Blue

by Ken Spillman

Blue is a collection of interrelated stories, following the fives of a group of young adults over four years of relationships, jobs and big life decisions. Each story focuses on a point of transition for one character, but, cumulatively, the work gains power as a multiview exploration of the thresholds to adulthood.

237 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1999

About the author

Ken Spillman grew up in Perth and has been a full-time professional writer for most of his adult life. He is the author of 20 books including Blue and Love is a UFO, both acclaimed novels for teenagers. He co-authored Magpie Mischief and Magwheel Mayhem, and is also the author of the forthcoming title Jake’s Gigantic List (for early readers). During 2008, Ken was a keynote speaker at the Asian Children’s Writers and Illustrators Conference and a guest of the Tasmanian Writers Centre, the Mussoorie International Writers’ Festival, and the Delhi Children’s Literature Festival. He was a keynote speaker at a conference on multiliteracies in Singapore earlier this year. Ken has compiled five collections of writing, and the major US reference work Contemporary Authors has compiled a detailed entry on his career.

Reviews

[Lyndee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely book outlining the easy entanglement of separate lives. This book depicts well Perth life with Spillman telling with great detail of the beach lifestyle and culture of Perth. Mastering the art of constructing realistic characters Spillman, through this text, has created a story that is both relatable and enjoyable to any Australian. An easy and intriguing read.

[The Book Witch · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope.

I do not mind writing that isn't descriptive at all, that just states what is there. And I have read books where it had been done well. Here though, there was no flow. It came off as awkward, and it was physically difficult for me to read this. I ended up dnfing because it was so difficult for me to get through it.

The only good thing I can say is that the characters felt real and they had interesting histories. It was almost like reading a short story collection at times because it was about them and their life and less about any links to other characters.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a YA fiction this is actually a complicated little book. Basically it is a collection of short chapters that don't appear to be related but then seem to join up at the end (A bit like the movie Love Actually).

It was ok but not one I would probably read again

[Carole888 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lovely collection of short stories which we read for our Bookclub a long time ago and then I re-read them once again. I enjoyed how characters connected and stories linked, within the setting. As time passed, the book almost felt like a movie and I became a spectator.