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Blue is for Nightmares #1
Blue is for Nightmares
I know your secret...
Stacey's junior year at boarding school isn't easy. She's not the most popular girl at school, or the smartest, or the prettiest. She's got a crush on her best friend's boyfriend, and an even darker secret that threatens to ruin her friendships for good. And now she's having nightmares again.
Not just any nightmares � these dreams are too real to ignore, like she did three years ago. The last time she ignored them, a little girl died. This time they're about Drea, her best friend who's become the target of one seriously psycho stalker. It started with weird e-mails and freaky phone calls.
Now someone's leaving Drea white lilies � the same death lilies that have been showing up in Stacey's dreams. Everybody thinks it's just a twisted game . . . until another girl at school is brutally murdered. There are no witnesses. Worst of all, no one has a perfect alibi. With everyone as a potential suspect, Stacey turns to the one secret weapon she can trust � the folk magic taught to her by her grandmother.
Will Stacey's magic be strong enough to expose the true killer, or will the killer make her darkest nightmares come true?
In this Deluxe Spellbook Edition you'll find:
Stacey's junior year at boarding school isn't easy. She's not the most popular girl at school, or the smartest, or the prettiest. She's got a crush on her best friend's boyfriend, and an even darker secret that threatens to ruin her friendships for good. And now she's having nightmares again.
Not just any nightmares � these dreams are too real to ignore, like she did three years ago. The last time she ignored them, a little girl died. This time they're about Drea, her best friend who's become the target of one seriously psycho stalker. It started with weird e-mails and freaky phone calls.
Now someone's leaving Drea white lilies � the same death lilies that have been showing up in Stacey's dreams. Everybody thinks it's just a twisted game . . . until another girl at school is brutally murdered. There are no witnesses. Worst of all, no one has a perfect alibi. With everyone as a potential suspect, Stacey turns to the one secret weapon she can trust � the folk magic taught to her by her grandmother.
Will Stacey's magic be strong enough to expose the true killer, or will the killer make her darkest nightmares come true?
In this Deluxe Spellbook Edition you'll find:
Spells created by You and other keepers of secrets-poems, spells and meditations contributed by fans of this popular series. Extras also include an interview with the author.
284 pages, Paperback
First published November 8, 2003
273 people are currently reading
18083 people want to read
About the author
Laurie Faria Stolarz
30books3,158followersLaurie Faria Stolarz grew up in Salem, MA, attended Merrimack College, and received an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College in Boston.
Laurie Faria Stolarz is an American author of young adult fiction novels, best known for her Blue is for Nightmares series. Her works, which feature teenage protagonists, blend elements found in mystery and romance novels.
Stolarz found sales success with her first novel, Blue is for Nightmares, and followed it up with three more titles in the series, White is for Magic, Silver is for Secrets, and Red is for Remembrance, as well as a companion graphic novel, Black is for Beginnings. Stolarz is also the author of the Touch series (Deadly Little Secret, Deadly Little Lies, Deadly Little Games, Deadly Little Voices, and Deadly Little Lessons), as well as Bleed and Project 17. With more than two million books sold worldwide, Stolarz's titles have been named on various awards list.
Laurie Faria Stolarz is an American author of young adult fiction novels, best known for her Blue is for Nightmares series. Her works, which feature teenage protagonists, blend elements found in mystery and romance novels.
Stolarz found sales success with her first novel, Blue is for Nightmares, and followed it up with three more titles in the series, White is for Magic, Silver is for Secrets, and Red is for Remembrance, as well as a companion graphic novel, Black is for Beginnings. Stolarz is also the author of the Touch series (Deadly Little Secret, Deadly Little Lies, Deadly Little Games, Deadly Little Voices, and Deadly Little Lessons), as well as Bleed and Project 17. With more than two million books sold worldwide, Stolarz's titles have been named on various awards list.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,107 reviews
September 20, 2022
Este tipo de historias siempre han sido de las que más me atraen y no me decepcionó para nada.
Hay más de una cosa que me gustó, entre las principales que es una historia muy de los noventas, se nota en la forma en que visten los personajes, las situaciones, la forma en que explica la onda wicca, el misterio, en fin es todo ese estilo.
Logra ser una historia creativa porque aunque la magia es un elemento muy común, la forma en que se lleva en este libro es muy interesante, un giro fresco en el que puedes deleitarte con los giros y la trama que se va torciendo para ofrecerte algo más que una típica historia adolescente.
Un poco predecibles los finales y se queda algo corta al narrar las partes de acción pero no es algo desagradable de leer.
De entre todo los peros son pocos en comparación a lo genial que posee.
Hay más de una cosa que me gustó, entre las principales que es una historia muy de los noventas, se nota en la forma en que visten los personajes, las situaciones, la forma en que explica la onda wicca, el misterio, en fin es todo ese estilo.
Logra ser una historia creativa porque aunque la magia es un elemento muy común, la forma en que se lleva en este libro es muy interesante, un giro fresco en el que puedes deleitarte con los giros y la trama que se va torciendo para ofrecerte algo más que una típica historia adolescente.
Un poco predecibles los finales y se queda algo corta al narrar las partes de acción pero no es algo desagradable de leer.
De entre todo los peros son pocos en comparación a lo genial que posee.
February 12, 2018
Esta serie de libros llamó mi atención por el tema de magia y hechizos, sabiendo de antemano que era una saga juvenil, la realidad es que son libros muy entretenidos, la historia esta ambientada a finales de los noventa y principios del dos mil y tiene descripciones que me encantan con esa forma de vestir y los datos esotéricos de esta chica que tiene esa habilidad.
Me recuerdan mucho esos viejos tiempos, el suspenso te mantiene en ascuas y cada vez te hacen desear más que te expliquen todo de una vez, lo único es que el desenlace transcurre en a lo mucho dos hojas, demasiado apresurado considerando el ritmo que mantuvo.
Pero debo admitir que me gustó y de inmediato comencé con el segundo.
Me recuerdan mucho esos viejos tiempos, el suspenso te mantiene en ascuas y cada vez te hacen desear más que te expliquen todo de una vez, lo único es que el desenlace transcurre en a lo mucho dos hojas, demasiado apresurado considerando el ritmo que mantuvo.
Pero debo admitir que me gustó y de inmediato comencé con el segundo.
September 12, 2020
This book deserves a loose 4 stars. I have to admit while I'm biased of stores that deal with witches and witchcraft I struggled through this one. I found it was a little annoying at times because I couldn't differentiate between dreams and reality. Now I understand that was most likely the point to not know the difference but honestly I found it a little annoying because it seemed to happen all to often then not. I also felt like the characters didn't really have much depth to them and they were just kind of there. But all in all it was honestly a pretty good book. I admit I loved the spooky atmosphere, the main character was so interesting and I loved her, and the setting was also amazing and, again, a little spooky so that helped persuade my rating. Like I mentioned above I'm biased of witches and witchcraft in books so I did enjoy this read even if it had a few faults. I'd definitely pick up the second book.
June 26, 2010
I think I give it 2.5 stars.
I'm not quite sure about this. I liked it because it was what I needed at the time. Something light and not complicated and silly.
