The Other Side of Blue: A YA Novel About an Artist's Daughter, Grief, and Family in the Caribbean

by Valerie O. Patterson

Cyan was named after a shade of blue, her artist mother's favorite color. The color of the sea. Since her father's death last year, she’s felt just as mercurial and dark as her namesake, and the distance between Cyan and her mother has grown as wide as an ocean. Now they're returning to the island of Curaçao in the Caribbean, where her father's mysterious accident occurred, and joining them will be Kammi--who may soon become a stepsister. Haunted by the secrets of the past, Cyan will explore all the depths of her blueness this summer, discovering the light, the darkness, and the many shades in between that are within her—and within us all.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Death, Family

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book #1 for the 24-hour readathon

[Melody · Rating 2 out of 5]

I set out looking for something with a tropical setting to combat the frigid air where I live. This artsy-sounding tale, set on Curacao, leapt into my hands from the library's New Books shelf. It's Patterson's first novel, and it has a lot of promise and an interesting plot but a host of unbelievable characters. There's not enough backstory and several odd and unexplained vignettes, especially with the nasty boy character. I wanted to like it more than I did.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Five Reasons Why This Book Was Not Ready To Be Published

1. Look at this simile: "... and her mixing palette has dried out, the smudges of blue paint wavy and stiff under my touch like a bad van Gogh imitation." (p.5) What? What is that even supposed to mean? That's a poor excuse for a simile, not only for the fact that this author is brave enough to throw van Gogh out there, but also because THIS COMPARISON JUST DOESN'T WORK. Just think about it. She's comparing paint in a palette to a "bad van Gogh imitation"? That's a little bit over the top, don't you think? (Sorry, but that sentence was bothering me quite a lot when I was reading this book.)

2. I don't quite understand the main character, Cyan. She's whiny, bratty, and clearly stuck in the blues (no pun intended) after her father dies. She steals her mother's paint. (oooh! so bad!) She is cold and distant towards her soon-to-be-new stepsister. But there will be sudden random metaphor-ey phrases that Cyan makes, which is just a little too deep for a girl like her. For example, sometime in the exposition of the book, she says "But what is the color for lost?" We have to be realistic now. What kind of pinchy 15 year old says those kinds of things?. Don't even get me started there. Then there's the *SPOILERSPOILERSPOILERSPOILERSPOILER* ending. The author really had to fit in the part about Pandora's box. Been there, done that, WRITE UP SOMETHING FRESH PLEASE. I am absolutely sick of these sorts of references to Greek mythology. Like I said, Cyan is crabby throughout the whole book, and suddenly, it's all "Oh, hope! We still have that!" Hope for what!? Forgive me for being extremely one-sided, but I really, really, did not like the way figurative language was portrayed in this book.

3. The heartburn-panicky determination Cyan has to solve the mystery of her father's death. The guy is gone 3/4 of the year, and how he ended up stuck in a net, drowned, is never solved. I was honestly curious about how he died, but the author felt it in her right to not give us much of a grand finale for the resolution. Maybe she was aiming for the kind of plot in books where unresolved mysteries were okay. It doesn't work for a book this brief, disconnected, and completely filled with holes. Not a very wise move for a first time author.

4. The cave scene. WHOA. What the heck? Do I even need to explain this part?

5. I felt that the author could have actually stretched out the book even longer. I felt that the plot was too short to actually get into, and the characters were barely warming up before the book ended. Also, Martia. I'm not sure I understand her connection with Cyan. But like I said, this book could have been, uh, thicker.

Why I gave it two stars and not one star: I liked the way setting was portrayed.

P.S. I apologize to infuriated readers who have read this review who praise this book as "beautiful, stunning, and just as reminiscent to the Caribbean that it is set in!" (not that i've seen any reviews like that. yet.)

[Journey · Rating 3 out of 5]

U 3.5 out of 5 stars. Overall, I liked this book. I absolutely loved the writing style and the concept of this book was brilliant! Centering the story around the color blue. Pure brilliance. I must also say that the author succeeded in getting me to more fully appreciate the color. Blue really is a unique and fascinating color, and this book really highlighted that.
Now, let's talk about Mayur.
I hated him.
Every time he acted like a selfish jerk, which was ALWAYS, I wanted Cyan to stand up and slap that pig right across his chubby face. Especially after what he did in the cave. She should have beat the crap out of him right then and there, no matter how much she wanted to know what he knew. Anyway, I did not like that Cyan let that pig of a boy get away with what he did.
I also did not like what Cyan's mother said about having to give up love to be a artist. I do not agree with that at all. Love fuels art. You cannot have true and honest art without love.
Anyway, this was a good book, well written and well thought out. This book is recommended by me to anyone who wants a fairly short, yet deep read.

[Brandy Sharpe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. Just not sure of the editing.

[Jackie♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me just start off by saying I did not hate this book, it had a good message, and I loved the setting and characters. The reason why I'm rating this only a three is because the end didn't pack the punch I was looking for, and some of the parts (cave scene, what?) just didn't seem to fit in with the rest of it and had no explanations for their placement.

