Where Blue Begins

by Janice Deaner

Piecing together tantalizing passages from her mother's secret journal, ten-year-old Maddie makes startling discoveries about her ill mother's dark and mysterious past and about the web of lies haunting her family. Reprint.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

464 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for the first time some 20 or so years ago and ever since it had been one of my favourite ones - until I read it again now. I don't understand the fascination I felt so many years ago any more.

Although I still like it I have to admit that all this secrecy got to my nerves. Until almost to the end of the book the poor girls were not given a chance to know what happened to their mother , why she had to go to so much pain from time to time. I would not treat my children that way. The way Lana treated her children and her husband is not understandable to me. Okay, what had happened to her so many years ago is beyond horrible, but still. Maybe it's because something that horrible never happened to me and therefore I am unable to understand how a traumatized person feels; I think for whatever happens to a person, one day it is time to get over it. So I may be pardoned for my intolerance - if you want to call it that.

[Judy Barberino · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the best book I've recently read. The author's style is simple and flows very well. The story is written in the first person, by an eleven-year-old girl. She, her sister and a friend go through a tough time in their lives, but stick together through it all. At one point in the book I felt the story was just going on and on and could have compressed some of the happenings. But, the story gets exciting again for the last quarter. I only wish there would be another book that would continue from this one.

[Angela Winters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book. There are two young girls living in a home with their parents which is very quiet and seems steeped in sadness, though the little girls do not know why this is so. The story is told from the point of view of the eldest daughter, who interacts with her family, neighbors and school friends. There is the father who loves jazz and his two little girls who come to hear it in bits and pieces, when their mother is away, and come to love it, too. Their physically disabled and emotionally frail mother cannot bear to hear jazz music, though, so the father and the two girls are careful to make sure she never does. Finally, the enthusiasm and joy the music brings to the three escapes them one day when the mother unexpectedly overhears "the jazz" and the girls hear the searing, shattering story of their mother's past and what happened to make jazz painful for her to hear.

[krdito · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very sad, coming-of-age story about a family full of secrets from a tragic past. I found Maddie's 10-year old voice to ring true, and the tension within the family felt authenic and palpable. It was a bit long, and some parts that weren't pertinent to the story (Bear/sparrow story and Ms. Harp) could have easily been omitted. With some chapters being 40+ pages long, it is not a quick read or something you can pick up when you have a few minutes to spare. For some reason, I was annoyed by the characters referring to jazz music as "the jazz." Maybe this is a local thing, but it sounded odd to when they said things like "He played the jazz." Sorry to see Janice Deaner has not written anything for quite a while : (

[Cheryl Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up with no idea what it was about and was pleasantly surprised when reading it. At first I wasn’t too keen on it but it soon drew me in and I couldn’t put it down. I liked how the story unfolded a little at a time and the subplots were a great addition to the story.

[Ema · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, I don't like the Minnie's story but at the end, I change my mind.

[Carmen Orthner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and sometimes heart-wrenching book. The child voice rings very true to life. I wasn't a big fan of the Minnie Harp subplot, but the main mystery was fascinating.

[Jana G. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Das Buch war etwas zäh zu lesen.

[Sarah]

I put this book on hold because I need to get rid of my own 3 star books before I start borrowing from the library.

[Antje · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a story! Still love it!!