It was like a teen slasher movie with magic, and less dead bodies. But it was so full of cliches and something the writing made me cringe.
I like the main character and I definitely liked the magic in the book. It wasn't too paranormal, just rituals and spells and lots of faith in the magical. Plus, premonition dreams.
So that was fun
Two things though.
1) Why is it that, often (but not always), in young adult fiction, especially aimed at teenage girls, the "best " fiend(s) are never really good friends. They're always cliche or mean or petty or any other thing that is annoying and that leaves you wondering why the protagonist is their friend to begin with. I haven't read a lot a really strong friendships in young adult books. Especially between girls.
And in this book, every single friend that the protagonist had, ended up being annoying, inconsiderate, cold, jealous, mean, or just plain incompatible.
My world for a string friendship between two teenage girls where they don't argue about silly things and especially about boys.
2) Boys and love interest. Why do they always have to have one? It's like writers and publishers don't think teenage girls can get interested in a book if there isn't some kind of love story going on.
Oh, don't get me wrong. I love love stories, and I think that when it's well done, it just enriches the story you are telling, especially if the story is not mainly a love story to begin with. But to make teenage girl characters constantly obsessed with getting a boyfriend, or talking about boys all the time, when your story is not a love story is quite annoying and distract from the story.
In this book, I couldn't have cared less about Stacey's feelings for Chad. And her torment, because he was her best friend's ex, who she still thought she loved. And, cue drama, that brings nothing to the main plot line. And Chad didn't seem that much of a catch to begin with.
So yeah, 3 stars for the magic in this book. Two for the rest. Because, even though a whole bunch of things annoyed me, I still wanted to keep reding to see how it ended.
I'm not quite sure about this. I liked it because it was what I needed at the time. Something light and not complicated and silly.
It was like a teen slasher movie with magic, and less dead bodies. But it was so full of cliches and something the writing made me cringe.
I like the main character and I definitely liked the magic in the book. It wasn't too paranormal, just rituals and spells and lots of faith in the magical. Plus, premonition dreams.
So that was fun
Two things though.
1) Why is it that, often (but not always), in young adult fiction, especially aimed at teenage girls, the "best " fiend(s) are never really good friends. They're always cliche or mean or petty or any other thing that is annoying and that leaves you wondering why the protagonist is their friend to begin with. I haven't read a lot a really strong friendships in young adult books. Especially between girls.
And in this book, every single friend that the protagonist had, ended up being annoying, inconsiderate, cold, jealous, mean, or just plain incompatible.
My world for a string friendship between two teenage girls where they don't argue about silly things and especially about boys.
2) Boys and love interest. Why do they always have to have one? It's like writers and publishers don't think teenage girls can get interested in a book if there isn't some kind of love story going on.
Oh, don't get me wrong. I love love stories, and I think that when it's well done, it just enriches the story you are telling, especially if the story is not mainly a love story to begin with. But to make teenage girl characters constantly obsessed with getting a boyfriend, or talking about boys all the time, when your story is not a love story is quite annoying and distract from the story.
In this book, I couldn't have cared less about Stacey's feelings for Chad. And her torment, because he was her best friend's ex, who she still thought she loved. And, cue drama, that brings nothing to the main plot line. And Chad didn't seem that much of a catch to begin with.
So yeah, 3 stars for the magic in this book. Two for the rest. Because, even though a whole bunch of things annoyed me, I still wanted to keep reding to see how it ended.
July 31, 2014
After having sat through 312 pages of Stacey's humiliation and her being betrayed by yet another supposed best friend (BY THE WAY, why do the "best friends" in these books CONSTANTLY betray the main characters?? Who are these (fictional) people who find the shittiest person to befriend. I mean, fuck. I could turn into a werewolf and my best friend would never betray me, just be like, "Dude, find me a hot werewolf guy." It rages me that these characters are constantly forced to rely on themselves and blah fucking blah.Now where was I...) I ABSOLUTELY REFUSE to sit through the rest of the series.
I'm sure shitty best friend will spend the rest of the series trying to make it up to the witchy main character for being a waste of literary space. And I'll roll my eyes and say, "Yeah right, whatever bitch." and the book will start talking back to me and it'll just get ugly and I'd rather not burn any books. It's against my non-religion.
This was just as disappointing as Evermore and we don't need to go there. You know what I mean.
I'm sure shitty best friend will spend the rest of the series trying to make it up to the witchy main character for being a waste of literary space. And I'll roll my eyes and say, "Yeah right, whatever bitch." and the book will start talking back to me and it'll just get ugly and I'd rather not burn any books. It's against my non-religion.
This was just as disappointing as Evermore and we don't need to go there. You know what I mean.
September 27, 2023
not me, 14 years later, rereading this series again
September 25, 2019
Zdravo svima, ovde trinaestogodišnja Anja vrišti jer je obožavala ovu knjigu i upravo slučajno naletela na nju. Ovih 5 zvezdica daje ona.
Ne znam da li želim opet da čitam ovu knjigu ili da ostanem u ubedjunju da je ovo jedna od najboljih YA trilera. Kad se samo setim kako sam se ježila... Mislim da ću morati da ponovim čitanje i vidim da li je danas bar upola dobra kao tada.
Ne znam da li želim opet da čitam ovu knjigu ili da ostanem u ubedjunju da je ovo jedna od najboljih YA trilera. Kad se samo setim kako sam se ježila... Mislim da ću morati da ponovim čitanje i vidim da li je danas bar upola dobra kao tada.
April 1, 2009
Stacy starts having nightmares about her friend Drea being kidnapped. She knows that they mean something because this has happened to her before. In the past she ignored them and lost someone she loved because of it. This time Stacy plans on preventing the murder. There were a couple things in this book that struck me as false; it doesn't seem to take place now, it has kind of a mid 90s feel, which is weird. It seems unbelievable that only one student at this wealthy prep school has a cell phone. Also everyone is catty and bitchy, it seems as though no one is nice to each other, even best friends. I am not saying people have to be nice to each other all the time, but best friends usually have boundaries they wont cross with each other and that doesn't seem to exist here.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2019
I read these books ages ago and only just remembered about them, dying to re-read them all now - will review as soon as I can get my hands on a copy!
April 12, 2009
I did not like this book very much and I am really surprised the book has avg rating of 4.21 (which is what drove me to read the book in the first place). The book isn't entirely bad though. It is action-packed and has an interesting, yet creepy plot. With that said, I felt like the author placed a greater emphasis on the plot, rather than the characters. I couldn't relate to any of them at all, and felt like many of them didn't have distinct personalities. That bothered me greatly. I won't recommend this book to anyone in particular, unless someone is looking for a quick-read to keep them entertained for an hour or two. The novel is fine, actually, but it's not like Harry Potter or Twilight. I can't get really "into" it.
