

Barbara Dee is so wonderful at writing such relatable middle school books with characters that deal with the real issues that middle schoolers are dealing with today. This book is no different as we get to watch Wren deal with her own identity, dealing with divorce & remarriage, moving, finding new friends, and just learning how to be happy. All of this in addition to what Wren ends up needing to work through when it comes to her mom. Dee does a great job balancing all of these plot points while also building such full characters. All characters in the main characters in the book are well developed and are truly themselves–flaws and all!

This was not my favorite book from Barbara Dee. I know Wren was dealing with many things at once, but it jumped from one thing to the next without really pulling in any other characters. We knew something was going on with her mom, but that didn't come out until the very end. The makeup part was interesting, but between that and her dad in New York and friend drama at a new school and her mom -- I wasn't really ever connected to the story. I think the opioid issue is very important, but that didn't seem to be a very big part of the story. I got pulled into My Life in the Fish Tank and Maybe He Just Likes You much more, and I think my students will, too. I also think they handled the subject matter in a more effective way.

4.5 stars

Barbara Dee has done it again! Readers who come to this novel because they are fans of Dee's previous work and those who are entirely new to this author should be equally pleased with the great result here.

When the novel begins, it's clear that Wren, the m.c., is headed for a lot of changes. She is 12-years-old, her parents are fighting constantly, her parents are suddenly living separately, her dad and his new partner are immediately on the marriage train (and she's also pregnant with twins), and Wren is also about to move. This kid experiences more upheaval in a few weeks than many folks encounter in their teens in general, and it's compounded by the facts that she is an only child and her mom is clearly not managing any of the new changes in a healthy manner. The one escape Wren enjoys is watching Cat FX videos: makeup tutorials on YouTube. I love this timely inclusion and the various symbolic connections it affords throughout!

As an adult reader, it is heartbreaking to watch Wren know that something is going wrong with her mother but have no idea how to fix it let alone any authority with which to do so. She's a character who is easy to root for, and readers of all ages can learn a lot about empathy from getting to know her.

The end did feel a bit rushed to me, and while I'd have loved to see some of those final plot points developed, I really enjoyed the novel overall. I'll absolutely be recommending it to students who want to see great examples of middle grade contemporary and themes of divorce, friendship, and addiction. I am always looking forward to more from Barbara Dee!

Violets Are Blue was an endearing tale of the difficulties dealing with divorce, growing up, and dealing with adult secrets. After Wrens parents divorce she finds herself not only with two families, but is also uprooted and shut out of her ever changing mothers life.
The relationships between the characters of this k are complicated, raw, and beautifully written. The pace was excellent and the description of events made the adult secrets approachable for all ages. The author also does a great job of incorporating technology that has become ever present in society with out hurting or stifling the story.

This would be perfect for most mature middle schoolers to enjoy!

TW: drug use, overdose

Another fantastic book by Barbara Dee. The way she captures middle school voice authentically is consistently amazing. She never shies away from tough topics, and this book fits well with its predecessors.

This book tackles the topics of divorce, moving, and opioid addiction with gentle honesty appropriate for middle grade readers. Our main character, Renata, navigates her parents' divorce and the following move by becoming obsessed with special effects makeup. The symbolism of creating someone new coincides with her decision to be Wren instead of Renata. The normal middle school territory of friendships, relationships, and identity is secondary to Wren's home worries. Her mom is acting increasingly oddly, her dad is busy with his new family in New York, and she's usually left to fend for herself.

Wren is easy to identify with, and the book's themes are not too heavy-handed. The book is perfect for middle school classrooms, libraries, and book clubs.

I'm grateful to the publisher and ILA for the ARC.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing/Aladdin and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will release September 28, 2021.

"Here's my secret message to you guys: fantasy is not the opposite of truth."

All the complex elements of Violets Are Blue are blended together with care by the author, Barbara Dee, and as expertly as I imagine Cat FX, our protagonist Wren's favorite YouTuber, would do it. Wren is a makeup aficionado and daughter of an ER nurse, who has recently moved to a new town. While things start looking up for her, things are falling apart for her mother, which culminates in a discovery that I think most readers will see coming, but is no less devastating for it. We're going to get to that, I promise.

First, though, we have to talk about makeup, because it's going to provide a perfect base to build on for the rest of the review.

