True Blue

this was a pretty decent short book about that awkward time between 10 and teen. the story is about 3 preteens in Alabama in the 70s, 2 boys and 1 girl, and how their changing minds and bodies cause fractures in their relationship.

the book moves fast. one chapter it is august, the next it is may. that isn't necessarily a bad thing. this book was written for young teens after all.

the kids also "move fast". they are ten and are talking about how they want to date each other and even love each other. sure that is possible but I don't remember "loving" anyone like these kids claim to.

the author does a good job of showing how things change when you get to middle school. while I went to a k to 8 school, there was a definite, noticeable transition that occured when you entered middle school which is portrayed fairly well. friendships can changed, people can change. that is life and sometimes, it hurts.

another character is mickey who was about to make the triangle into a square but he quickly moves away which made him seem like an odd character to have if not for the fact that this book is part of a series so it's obvious he'll be part of everything in later installments.

I'll probably read the sequels at some point but won't be rushing out to find them.

this was a fun book though and I ate it up very qiuckly.

I would say that I give this book around a 3.25/3.5 stars. I really enjoyed the friendship aspect of this book. In the years where Wade, Jenna and Billy Joe were younger, I found myself smiling and laughing at their little group and the secret codes and clubhouse. All of those things really reminded me of my childhood friendships.
I also can appreciate how you see how friendships change as you get older and sometimes your old friends get new friends and you feel left out. I did think that it was a little random when Mickey's point of view was thrown into the story, but once I got further into it, I understood it more.
I would have to say my favorite character in this is Jenna. Jenna is spunky and smart and self assured, but also beautiful without showing it off. Billy Joe is such a funny guy and he was the one character who was always making me laugh. And I hurt for Wade and what he was going through at home, and you kind of see why he starts acting the way he does.
I always like books that have multiple points of view, but I did feel like I did not get enough of all of the characters because their time was shared with other's points of view.
The ending however, I was not a huge fan of. It felt very anticlimactic. Nothing huge had happened, and it kind of left you in a spot where you are not quite sure where everything is going to go. I know that there are three more books in this series, but I was hoping to get a little something more from the ending.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this and the book had a really fun friendship aspect to it.

Unfortunately I didn't finish this book, as I couldn't get into it - nothing against the author or book, just not to my personal taste. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.