Here come the **spoilers**: This book is about a girl/"witch" named Stacy Brown. She has weird nightmares about her best friend and current roommate, Drea. They seem to foreshadow Drea's death. In these dreams, lilies are all always present; lilies also happen to be the flower that represent death. Stacy becomes really worried because she has had dreams like this in the past, and the last time she didn't act upon them. The result was the death of a little girl named Maura. Stacy isn't sure if she is misinterpreting her nightmares, so she uses card-reading to verify her visions. They all seem to indicate the same thing: Chad, Drea's ex-boyfriend is going to schedule something like date, then cancel on her, Drea is going to get mysterious packages and Drea is going to die soon. To make things even worse, Drea is getting calls from a mysterious guy, and she refuses to tell Stacy who he is.
A few days later, Drea gets a package and Stacy becomes paranoid. Stacy doesn't want to tell Drea what her visions indicate, but after these odd phone calls, and the mysterious package, Stacy decides it's about time to tell her the truth. Stacy also tells Amber who is another friend of theirs. Drea doesn't take Stacy's warning seriously. The next day, Drea receives an odd message about Drea having only four more days. Along with the message is four lilies. Drea and Stacy are convinced that the number of lilies represent the number of days Drea has to live. However, despite this, Drea continues to talk to the mysterious guy on the phone, and she admits to Stacy and Amber that she has no idea who he is. Amber completely flips out, and advises her not to talk to him again.
Stacy takes it upon herself to solve this mystery, and begins to get threatening messages. A mean girl named Veronica starts telling everyone that she is being stalked too, and has been sentenced to die the same day Drea has; however, Stacy feels that there is more to that story and Veronica is not telling the truth. All of a sudden, Veronica is murdered, which forces the police to get involved. Meanwhile, Stacy has problems with her relationship with Chad. She likes him, and she's pretty sure he likes her, but he was Drea's ex-boyfriend. Drea also gets annoyed with Stacy when she spends time with Chad, and that results in a major fight between Stacy and Drea. On top of all this, Stacy is having nightmares about Chad being the threating person/stalker. The day Veronica dies, Drea hyperventilates and is taken to the hospital. She is released later that night, but she never makes it back to her room.
Stacy becomes worried and alerts the police but they aren't too concerned; in their eyes, Veronica's death is the main the problem. Stacy goes searching for Drea, and relies on her visions and her instinct to find her. She goes to a forest (after calling the police and letting them know), and finds Donnovan, a guy who has had a crush/obsession on Drea since third grade, there. Stacy cuts her foot, and Donnovan tells her to stay put while he goes and looks around for some help (apparently his cell phone had no connection). At first she trusts him, but the she questions why he is even here in the first place. That makes her suspicious so she continues her search for Drea. Donnovan gets mad and tells her that she wouldn't want to see what happened to her.
Stacy finds Drea in the fetal position all tied up in a shed-like place. The two of them try to escape from Donnovan while he threatens them with a knife. When it almost seems like Stacy is going to die, the police appear on the scene just in time. Donnovan is arrested and taken away, while Drea and Stacy are taken back to the various locations to be questioned by different people.
In the end, it turns out that Donnovan was the one who was threatening Drea from the beginning. Donnovan has been obsessed with Drea since third-grade, but she didn't like him back in that sense. Donnovan thought that if he could lure Drea away from Chad and her friends, and spend sometime with her, she would possibly love him. Veronica realized that Drea was getting a lot attention through this problem, and decided to fake the idea of being stalked too. She decided that she would leave town the day of the "murder," and when she came back Drea would be gone, as in dead. With Drea out of the way, she could have Chad to herself. However, Donnovan got upset with Veronica and decided that he had to do something about her. So, as he tells the court, he "accidentally" killed her. The court decides that Donnovan is not mentally straight, and he is sent to juvenile-jail for five years. They also require some counseling sessions for Donnovan.
Meanwhile, Drea decides to leave campus and go back home to study for a year. She needs time to get over this ordeal. Also, she thanks Stacy for not bailing out on her, even though she was extremely rude to Stacy. Lastly, she gives permission to Stacy to date Chad.
Here come the **spoilers**: This book is about a girl/"witch" named Stacy Brown. She has weird nightmares about her best friend and current roommate, Drea. They seem to foreshadow Drea's death. In these dreams, lilies are all always present; lilies also happen to be the flower that represent death. Stacy becomes really worried because she has had dreams like this in the past, and the last time she didn't act upon them. The result was the death of a little girl named Maura. Stacy isn't sure if she is misinterpreting her nightmares, so she uses card-reading to verify her visions. They all seem to indicate the same thing: Chad, Drea's ex-boyfriend is going to schedule something like date, then cancel on her, Drea is going to get mysterious packages and Drea is going to die soon. To make things even worse, Drea is getting calls from a mysterious guy, and she refuses to tell Stacy who he is.
A few days later, Drea gets a package and Stacy becomes paranoid. Stacy doesn't want to tell Drea what her visions indicate, but after these odd phone calls, and the mysterious package, Stacy decides it's about time to tell her the truth. Stacy also tells Amber who is another friend of theirs. Drea doesn't take Stacy's warning seriously. The next day, Drea receives an odd message about Drea having only four more days. Along with the message is four lilies. Drea and Stacy are convinced that the number of lilies represent the number of days Drea has to live. However, despite this, Drea continues to talk to the mysterious guy on the phone, and she admits to Stacy and Amber that she has no idea who he is. Amber completely flips out, and advises her not to talk to him again.
Stacy takes it upon herself to solve this mystery, and begins to get threatening messages. A mean girl named Veronica starts telling everyone that she is being stalked too, and has been sentenced to die the same day Drea has; however, Stacy feels that there is more to that story and Veronica is not telling the truth. All of a sudden, Veronica is murdered, which forces the police to get involved. Meanwhile, Stacy has problems with her relationship with Chad. She likes him, and she's pretty sure he likes her, but he was Drea's ex-boyfriend. Drea also gets annoyed with Stacy when she spends time with Chad, and that results in a major fight between Stacy and Drea. On top of all this, Stacy is having nightmares about Chad being the threating person/stalker. The day Veronica dies, Drea hyperventilates and is taken to the hospital. She is released later that night, but she never makes it back to her room.
Stacy becomes worried and alerts the police but they aren't too concerned; in their eyes, Veronica's death is the main the problem. Stacy goes searching for Drea, and relies on her visions and her instinct to find her. She goes to a forest (after calling the police and letting them know), and finds Donnovan, a guy who has had a crush/obsession on Drea since third grade, there. Stacy cuts her foot, and Donnovan tells her to stay put while he goes and looks around for some help (apparently his cell phone had no connection). At first she trusts him, but the she questions why he is even here in the first place. That makes her suspicious so she continues her search for Drea. Donnovan gets mad and tells her that she wouldn't want to see what happened to her.
Stacy finds Drea in the fetal position all tied up in a shed-like place. The two of them try to escape from Donnovan while he threatens them with a knife. When it almost seems like Stacy is going to die, the police appear on the scene just in time. Donnovan is arrested and taken away, while Drea and Stacy are taken back to the various locations to be questioned by different people.