Have I mentioned lately how much I adore the incredibly niche interests that middle grade protagonists have? Probably, but I'm going to say it again, because one of the things that drew me to requesting this book (aside from the beautiful cover, which showcases this) is the fact that Wren is an aspiring special effects makeup artist. It's such a unique hobby, and Wren's passion for it is clearly displayed in the description of every technique and pigment that she or Cat FX uses.

Makeup also provides a source of tension in the novel: her mother becomes concerned that she is using it as a way to isolate herself socially—which is a whole other complicated issue that the book deals with—and many of the makeup products that Wren uses over the course of the story were high-end items bought for her by her dad's new wife and which Wren feels like she needs to keep hidden from her mother. Wren ends up finding a way to make her hobby part of her social life by volunteering to do makeup for her school's stage production of Wicked. More importantly, though, by illustrating that Wren hides makeup bought by her stepmom, the author demonstrates that she cares about her mother's feelings and will do what she can to keep the peace in the house, while simultaneously beginning to hint that something is deeply wrong.

I think there is just the right balance of Wren being suspicious of her mother's actions—the constant locking of her door, erratic behavior and anger—as well as a reasonable amount of denial that anything is out of the ordinary. I don't know how much authority I can say this with, since it's been a long time since I was Wren's age and I've never had kids, but I thought her trust in her mother felt very authentic and that there was a naturally gradual progression towards her realization. The indications of what's going on with the mother are layered in really well.

Wren's other relationships throughout the story are just as messy and genuine. First, there's her dad. Although I was upset with him in the beginning because he's a major reason that the parents separated, he's actually still a good dad. He wants to stay part of Wren's life, and wants the best for her mother, and comes all the way from Brooklyn to stay with her when the worst happens. Then there's Vanessa, the dad's new wife. She wants Wren to be a part of the wedding and is actually the impetus for her interest in makeup. She continues to be supportive foster this by buying and sending products to Wren in the mail; eventually Wren comes to really like both Vanessa and her new twin stepsiblings. I truly appreciated how the author turned my expectations of these characters on their head and complicated my preconceptions of them. Her friendships are a little less emotionally turbulent but are still significant. Coming off having a very intense frenemy, Wren is justifiably concerned about fitting in and finding friends at her new school. Thankfully, she finds Poppy, a very enthusiastic girl in her class who won't let her stay in her shell. There's also Kai, who is on tech crew for the musical and asks Wren if she can do some character makeup for him, inviting her to a con. That ends up being a major factor later in the book, at a point where I thought it had been completely forgotten. The way the author handles Kai's crush on Wren—and her lack of one on him—is awkward, of course, but resolved in a way that left me feeling pretty good about their friendship.

There were a couple moments early on when I got a little confused about the timing of some events, and I didn't quite realize that I was reading flashbacks. At least, I think that the first two trips to Brooklyn were flashbacks? That's probably my fault because I was just blazing through pages without bothering to orient myself in time and space.

I do have a slightly bigger problem with the description of the book, because... that's it. That's the whole thing. It's not so much that I don't like what the last paragraph promises, because I do—it's that I felt the promise there wasn't fulfilled. Very little is devoted to Wren "starting over" in her "devastating new normal." And I want to be completely clear—I actually like that things end up somewhat up in the air for the characters and that a lot of things are left undiscussed or uncertain, like whether Wren has to move to Brooklyn and the difficult nature of her feelings toward her mother; it's just that I expected more of the plot to be focused on that, given the synopsis. But honestly, despite how much attention I've devoted to that here in this review, it doesn't really detract from the book at all for me!

Because ultimately, the author—and the narrative—have done their job perfectly, crafting a stunning book about a middle schooler living with divorce, bullying, and opioid addiction that feels real. It portrays the mother realistically and often sympathetically; she lashes out in anger, yes, but I don't really think she's villainized, and I think that's a good thing. Violets Are Blue is touching, subtly powerful, and provides a window into a situation that children do often find themselves in. Showing them that they are not to blame for not knowing, and that sometimes even adults are not aware of what's really happening, is incredibly important, and Barbara Dee accomplishes this in an exceedingly compassionate way.

