Everywhere Blue
by Joanne Rossmassler Fritz (Author)
A brother's disappearance turns one family upside down, revealing painful secrets that threaten the life they've always known.
When twelve-year-old Maddie's older brother vanishes from his college campus, her carefully ordered world falls apart. Nothing will fill the void of her beloved oldest sibling. Meanwhile Maddie's older sister reacts by staying out late, and her parents are always distracted by the search for Strum. Drowning in grief and confusion, the family's musical household falls silent.
Though Maddie is the youngest, she knows Strum better than anyone. He used to confide in her, sharing his fears about the climate crisis and their planet's future. So, Maddie starts looking for clues: Was Strum unhappy? Were the arguments with their dad getting worse? Or could his disappearance have something to do with those endangered butterflies he loved . . .
Scared and on her own, Maddie picks up the pieces of her family's fractured lives. Maybe her parents aren't who she thought they were. Maybe her nervous thoughts and compulsive counting mean she needs help. And maybe finding Strum won't solve everything--but she knows he's out there, and she has to try.
This powerful debut novel in verse addresses the climate crisis, intergenerational discourse, and mental illness in an accessible, hopeful way. With a gorgeous narrative voice, Everywhere Blue is perfect for fans of Eventown and OCDaniel. An NCTE Notable Verse NovelA Mighty Girl Best Book of the YearCybils Award Poetry Winner!
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School Library Journal
Gr 4-7--Musical and poetic, this is a brave, rich debut novel about mental health and climate change. Maddie, short for Madrigal (like everyone in her family, she has a musical name) likes sameness. Whenever Maddie is stressed, she counts things and hopes they come out to an even number; this calms her. There's a lot to be worried about these days--the quality of her oboe playing, her dad's strictness, her sister Aria's increasing distance, and her older brother Strum's sudden disappearance from college--and lots of her counting comes to odd numbers. There's a dissonance in this musical family, and no one can figure out where Strum has gone or why. Maman, who is French, flies to Colorado to search for him; Daddy follows and leaves Maddie home with Aria, who is even more determined to break the rules now that their parents are gone. Knowing Strum's increasing concern with ecology and conservation, Maddie joins Eco Club with her best friend, Emma, and lands a solo in the upcoming school concert; she experiences common middle school concerns like fitting in while navigating intense family struggles at home. The book is written in verse, and the plot is broken into four narrative segments and utilizes musical terminology like diminuendo in the beginning and crescendo at the end. The imagery of blue morpho butterflies swirling with the conflict and connection in Maddie's life during her oboe solo is particularly beautiful. VERDICT Libraries need more titles featuring young people who care about climate change and live with undiagnosed mental illness, and this fresh novel in verse fits the bill.--Jamie Winchell, Percy Julian M.S., IL
Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
A lyrical novel that makes you feel the chill in your bones but also gives you hope and beauty and lightness, like watching Maddie's beloved butterflies open and soar.—Kathryn Erskine, National Book Award-winning author of Mockingbird Libraries need more titles featuring young people who care about climate change and live with undiagnosed mental illness, and this fresh novel in verse fits the bill.—School Library Journal This well-written story of a family under duress blends music and ecology and may fit a certain niche in some collections.—School Library Connection
JUV013070 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Siblings
JUV029010 - Juvenile Fiction | Nature & the Natural World | Environment
JUV039240 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Depression & Mental Illness
Families
Family life
Novels in verse
Missing persons
Anxiety disorders