In the end, it turns out that Donnovan was the one who was threatening Drea from the beginning. Donnovan has been obsessed with Drea since third-grade, but she didn't like him back in that sense. Donnovan thought that if he could lure Drea away from Chad and her friends, and spend sometime with her, she would possibly love him. Veronica realized that Drea was getting a lot attention through this problem, and decided to fake the idea of being stalked too. She decided that she would leave town the day of the "murder," and when she came back Drea would be gone, as in dead. With Drea out of the way, she could have Chad to herself. However, Donnovan got upset with Veronica and decided that he had to do something about her. So, as he tells the court, he "accidentally" killed her. The court decides that Donnovan is not mentally straight, and he is sent to juvenile-jail for five years. They also require some counseling sessions for Donnovan.
Meanwhile, Drea decides to leave campus and go back home to study for a year. She needs time to get over this ordeal. Also, she thanks Stacy for not bailing out on her, even though she was extremely rude to Stacy. Lastly, she gives permission to Stacy to date Chad.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 18, 2017
Nije loše.
Misteriozno i brzo se čita,likovi su odlični,dijalozi puni humora i prepucavanja,to mi je valjda bilo i najbolje u knjizi. Veoma lepo osmišljeno,ali je sve nekako zbrzano i nedovršeno, skače previše s radnje na radnju. Nadam se da je u nastavcima bila bolja.
I naravno opet prepametni šesnaestogodišnjaci
Misteriozno i brzo se čita,likovi su odlični,dijalozi puni humora i prepucavanja,to mi je valjda bilo i najbolje u knjizi. Veoma lepo osmišljeno,ali je sve nekako zbrzano i nedovršeno, skače previše s radnje na radnju. Nadam se da je u nastavcima bila bolja.
I naravno opet prepametni šesnaestogodišnjaci
January 15, 2014
SEE THIS REVIEW ON MY BLOG!
**spoiler alert**
This book was a nightmare! I was seriously tempted for one star.
A young adult witchcraft book that tries too hard to be adult, in my opinion.
Stacey is a "woe is me" character, whose friends suck. With friends like these, her enemies in the book don't seem so bad anymore! One of them humiliates her in front of her crush out of jealousy. Wow. Not to mention, Stacey's oh-so-wet-dream worthy love interest, was completely unmemorable. So forgettable in fact, that I can't remember his name! Chad? Chase? Conrad? I immediately placed who the villain was and found myself wanting to scream at how dim witted the characters were. I mean this guy screamed creepy!
Stupidity hurts...
I'll give the book kudos for accuracy in their flower language, and the fact that someone actually dies in this book!
These, ladies and gentlemen, were it's only good points.
Now. The whole story revolved around a stalker, and the fact that Stacey was having prophetic nightmares. Nightmares that made her wet her bed, but not out of fear! No, no, just because during the dream she had this strong urge to piss herself and couldn't seem to wake herself out of the dream in order to use the toilet like a grown up. Weird and weirder. So we try to grasp the fact that Stacey is trying to hide her bed wetting for nearly the entire book.
To sum it up, this book was blah. Blah, blah, blah. So blah, I'm not even going to bother reading the other 3 books or the damn graphic novel.
**spoiler alert**
This book was a nightmare! I was seriously tempted for one star.
A young adult witchcraft book that tries too hard to be adult, in my opinion.
Stacey is a "woe is me" character, whose friends suck. With friends like these, her enemies in the book don't seem so bad anymore! One of them humiliates her in front of her crush out of jealousy. Wow. Not to mention, Stacey's oh-so-wet-dream worthy love interest, was completely unmemorable. So forgettable in fact, that I can't remember his name! Chad? Chase? Conrad? I immediately placed who the villain was and found myself wanting to scream at how dim witted the characters were. I mean this guy screamed creepy!
Stupidity hurts...
I'll give the book kudos for accuracy in their flower language, and the fact that someone actually dies in this book!
These, ladies and gentlemen, were it's only good points.
Now. The whole story revolved around a stalker, and the fact that Stacey was having prophetic nightmares. Nightmares that made her wet her bed, but not out of fear! No, no, just because during the dream she had this strong urge to piss herself and couldn't seem to wake herself out of the dream in order to use the toilet like a grown up. Weird and weirder. So we try to grasp the fact that Stacey is trying to hide her bed wetting for nearly the entire book.
To sum it up, this book was blah. Blah, blah, blah. So blah, I'm not even going to bother reading the other 3 books or the damn graphic novel.
January 26, 2023
It was such an amazing novel that I really did not want to put it down because I wanted to keep on reading to the end to find out who the stalker was.
Stacey is a wicca who has been having a bed-wetting problem ever since she began to have nightmares about someone trying to kill her best friend and dorm roommate, Drea. When someone starts prank calling their room and leaving creepy notes to Drea, Stacey knows all too well that her dreams are a premonition for a murder...Drea's murder. She, Drea, and all her friends must now try to figure out who the stalker is before someone comes and take Drea away before it is too late.
I really found all the characters to be quite different and very well written. I felt bad for Stacey's little problem because it kept happening because of those nightmares. I will say that I kinda guessed who the stalker/killer was early on but I wasn't completely sure and I was so intrigued to get to the end to figure out of I was right or not...not alot of mystery books have done that for me.
I would definitly recommend this book and series to anyone.
Stacey is a wicca who has been having a bed-wetting problem ever since she began to have nightmares about someone trying to kill her best friend and dorm roommate, Drea. When someone starts prank calling their room and leaving creepy notes to Drea, Stacey knows all too well that her dreams are a premonition for a murder...Drea's murder. She, Drea, and all her friends must now try to figure out who the stalker is before someone comes and take Drea away before it is too late.
I really found all the characters to be quite different and very well written. I felt bad for Stacey's little problem because it kept happening because of those nightmares. I will say that I kinda guessed who the stalker/killer was early on but I wasn't completely sure and I was so intrigued to get to the end to figure out of I was right or not...not alot of mystery books have done that for me.
I would definitly recommend this book and series to anyone.
May 18, 2017
"The spirit of dreams is everlasting," I whisper. "It lives within my mind."
Light and easy. This one was just okay. I liked the Wicca/Pagan type slant to the story. Stacey was interesting with all her spells and rituals. But
I also didn't much like most of the cast of characters. Amber and Drea were awful friends. Between sharing secrets with strangers and constantly not trusting or believing each other, I just couldn't imagine these people had been friends for long.
The guys were equally rough. Between PJ, Donovan and Chad, I though they ALL were the stalker. None of them were particularly great or even interesting. They were creepy and gross and often lied.
Meh. this one was just okay.
Light and easy. This one was just okay. I liked the Wicca/Pagan type slant to the story. Stacey was interesting with all her spells and rituals. But
I also didn't much like most of the cast of characters. Amber and Drea were awful friends. Between sharing secrets with strangers and constantly not trusting or believing each other, I just couldn't imagine these people had been friends for long.
The guys were equally rough. Between PJ, Donovan and Chad, I though they ALL were the stalker. None of them were particularly great or even interesting. They were creepy and gross and often lied.
Meh. this one was just okay.
January 22, 2013
From my blog, .
I didn't like this book. At all. I found myself skipping through paragraphs of description, mostly the spells, cause it felt like a big info dump. You use playing cards because...... insert lengthy reason why. You use oil because...... another lengthy reason why. I feel like I know more about calming oils and protection spells than I do the characters.