For example, like I just mentioned, the cave scene. I have no clue what was happening, or why it did at all. Maybe if I read it over again, I would notice hints that that was all Mayur really ever wanted from her, but I'm unsure. I always thought of him as a little rich boy who couldn't help being a snob because how he was raised. I didn't imagine him all like... that. I was kinda hoping for her to talk to Mayur again after that, and see what he had to say. However, she didn't and left me hanging. Gah!

I really loved the setting. Curaçao, an island off Venezuela where they speak Papiamento and Dutch and eat delicious tropical foods. Martia was my favorite character, after Cyan. I don't know why I liked her so much, she just reminded me of that grandmother who no matter what you do wrong won't tell your mother because she knows you'll be in trouble.

Then there was the huge plot twist at the end, where Philippa was actually having an affair with Cyan's dad. I felt pretty stupid after finding that out. Why, oh why, didn't I realize that? I really do think that twist is one of the best parts of this book though. It was a total surprise.

I think the tone of it was pretty soothing though. The whole book seemed to fit together like a puzzle piece, if that makes any sense.

Overall, this book deserves three stars because although the ending was a bit dull and some parts didn't get full explanations, it was beautifully written and the message is clear and inspiring- there is always hope.

[Cindy Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since her father drowned while sailing a year ago, Cyan and her mother hardly speak to each other. There are too many things Cyan can’t ask her—why didn’t her mother go out with her father that day, how did she meet someone else and fall in love again so quickly—for them to bridge the gap. Now they’re back on the island of Curacao, where they’ve come every summer for years. Cyan’s soon-to-be stepsister, Kammi, is also with them, and Cyan wonders if Kammi’s presence will drive her further apart from her mother or help her find a way back.

The Other Side of Blue by Valerie O. Patterson explores how things left unsaid in families can hurt just as much as things said. It looks at how teens can work to find what’s truly important to them and gain confidence in their own abilities instead of comparing themselves to the success of their parents. Set in a Caribbean paradise, The Other Side of Blue will have mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 14 and up talking about the nature of friendship, parental love and responsibility, communicating hurt, and moving beyond tragedy. I highly recommend it.

[gabriele · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story from beginning to end isn't really going anywhere. It's told from a young teen point of view, Cyan, that lost her father a year ago and has a mother that couldn't care less about her.

I found it quite distrubing, truth be told. Cyan is complexed by her weight and her mother really seems to always be adding up to that. She completely ignores her daughter, refuses to talk about the death of her husband and leaves Cyan to isolate herself, stuck in a numbing state of grief.

For the whole book we get small clues that we havent been told the whole story about her father's death and yet this will never really be resolved.

But what I found the most disturbing is that Mayur (the neighbours' son) knows something about it and will blackmail Cyan by forcing her to let him touch her (sexually and in a cave might I had) so he gives away what he knows. And later on Cyan seems to develop some kind of crush on him. Jesus, NO. This is twisted. I felt deeply uncomfortable reading it and it is not at all written in a way that makes us understand the importance of what happened to Cyan.

[Tweller83 · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book never got off the ground. Cyan tries to find out what really happened to her father last year when he drowned. It is never explained, the daughter and mother never really reconcile. The daughter lets a younger son of a neighbor feel her up and kiss her breast for information and then doesn't really mind that she let him do it. Very slow book that I don't think middle school students would really get into.

[Moira · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic read. Quiet, but so beautifully written, with such a strong voice that I couldn't put it down. Watching Cyan's journey to recovering from her father's death was so moving. And the references to the shades of blue throughout really captivated me. A brilliant book.

[Bee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fell flat in so many ways. I would've added it to my DNF list if it weren't for the fact that I started reading it while in Curacao & hoped to have that beautiful place linger a bit longer.

[Michael Hagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good island drama, and Valerie Patterson’s remarkable YA novel “The Other Side of Blue” delivers the kind of tropical punch that leaves me giddy with wonder. Set on the island of Curacao in the Caribbean Sea, fifteen-year-old Cyan returns with her mother to their annual summer retreat where her father mysteriously died in a boating incident the year before. Her grief has deepened to an interminable anger that no amount of sand, sun and seafood can calm. As the emotional gulf between Cyan and her mother widens, Cyan suspects there is more to her father's death than she's been told. Her mother, a renowned artist who has agreed to marry an affluent admirer, invites Cyan’s future step-sister to the island, a Cinderella-like girl named Kammi who is two years Cyan's junior and everything Cyan is not (thin, sweet and happy). The visit exacerbates Cyan's insecurities and self-defining role as the ugly step-sister. She becomes possessive, dismissive and jealous, a bratty killjoy in full bloom. Meanwhile, Kammi wins everyone over, including the island boys, while Cyan searches for clues about her father. Holding the key to new information about the boating incident is Mayur, a proud local boy from a wealthy family who taunts Cyan yet pulls at her desires and insecurities. Their frosty interactions heighten Cyan's sense of confusion. When Cyan states, "I am not interesting in Mayur. Absolutely not. Maybe," she is acknowledging the depths she'll inevitably go for acceptance and comfort. While Cyan's behavior often works against her, her thoughts and actions accurately reflect a depressed teen working through a profound loss. This is a masterfully rendered portrayal of grief and the reason why this book leaves such a powerful, enduring impression. Cyan's voice is pitch perfect and the writing throughout is masterful. "The Other Side of Blue" is a shining jewel in the sand, a story of healing and hope by a gifted storyteller and skilled practitioner of human nature. Bravo, Valerie Patterson, for this stunning debut!

