Blues for Zoey

by Robert Paul Weston

Overview

She walks in with her music and out with his heart. Kaz Barrett should be saving for college. Instead, he saves his pay from the Sit 'n' Spin Laundromat to send his mother to an expensive sleep clinic in New York. She suffers from a rare neurological disorder, and both Kaz and his kid sister worry that one day, maybe tomorrow, their mother will fall asleep and never wake up. But when pink-haired Zoey walks past the laundromat's window, Kaz's ordered life spins out of control. Smart, mysterious, and full of music, Zoey is unlike anyone Kaz has met . . . but there's another side to her that he can't quite figure out. When he goes looking for answers, he finds a whirlwind of lies, half-truths, and violence that could cost him everything he's worked for.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738745046
Publisher:	North Star Editions
Publication date:	02/08/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	312
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Robert Paul Weston (London, UK) is the author of Dust City and Zorgamazoo (Penguin/Razorbill), which received the 2011 California Young Reader Medal and the 2010 Silver Birch Fiction award, was shortlisted for the E.B. White Read Aloud Award, and was
named a Children’s Literature Association Notable Book. His stories and novels have been nominated for the Journey Prize and the Fountain Award.

Robert Paul Weston (London, UK) is the author of Dust City and Zorgamazoo (Penguin/Razorbill), which received the 2011 California Young Reader Medal and the 2010 Silver Birch Fiction award, was shortlisted for the E.B. White Read Aloud Award, and was
named a Children’s Literature Association Notable Book. His stories and novels have been nominated for the Journey Prize and the Fountain Award.

Read an Excerpt

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Editorial Reviews

12/15/2014
From his first glimpse, 16-year-old Kaz Barrett is hypnotized by Zoey, a mysterious street performer with pink dreadlocks and an enormous crucifix-shaped musical instrument. While they explore their frenetic romantic connection, Kaz is also preoccupied with his mother’s immobilizing sleep disorder, a job at the local Laundromat, and untangling the lies and deceptions of the con artists and vagrants he tends to associate with. Beyond a look that Kaz describes as “goth-rock Jesus freak, half Bob Marley, half Kewpie doll,” Zoey is a standard femme fatale with a mysterious, ever-changing backstory and a brassy demeanor that separates her from the other girls Kaz’s age. Although the Zoey he comes to know is an illusion, a shadow of reality steeped in inventions and half-truths, her genuine (if oft-resisted) care and concern for him are also evident. Writing in Kaz’s voice, Weston (The Creature Department) strikes a balance between a teen with the weight of adult responsibilities on his shoulders and a youthful naivety, allowing a twist ending to take readers—and Kaz himself—by surprise. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jackie Kaiser, Westwood Creative Artists. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"Fans of gritty, realistic, and authentic works will find this novel an intriguing option." —School Library Journal

"Weston (The Creature Department) strikes a balance between a teen with the weight of adult responsibilities on his shoulders and a youthful naivety, allowing a twist ending to take readers—and Kaz himself—by surprise." —Publishers Weekly

"The twists and feints that lead the reader from a love story to a mystery are subtle enough that, like a good magic trick, you won't know you've been had till the deal is done." —Booklist

"Music and mystery twist together in Robert Paul Weston's latest YA novel . . . the novel's journey is suitably winding to keep the reader intrigued." —Quill and Quire

"A wonderful coming-of-age story." (4/4 stars)—CM Magazine

From the Publisher

01/01/2015
Gr 9 Up—Kaz is saving the money he earns from his job at the laundromat—not for college, but to help his mother get treatment for a rare medical condition after his father dies. Working full-time during his summer vacation, his life is turned upside down when he meets Zoey. She is an enigma and readers will puzzle along with Kaz, trying to figure her out. Through his relationship with Zoey, Kaz is drawn into secrets, truths, and, ultimately, a dangerous situation. Teens will empathize with the protagonist, as he struggles with balancing his job, friends, and being a teenager, all the while taking care of his younger sister and mother. Weston builds tension through short chapters and a quickly paced plot, leading to a surprising ending. Those looking for a happy-ever-after conclusion will not find it here. Instead, the novel ends with a sense of possibility. Fans of gritty, realistic, and authentic works will find this novel an intriguing option. A diverse group of characters and the inner-city setting adds interest. Recommend this to fans of John Green's Paper Towns (Dutton, 2008) because of the dark and honest portrayal of teenage life.—Stephanie Charlefour, Wixom Public Library, MI

School Library Journal

2014-11-04
A workaholic teen makes an unusual friend. Kaz Barrett scrimps and saves every dollar he makes slaving away at the laundromat that does business below his family's apartment. His mother is the victim of a fantastically rare disease, and the only doctors that'll treat her demand big bucks. Kaz's single-minded pursuit of a cure for his mother robs him of a girlfriend or a real social life, but that all changes when he spots the impossibly beautiful Zoey through the laundromat window. Weston fills Kaz's world with colorful tertiary characters, but it all falls by the wayside eventually. The real thrust of the book is Kaz's courtship of Zoey, a manic pixie dream girl who fits the stereotype to a T. Mysterious past? Wacky hairdo? Otherworldly beauty? All boxes are checked, and for three quarters of the novel readers would be forgiven for feeling a bit of déjà vu. But the author has a nice twist in store, subverting even the keenest readers' anticipations. For this, Weston deserves credit, but whether or not the reveal is worth all the trouble will be up to individual readers. A great twist doesn't make a great book. (Fiction. 12-16)

Kirkus Reviews