Stacy starts having nightmares about something terrible happening to her friend Drea. She knows that they mean something because this has happened to her before with a child she babysat, Maura. This time Stacy plans on preventing Drea's death.
And here I was rooting for Drea to die. She is the worst kind of itch with a heavy case of B. She's a horrible, arrogant friend who believes 'whats mine is mine' including people. She even tells Stacy's crush that she wets her bed - we'll address this little problem later - all because she walked in their dorm and found them sleeping. Fully clothed. A parent would get angry. Your best friend should not, especially since she isn't dating that guy anymore. But alas, Drea thinks he and every other guy in school, belong to her. Honestly, I don't know why Stacy tried so hard to be her friend. I wouldn't want anything to do with her with how she treats people.
I kept getting the vibe this was set in the 90s, what with all the payphones, and a mention of a walkman. It seems unbelievable that only one student at this wealthy prep school has a cell phone, so I'm going to guess it was 90s.
Oh, and Stacy is a bedwetter. There's nothing wrong with it, but did the author really have to address it every. single. scene? I couldn't go two pages without Stacy peeing all over herself. Honey, get that checked out. It was explained in the book, but the author doing it over and over again for a total of 9 million times in the book is overdone. I read more about peeing than a plot.
And character development! Ha! I knew the first time they introduced Donovan he would be the one. His obsession made it obvious. There wasn't any doubt in my mind. No suspense. No characterization. Nada.
Did I mention that I was rooting for the killer to kill everyone? Because they are all horrible characters.
On Amazon, it DID say it was for ages 7-10. I'll leave this to the middle schoolers. Once upon a time I enjoyed books regardless of what they lacked.
I didn't like this book. At all. I found myself skipping through paragraphs of description, mostly the spells, cause it felt like a big info dump. You use playing cards because...... insert lengthy reason why. You use oil because...... another lengthy reason why. I feel like I know more about calming oils and protection spells than I do the characters.
Stacy starts having nightmares about something terrible happening to her friend Drea. She knows that they mean something because this has happened to her before with a child she babysat, Maura. This time Stacy plans on preventing Drea's death.
And here I was rooting for Drea to die. She is the worst kind of itch with a heavy case of B. She's a horrible, arrogant friend who believes 'whats mine is mine' including people. She even tells Stacy's crush that she wets her bed - we'll address this little problem later - all because she walked in their dorm and found them sleeping. Fully clothed. A parent would get angry. Your best friend should not, especially since she isn't dating that guy anymore. But alas, Drea thinks he and every other guy in school, belong to her. Honestly, I don't know why Stacy tried so hard to be her friend. I wouldn't want anything to do with her with how she treats people.
I kept getting the vibe this was set in the 90s, what with all the payphones, and a mention of a walkman. It seems unbelievable that only one student at this wealthy prep school has a cell phone, so I'm going to guess it was 90s.
Oh, and Stacy is a bedwetter. There's nothing wrong with it, but did the author really have to address it every. single. scene? I couldn't go two pages without Stacy peeing all over herself. Honey, get that checked out. It was explained in the book, but the author doing it over and over again for a total of 9 million times in the book is overdone. I read more about peeing than a plot.
And character development! Ha! I knew the first time they introduced Donovan he would be the one. His obsession made it obvious. There wasn't any doubt in my mind. No suspense. No characterization. Nada.
Did I mention that I was rooting for the killer to kill everyone? Because they are all horrible characters.
On Amazon, it DID say it was for ages 7-10. I'll leave this to the middle schoolers. Once upon a time I enjoyed books regardless of what they lacked.
September 7, 2008
The first book in the BIFN series! When Freshman Stacey Brown starts having nightmares about her roommate and bestfriend Drea, she goes on a journey that will change her perspective on her nightmares. It starts off with phone calls between drea and this "unknown guy" she won't mention, later there's notes and mysterious packages, and later death threats. Stacey needs to sleep so she can dream, and help save drea but will she be able to do it in time? Using her intuition and her Wicca, Stacey might be able to do it.
Rating:10
Rating:10
December 29, 2014
Καλο. Ηταν σίγουρα διαφορετικο απο τα σύγχρονα φάντασυ που διαβάζω συνήθως. Σκοτεινή ατμόσφαιρα, παρακολουθήσεις απο σχιζοφρενή, πολυ μυστήριο, κ μια πρωταγωνιστρια που δεν έχει τίποτα απολύτως ιδιαίτερο πέρα απο προειδοποιητικούς εφιάλτες και νυχτερινές ενουρήσεις (ναι καλά διαβασατε), μα δεν τη νοιάζει καθόλου. Προτιμά να μένει στο περιθώριο πίσω απο την αγαπημένη φίλη της Ντρέα, που προσπαθεί να προστατέψει με κάθε κόστος. Αρκετά ενδιαφέρον. Μπορεί να αποτελείται απο μια σειρά βιβλίων αλλα το κάθε ένα είναι αυτοτελές, παλι καλα!
September 15, 2017
My initial rating would be 2 star but I changed my mind towards the ending because the suspense kept me on my toes. Personally, I didn't quite enjoy the book because the plot buildup was quite slow and messy in the beginning. It took me a while to understand if Stacey, the MC, was having a nightmare or was it like really happening in real life. I got a little confused, but then it got slightly better.
It's a typical high school nonsense, falling in love with your best friend's on-and-off-and-on again boyfriend, bitching about who's better at picking up boys, etc. And our MC here is the typical Miss I Don't Pick Up Boys But I Hang Out With Cool Girls kind of person. And she's a witch. Hooray. Hey, I dig this kind of story but maybe I'm letting emotional state affects my reading mood right now so yeah..... moving on!
So Stacey had been having nightmares about Drea, her bff, getting into troubles and she was very convinced someone's trying to harm Drea. But since Drea's the too cool for school kind of person, so they had several conflicts trying to figure out the nightmares. But then she started to receive "gifts" from a stalker guy and it freaked her out senseless and with the help of their other bff, Amber, they started to link event to event, trynna figure out who the stalker was.
I'm just gonna say this straight. I thought Amber's a bitch at first then I realised that Drea's the bigger bitch. Also, if I were Stacey, I'd just walk away from this whole mess because hey I'm just trying to help why you gotta be so rude, you know? Anyway, I'm glad she didn't walk away because the stalker was a goddamned psycho. The ending was quite good but there were some things unexplained... as usual. Not that I expected anything (a lie!)
The lovey dovey part of the story was so typical high school stuffs, too. But yeah, just the way I love it. I usually cringe and smile at the same time because I'm a sucker for cute stuffs like that.
Guess I'll pick up the second book after all. I hope it gets better but what is life without a little disappointment, right?
It's a typical high school nonsense, falling in love with your best friend's on-and-off-and-on again boyfriend, bitching about who's better at picking up boys, etc. And our MC here is the typical Miss I Don't Pick Up Boys But I Hang Out With Cool Girls kind of person. And she's a witch. Hooray. Hey, I dig this kind of story but maybe I'm letting emotional state affects my reading mood right now so yeah..... moving on!