[Ji Mei · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought it was super interesting and puzzling, but then that creep of a neighbor of hers, in the cave, *shivers* it made me dislike the book. It ruined the mystery of her father's death. If you can handle more sexual stories, be my guest. But if you like clean stories, beware.

Update 12/2/2020:
I didn't reread this book or anything, but I saw this on the list of books I've reviewed and I was curious. Looking at the other comments, I have a vague memory of what happened in the cave. And now that I'm older, I've realized a better way to phrase why this book was absolutely no good for me. I don't care about spoiling anything so here I go:

1. For a book that seemed to be written for middle schoolers, I think the situation in the cave is way too mature, bordering on explicit for someone that young to read, i.e. me when I read this before.

2. I feel like it's a problematic situation that doesn't address that it's not okay for a young girl to basically sell her body in exchange for something she wants. It's not a good message for a young, impressionable reader and it honestly doesn't belong anywhere close to the middle school age level genre. Even for YA, it's a little too much (at least for me when I read YA I was at the beginning of high school and not ready for those kind of topics).

[Beckie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Valerie O. Patterson's The Other Side of Blue reads like a fine oil painting. From up close one is memorized by her beautiful imagery and metaphors. Then if the reader steps back they can see the carefully crafted words and images forming a picture, a story filled with hurt, loss, and unanswered questions. And finally if one studies this delicate portrait completely, they can find a glimpse of Cyan's glimmers of hope illuminated through the many hues of blue.

Obviously a lover of color and of words, Val has used both with the skill of a fine crater to paint the story of Cyan, a young teenage girl who is struggling with the loss of her father and her anger towards her mother. Her story takes place on the Island of Curacao in the Caribbean, which I've never been to in real life, but feel like I have because o the vivid descriptions throughout The Other Side of Blue

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Other Side Of Blue is a book about a girl named Cyan who's mother is a painter. Her dad died and her mom barely pays attention to her. She visits Hawaii every year. Her mom is going to get married to a guy and he has a daughter named Kammi who is two years younger than Cyan. There is also a boy named Mayur who also stays in Hawaii for the summer. He knows something about how Cyan's dad died, but he won't tell her. This book was really good, but it was a little bit sad and boring.

ACADEMIC HONESTY--By pasting this statement, I am indicating that I read the book, and the information on this page is accurate.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is set on Curacao Island in the Dutch Caribbean. I read it while we vacationed in Curacao, and we visited many of the tourist attractions mentioned in the book. Our vacation there was awesome and I'm glad I packed the book to read while we were there. The author did an outstanding job describing the beauty of the island, but when it came to the story itself, I thought it fell flat in the end -- thus the three star rating I gave it. With a different (better) ending, this book could have easily earned five stars from me.

[Zeena]

This is a really good book about this girl who's dad died on the island they spend the summer on. Her mom wants to get remaried so she brings her fiance's daughter to spend the summmer with Cyan, the main character. The plot is basicaly this rich kid who has a letter her dad wrote, and left in his book which has evidence to if he killed himself or not. There is a really gross part in the middle, but it is a really good book!

[Gail Zachariah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing in this first person novel about grief and art is very good. For all its promise, it is too slow.

[AnnaBnana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just wrote a really long review for this book and then goodreads made it disappear. I don't want to rewrite it just now.

[Terry]

Read our full review at the Reading Tub.

[Scottyesue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky to meet Valerie Patterson this summer. This is a wonderful story of family, friendships, and growing up, set in a beautiful, dream like place.

[Sandy Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely prose that reads like poetry.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book for the author’s first book. I really enjoyed all the references to colors. The characters were very well thought out.

[Novia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like it.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the blue references were slightly annoying at the beginning, but good characters I haven't met before and some interesting plot twists.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I agree with Cindy's review! Lyrical prose, and a believable portrayal of grief, loss, and strained family relationships.

[Meg Medina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This title was a Girls of Summer 2011 selection. Review and full list here. http://girlsofsummerlist.wordpress.co...

[Denise Hartzler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Valerie has a gift with word that transport you. This was a great read.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was pretty good but it got really weird toward the end.

[Mary-Ann Muffoletto · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm looking forward to sharing this with the young people in my life.