Barbara Dee is skyrocketing to the top of my favorite realistic fiction middle school authors. I recommended “Maybe He Just Likes You” as a Virginia Readers’ Choice selection and her new novel is sure to be making lists. She tackles difficult but real subjects in honest and readable novels. Her dialogue really sounds like she spends time with tweens and her parents definitely ring true. In “Violets are Blue” her inclusion of character and stage makeup was brilliant. As a middle school librarian, our musicals are the highlight of the year and draw attention from students, staff, and community. This was a quick read and, reading it in an afternoon really emphasized how well the subtle interaction between mother and daughter was done to create the intensity of the opioid addiction.

Wren's voice, strength, and story is so powerful. Barbara Dee has a knack for creating believable characters and she has done it again here. I could not put this book down until I had finished it. Excellent!

Absolutely phenomenal read. I'm so glad to see books for kids that are about such difficult topics; that is so important, esp for such a complicated age group full of big feelings. The main character is so likeable and relatable, and the supporting cast, esp Poppy, brought the very important lesson of being true to yourself and feeling your own feelings, instead of faking it for those around you, I will most def recommend this book.
Ps there was a typo on page 265, in which it says the word "pus" instead of "plus".

Twelve-year-old Wren is having troubles: friendship troubles, parent troubles, school troubles. She loves makeup and ends up working on a school play, all while trying to stay two steps ahead of all those troubles. Instead of reaching out for help, she tries to handle it all herself, and things start to go downhill.

I think the heavy topics in this book were covered so well. Wren comes across as a realistic tween who doesn't always make the right choices and doesn't know what to do in such tough situations. Her parents' divorce, her father's quick remarriage, and her mother's addiction cause Wren a lot of stress. She also struggles a bit in school with her friends. I thought her interest in make-up was really fun, and when Wren found out that her make-up idol wasn't all she thought her to be, my heart broke a little for Wren.

This story was well-written and handled hard topics in a way that middle-grade readers can understand.

This middle grade novel deftly weaves its way through parent divorce and opioid addiction, and I think it will resonate with a lot of kids. Wren is trying to find her way in a new town after her parents separate and she gains a new stepmom. As her mother begins to exhibit concerning behavior, Wren must determine how to best support herself and her mom.

I really liked the makeup effects story arc as well - it felt fresh and like something new I haven’t seen in middle grade.

Twelve year old Wren doesn’t really have many friends, but she knows she has a loving family she can count on, until suddenly, her dad disappears and her grieving mom announces they're moving to a new city. Once they arrive, their new town home is fine, her new school ok and her mom is even singing along with her favorite songs as they unpack, so maybe everything WILL BE okay. But then when her mom (an emergency room nurse who has chronic knee pain) begins to frequently disappear, has LOTS of pills in her medicine cabinet and even puts a lock on her bedroom door, Wren is not so sure. Wren occupies her long lonely hours, by watching hour after hour of special effects makeup videos. When her mom demands she come out from behind the laptop and make some friends, Wren’s solution is to do makeup for the school musical WICKED and much to her surprise, she begins to make friends. But things are still very strange at home.

Your heart will go out to Wren who is asked to handle a lot in her young life. With very little explanation, her dad moves to Brooklyn, remarries and has twins on the way. Her mom seems to forget about her at times and doesn’t even come home. When she is home, she often can’t get off the sofa and Wren has to deal with the calls from the hospital wondering where her mom is.

This is a story about opioid addiction and how it affects the entire family. But it’s also about step families, friendships and divorce. It’s a book you’ll be thinking about long after you put it down. It’s available 9.28.21. Many thanks to @librarianmsg for sharing her preview copy from @simonkids and @barbaradeebooks.

I adored this book. I adored it so much I read it in one sitting. Wren's story was captivating, her voice incredibly clear. For many kids, this story will be a beacon of light in the darkness. No matter what personal struggle they have, reading about Wren and her personal experience will be comforting. I mean, it was comforting for me, and I'm an adult!

Even though the plot was refreshing and unique, I had to dock a star due to the Comic Con scene near the end. It felt incredibly unrealistic and out of character for Wren to leave in the middle of the show, no matter how disappointed she was in her mom. It would have been more realistic for Wren to miss Comic Con and realize her obsessions are just a cover up for deeper problems more naturally. The automatic forgiveness of her mom also made me uncomfortable.

With that said, this book was a great read and opens up a lot of room for discussion. #netgalley