So Stacey had been having nightmares about Drea, her bff, getting into troubles and she was very convinced someone's trying to harm Drea. But since Drea's the too cool for school kind of person, so they had several conflicts trying to figure out the nightmares. But then she started to receive "gifts" from a stalker guy and it freaked her out senseless and with the help of their other bff, Amber, they started to link event to event, trynna figure out who the stalker was.
I'm just gonna say this straight. I thought Amber's a bitch at first then I realised that Drea's the bigger bitch. Also, if I were Stacey, I'd just walk away from this whole mess because hey I'm just trying to help why you gotta be so rude, you know? Anyway, I'm glad she didn't walk away because the stalker was a goddamned psycho. The ending was quite good but there were some things unexplained... as usual. Not that I expected anything (a lie!)
The lovey dovey part of the story was so typical high school stuffs, too. But yeah, just the way I love it. I usually cringe and smile at the same time because I'm a sucker for cute stuffs like that.
Guess I'll pick up the second book after all. I hope it gets better but what is life without a little disappointment, right?
April 3, 2017
This review can also be found at
Stacey is a junior at a boarding school, a witch, and has been having nightmares about one of her best friends. In these nightmares, it is undeniable that Drea, her friend, is in trouble, and she soon worries that these dreams may come true when strange gifts and phone calls start arriving.
Stacey uses the magic that her grandmother taught her with hopes to reveal who is behind all of this. But will she be able to unravel the messages in time?
So the first thing I'll say is that this book is rather short, but the length works for the story. I was worried that it might be too short and that the ending could be rushed, but it was paced well and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
When I started this book I was expecting more of a paranormal or supernatural mystery, but instead what I got was more of a contemporary story with religious or realistic magic. Stacey wasn't the kind of witch who can summon lightning from her fingertips, rather she uses candle magic and reads cards for divination.
I really liked this aspect of the story. Most of the witch or magic books that I come across, especially in the young adult genre or range, are more mystical and based in the witches and warlocks of fairy tales and movies. I was surprised to find that the character actually practice Wicca, because I rarely find Pagans or Neo-Pagans in YA books!
The mystery itself, of who was targeting Drea, was suspenseful and interesting but to be honest, it didn't feel very original. I was also somewhat disappointed with the ending and who turned out to be the culprit. Their motive didn't make much sense to me, it seemed slightly over the top for the situation. I thought the villain seemed kind of stupid, actually, for thinking that they could get what they wanted through scaring Drea? I can't say much else with spoiling it.
Between this book and Deadly Little Secret, I can say that I definitely enjoy the writing of Laurie Faria Stolarz. I will be looking for her books in the future, however, I won't be absolutely rushing to get the sequels. I feel like while I like her books, I'm not absolutely blown away.
I recommend this book to people who want to read a more realistic or diverse portrayal of magic! If you want a YA mystery, you may enjoy this one.
May 10, 2012
This is an enoyable, short mystery novel about a young witch who keeps seeing her best friend and roommate kidnapped in her dreams. She knows that these dreams are really premonitions and decides to do whatever she needs to do in order to stop her friend from dying.
Over the course of the novel, several predictions she make end up coming true: she does a cartomancy reading (like tarot, with regular cards) and everything unfolds the way the reading predicts.
In addition to the witchcraft and the mystery that's the central plotline of the novel, there's also a love triangle, if you can call it that--Stacey has some crush on her best friend/roomie's boyfriend/ex-boyfriend, Chad, and he likes her too. Gasp. But Drea's still kind of in love with him and therefore thwarts all the opportunities that Stacey and Chad have to talk.
I liked the plot of this book, and the witchcraft contained in it was realistic and believable, but while I liked Stacey, I had to dock the stars for her tendency to be a doormat and her friends' tendencies to be obnoxious and/or bitchy.
Seriously, I have no idea why Stacey even bothered to help Drea or why afterward she remained friends with her. Her nightmares caused her to wet the bed, which is a problem she's never had before, and when Drea finds out about this she tells everyone all at once--to be catty, not to get support for her friend--and not once does Drea ever apologize for this. Ever. I can tell you right now that if I peed the bed, and my "best friend" decided to announce that? I'm sorry would be the least she could say.
I found Amber, PJ, and Chad to be two-dimensional and somewhat forgettable.
That being said, the whodunnit at the end was reasonably well done. The character it ended up being was one that I hadn't dedicated much thought to. it wasn't UNenjoyable by any means but I hate reading books where I hate the main characters.
Over the course of the novel, several predictions she make end up coming true: she does a cartomancy reading (like tarot, with regular cards) and everything unfolds the way the reading predicts.
In addition to the witchcraft and the mystery that's the central plotline of the novel, there's also a love triangle, if you can call it that--Stacey has some crush on her best friend/roomie's boyfriend/ex-boyfriend, Chad, and he likes her too. Gasp. But Drea's still kind of in love with him and therefore thwarts all the opportunities that Stacey and Chad have to talk.
I liked the plot of this book, and the witchcraft contained in it was realistic and believable, but while I liked Stacey, I had to dock the stars for her tendency to be a doormat and her friends' tendencies to be obnoxious and/or bitchy.
Seriously, I have no idea why Stacey even bothered to help Drea or why afterward she remained friends with her. Her nightmares caused her to wet the bed, which is a problem she's never had before, and when Drea finds out about this she tells everyone all at once--to be catty, not to get support for her friend--and not once does Drea ever apologize for this. Ever. I can tell you right now that if I peed the bed, and my "best friend" decided to announce that? I'm sorry would be the least she could say.
I found Amber, PJ, and Chad to be two-dimensional and somewhat forgettable.
That being said, the whodunnit at the end was reasonably well done. The character it ended up being was one that I hadn't dedicated much thought to. it wasn't UNenjoyable by any means but I hate reading books where I hate the main characters.
March 12, 2015
Bu kadar gereksiz kız muhabbeti/kavgası dinlemek isteseydim, televizyonu açar, "tarz" programlarından birini izlerdim, bu kitabı okumazdım. Ayrıca "tehdit mektupları" gibi, ortaokul hikayeleri için bile oldukça ucuz ve klişe bir tema olacağını bilsem hiç okumazdım. Sürprizsiz, basit sonundan hiç bahsetmeyeyim en iyisi. Sadece biraz büyü istemiştim ama o da o kadar azdı ki, kitabın ortalarından itibaren baş karakterin cadı olduğunu bile unuttum.
ÖZET: Tavsiye edilmez.
ÖZET: Tavsiye edilmez.
October 19, 2014
Really bad, and not just because the main character compulsively wets the bed.
May 18, 2017
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
I thought this was a nice story that incorporated mystery and fantasy alike and found that I enjoyed this well enough. That said, there were lots of things that I just really didn't like about this. Primarily, I thought this book was extremely slow paced--I mean really slow. For one thing, the first four chapters were dedicated to one night, that in my opinion, didn't really have a lot going on. Another thing I didn't like about the book was the lack of character development in it. Sure, I think some of the characters were well-written, but others were very shallow and I really didn't see any growth. Lastly, I felt that some of the actions and behaviors seemed forced to fit with the storyline.
Overall though, Blue is For Nightmares was well-written and I enjoyed the storyline. Plus, I enjoyed the fact that I couldn't guess the mystery and was kind of surprised by it.
I thought this was a nice story that incorporated mystery and fantasy alike and found that I enjoyed this well enough. That said, there were lots of things that I just really didn't like about this. Primarily, I thought this book was extremely slow paced--I mean really slow. For one thing, the first four chapters were dedicated to one night, that in my opinion, didn't really have a lot going on. Another thing I didn't like about the book was the lack of character development in it. Sure, I think some of the characters were well-written, but others were very shallow and I really didn't see any growth. Lastly, I felt that some of the actions and behaviors seemed forced to fit with the storyline.
Overall though, Blue is For Nightmares was well-written and I enjoyed the storyline. Plus, I enjoyed the fact that I couldn't guess the mystery and was kind of surprised by it.
January 19, 2025
Anotácia vyzerala skvele, ale je to kniha pre deti, resp. teen vek (12-14).
Nočné mory hlavnej hrdinky naberajú na obrátkach, a keď sa začínajú plniť, to je iný stres�
Kniha sa ni hodila do niekoľkých výziev (polročná, ale aj knižné bingo), je to taká jednohubka, takže ju pošlem aj s pokračovaním do knižnej štafety. Keďže som si ju hneď po prečítaní nezapísala, teraz lovím v pamäti� Hlavná hrdinka Stacey máva opakujúce sa desivé sny, predtuchu toho, ako niekto zomrie. Vidí záblesky budúcnosti a prejavuje sa to na nej aj fyziologicky (pomočí sa)� tým, že je na internátnej škole, jej nabližšími sú kamarátky a spolubývajúca. Babičkine rady o prírodnom kúzlení využíva vedome (a asi to aj funguje) a pomáha jej to zvládnuť predtuchy.
Nebolo to zlé čítanie, no na to aká je to útla knižka, sa tam dosť vecí opakovalo. Prišlo mi to celé ako jeden diel nejakého teen seriálu (popri pokuse o vraždy sa riešia aj vzťahy a škola).
Nočné mory hlavnej hrdinky naberajú na obrátkach, a keď sa začínajú plniť, to je iný stres�
Kniha sa ni hodila do niekoľkých výziev (polročná, ale aj knižné bingo), je to taká jednohubka, takže ju pošlem aj s pokračovaním do knižnej štafety. Keďže som si ju hneď po prečítaní nezapísala, teraz lovím v pamäti� Hlavná hrdinka Stacey máva opakujúce sa desivé sny, predtuchu toho, ako niekto zomrie. Vidí záblesky budúcnosti a prejavuje sa to na nej aj fyziologicky (pomočí sa)� tým, že je na internátnej škole, jej nabližšími sú kamarátky a spolubývajúca. Babičkine rady o prírodnom kúzlení využíva vedome (a asi to aj funguje) a pomáha jej to zvládnuť predtuchy.
Nebolo to zlé čítanie, no na to aká je to útla knižka, sa tam dosť vecí opakovalo. Prišlo mi to celé ako jeden diel nejakého teen seriálu (popri pokuse o vraždy sa riešia aj vzťahy a škola).
October 16, 2023
Blue Is For Nightmares is the first book in this young adult paranormal fantasy series. I was immediately captivated by the author’s writing style and the storyline of this book. I especially loved the witchy and magical aspects of the story. This book had such a unique plot and I loved all the characters in this one.
I flew through reading Blue Is For Nightmares and I can’t wait to read the other books in this series to see where the story goes.
I flew through reading Blue Is For Nightmares and I can’t wait to read the other books in this series to see where the story goes.
November 7, 2024
I read this as a tween and it scared me so bad.
In retrospect, it was giving me and all teenage girls a heinous idea of what we should expect from men in dating. Even the "good guy" is frustratingly dishonest and secretive... and the bad guy, well, even though he commits egregious offenses, the main character summarizes "maybe love IS funny." ???????????
In retrospect, it was giving me and all teenage girls a heinous idea of what we should expect from men in dating. Even the "good guy" is frustratingly dishonest and secretive... and the bad guy, well, even though he commits egregious offenses, the main character summarizes "maybe love IS funny." ???????????
Read
May 30, 2023rtc
August 18, 2020
This just brought out these buried memories I had of reading this book. I remember flying through this and the next book and then my interest immediately dying. I vaguely remember enjoying this.
July 22, 2012
"Blu come gli incubi" è il primo libro di una quadrilogia YA di genere thriller. Lo definirei un thriller adolescenziale, il target di lettura ottimale è 14-16 anni, anche se ovviamente lo può apprezzare anche chi ha qualche anno in più. La storia ha un'ambientazione che a me personalmente è piaciuta moltissimo: un collegio privato. Stacey, la protagonista sedicenne del libro, divide la sua stanza con Drea, la sua migliore amica, ed è preda di incubi notturni. Ma non incubi qualsiasi, i suoi sono incubi premonitori. Stacey ha ereditato dalla nonna materna la capacità di esercitare la magia delle candele, sa predire il futuro con le carte e ha percezioni sensitive con le quali non ha ancora preso bene dimestichezza. Quando inizia a fare degli incubi nei quali Drea è in pericolo di morte, Stacey sa che le sue percezioni non sono da prendere alla leggera e temendo per la vita dell'amica decide di coinvolgerla nelle sue scoperte per metterla all'erta del pericolo. Insieme ad Amber, un'altra amica del collegio, cercheranno di scoprire chi è che vuole farle del male e cambiare il futuro prima che sia troppo tardi.
Devo dire che le premesse iniziali di questo libro sono ottime, molto intriganti e originali i capitoli introduttivi della storia, che, accompagnati dall'ambientazione del collegio, rendono ancora più interessante il contesto in cui si svolge. Ho inoltre apprezzato il fatto che l'autrice abbia inserito un'elemento piuttosto insolito e non molto abusato nella letteratura per ragazzi, la magia naturale. Cosa significa? Che in questo libro non ci saranno magie di tipo fantasy, come incantesimi di levitazione, di trasfigurazione o dell'invisibilità. Gli incantesimi che incontreremo, attraverso la mano della protagonista, sarannno incantesimi di origine naturale, avranno a che vedere con pratiche pagane e della wicca, e aiuteranno la protagonista senza però mai esagerare, dandole indizi senza darle certezze. Ora, io non sono un'esperta in queste materie, ne ho sentito parlare ma non ho mai approfondito, quindi ho preso per buono quello che è descritto nel libro senza farmi troppi problemi nel verificare l'autenticità della materia. Può essere che gli esperti di queste pratiche arricceranno il naso, ma c'è da tenere presente che il libro va letto nell'ottica di un romanzo e non di un saggio sulle pratiche esoteriche. Quindi, tenendo ben conto di queste premesse, ho trovato la lettura molto piacevole e anche affascinante. Il mistero si dipana piano per tutta la prima metà del libro e devo dire che ero molto incuriosita di scoprire quello che sarebbe successo, tanto da indurmi a leggere tutto nell'arco di una sola giornata. La scrittura scorre fluida, in prima persona, dal punto di vista della protagonista, e risulta facile identificarsi in lei. Tra l'altro, tra tutti i personaggi è riuscita a destarmi maggiore simpatia, a differenza della migliore amica Drea, che invece ho abbastanza disprezzato a causa dei suoi comportamenti assurdi e infantili, ma nonostante questo ho trovato la storia decisamente buona e meritevole, se non fosse per il finale. Il finale di un libro è sempre una caratteristica molto importante, capace di condizionare il giudizio del lettore, soprattutto se, come in questo caso, si tratta di un libro thriller. Mi è capitato di leggere thriller un po' noiosi e banali, che però con un finale totalmente inaspettato e originale hanno saputo conquistarmi. Con "Blu come gli incubi" accade il contrario. La storia affascina, conquista il lettore, ma poi spegne il suo entusiasmo con un finale debole, non particolarmente originale, che entra in scena senza destare la minima sorpresa. E' stato un peccato, ma sono comunque curiosa di leggere i sequel, nella speranza che i prossimi libri, oltre ad una trama accattivante come questa, siano accompagnati anche da un finale migliore.
Devo dire che le premesse iniziali di questo libro sono ottime, molto intriganti e originali i capitoli introduttivi della storia, che, accompagnati dall'ambientazione del collegio, rendono ancora più interessante il contesto in cui si svolge. Ho inoltre apprezzato il fatto che l'autrice abbia inserito un'elemento piuttosto insolito e non molto abusato nella letteratura per ragazzi, la magia naturale. Cosa significa? Che in questo libro non ci saranno magie di tipo fantasy, come incantesimi di levitazione, di trasfigurazione o dell'invisibilità. Gli incantesimi che incontreremo, attraverso la mano della protagonista, sarannno incantesimi di origine naturale, avranno a che vedere con pratiche pagane e della wicca, e aiuteranno la protagonista senza però mai esagerare, dandole indizi senza darle certezze. Ora, io non sono un'esperta in queste materie, ne ho sentito parlare ma non ho mai approfondito, quindi ho preso per buono quello che è descritto nel libro senza farmi troppi problemi nel verificare l'autenticità della materia. Può essere che gli esperti di queste pratiche arricceranno il naso, ma c'è da tenere presente che il libro va letto nell'ottica di un romanzo e non di un saggio sulle pratiche esoteriche. Quindi, tenendo ben conto di queste premesse, ho trovato la lettura molto piacevole e anche affascinante. Il mistero si dipana piano per tutta la prima metà del libro e devo dire che ero molto incuriosita di scoprire quello che sarebbe successo, tanto da indurmi a leggere tutto nell'arco di una sola giornata. La scrittura scorre fluida, in prima persona, dal punto di vista della protagonista, e risulta facile identificarsi in lei. Tra l'altro, tra tutti i personaggi è riuscita a destarmi maggiore simpatia, a differenza della migliore amica Drea, che invece ho abbastanza disprezzato a causa dei suoi comportamenti assurdi e infantili, ma nonostante questo ho trovato la storia decisamente buona e meritevole, se non fosse per il finale. Il finale di un libro è sempre una caratteristica molto importante, capace di condizionare il giudizio del lettore, soprattutto se, come in questo caso, si tratta di un libro thriller. Mi è capitato di leggere thriller un po' noiosi e banali, che però con un finale totalmente inaspettato e originale hanno saputo conquistarmi. Con "Blu come gli incubi" accade il contrario. La storia affascina, conquista il lettore, ma poi spegne il suo entusiasmo con un finale debole, non particolarmente originale, che entra in scena senza destare la minima sorpresa. E' stato un peccato, ma sono comunque curiosa di leggere i sequel, nella speranza che i prossimi libri, oltre ad una trama accattivante come questa, siano accompagnati anche da un finale migliore.
January 7, 2011
2 stars isn't a bad thing in my book. (no pun!) The beginning is rocky--the narrative is clunky and feels very immature due to moments of heavy-handed exposition and generic teen characterizations. The given circumstances also feel annoyingly familiar: we're at a co-ed boarding school, there are creepy goings-on, and our protagonist--Stacey Brown--is a witch. But Stacey is of the Wicca persuasion, and this is a new sort of character to my reading experience. I found myself both intrigued and vaguely bothered by the fact that Wicca has a solid footing in the real world, and is portrayed as such; while the magic of Harry Potter and other similar tales are very fanciful, Stacey's persona and practice is very normal. What I mean is that she's not waving a wand and making cheese explode or something outrageous; she's got bits of plants that she combines together and she's burning candles and she's asking the Earth to help her see and help her be patient and to help her connect with people. There's no cauldrons, there no big POOF moments, but there is evidence in Stacey's story of her having the strength that she seeks through her spells--the insight and the loyalty and the doggedness that helps her to develop as person. While I've never been interesting in becoming Wiccan, I have always been interested in what it's about; where it's coming from. To be honest, while the first half of the book was boring for me, I enjoyed this depiction quite a bit, because it made me rethink my definition of witchcraft. The great strength of this book is that confidently depicts a normal girl having an empowering kind of trust and interest in the natural powers of nature and humanity. The reason I say I was bothered by this is because of my personal belief in the supernatural. It's real, and there's duality to it--good and evil, real and counterfeit--and, to me, Wicca falls under the counterfeit counter. Still, my point is that I appreciated the different depiction of magic in this book, and that it was a means for personal action instead of a copout/quick fix.
About page 150, the narrative seemed suddenly better; it was wittier, the dialogue more quick and smart, the contemplative sections more natural and peaceful, the teenage characters more true and developed. Which is great. By the book's end, I was feeling enough for the characters to be emotionally moved by their efforts for one another, and that, really is all I ask of a book. It must be said, though, that the character of Amber, one of Stacey's school friends, was stealing the show in the first half: she's simultaneously the most generic and yet dynamic character in the book. Her ditzy boy-craziness gives her a clear intention that pumps life into every moment that she has on the page. Stacey's interest as a character in this first half is generated more by her unconventional methodology than in any actual characterization. If the author, Laurie Stolarz, would've/could've asserted the rest of her characters as strongly, the book would've been better (and maybe she DID do better later in this series). But as it is, I was satisfied enough for "Blue Is For Nightmares" to be worth my time.
About page 150, the narrative seemed suddenly better; it was wittier, the dialogue more quick and smart, the contemplative sections more natural and peaceful, the teenage characters more true and developed. Which is great. By the book's end, I was feeling enough for the characters to be emotionally moved by their efforts for one another, and that, really is all I ask of a book. It must be said, though, that the character of Amber, one of Stacey's school friends, was stealing the show in the first half: she's simultaneously the most generic and yet dynamic character in the book. Her ditzy boy-craziness gives her a clear intention that pumps life into every moment that she has on the page. Stacey's interest as a character in this first half is generated more by her unconventional methodology than in any actual characterization. If the author, Laurie Stolarz, would've/could've asserted the rest of her characters as strongly, the book would've been better (and maybe she DID do better later in this series). But as it is, I was satisfied enough for "Blue Is For Nightmares" to be worth my time.
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