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Narrated by Lisa Renee Pitts
Virginia HamiltonUnabridged — 2 hours, 32 minutes
Narrated by Lisa Renee Pitts
Virginia HamiltonUnabridged — 2 hours, 32 minutes
Friendship isn't always easy.
Natalie is different from the other kids in Dreenie's fifth-grade class. She comes to school in a wheelchair. She always wears a knitted hat. And she's allowed to bring her puppy to class. The kids in the class call Natalie “Bluish” because her skin is tinted blue from chemotherapy.
Dreenie is fascinated by Bluish and a little scared of her, too. She watches Bluish and writes about her in her journal. Slowly, the two girls become good friends. But Dreenie still struggles with Bluish's illness. Bluish is weak and frail, but she also wants to be independent. How do you act around a girl like that?
When she starts at a new school, Dreenie feels drawn to a frail classmate, whom everyone calls "Bluish." In a starred review, PW said, "Readers will come to cherish Dreenie's openheartedness." Ages 9-12. (June) Fiction REPRINTS Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Integrating third-person narrative with entries from fifth-grader Dreenie's journal, Hamilton (Second Cousins) poignantly traces the evolution of an unusual friendship. When she starts a new school, Dreenie feels drawn to a frail classmate named Nathalie, whom everyone calls "Bluish" ("This girl is like moonlight. So pale you see the blue veins all over"). Sitting in her wheelchair, always wearing a cap ("like half a bowl") and carrying a puppy ("Nobody brings a dog to school!"), Bluish at first seems unapproachable, but Dreenie is determined to edge carefully closer. She succeeds at winning the girl's trust while helping to break down the barrier that separates Bluish from the other students. Spare prose expresses each stage of the girls' relationship, which sometimes appears as fragile as Bluish herself. Hamilton effectively weaves in details about Dreenie's Amsterdam Avenue neighborhood in New York, her school and her attention-hungry sidekick, Tulie, adding dimension and solidity to the story. The girl's nickname also introduces an understated exploration of what it means to be different. Readers will come to cherish Dreenie's openheartedness, just as Dreenie comes to cherish her new-found friend. Ages 9-14. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Gr 5-8-Ten-year-old Dreenie, a recent transfer to a New York City magnet school, is fascinated with her fellow classmate Natalie, a girl battling leukemia. Kids call her Bluish, not a derogatory term for her black and Jewish heritage, "Blewish," but because of the effects of chemotherapy on her skin. Dreenie's other friend, Tuli, is a flamboyant girl who is looking for the stability and normalcy that Dreenie and her family have. Through four weeks in December, these three girls move into a closer circle of friendship, with alternating feelings of fear, generosity, and kindness. Together, they are able to reach out to the rest of the class in accepting and celebrating Bluish as she is. Though her future is uncertain-it will take five years of remission before any assurance-readers are left seeing curly copper hair hiding under her skullcap, delighting her friends and inspiring hope. The narration alternates between Dreenie's journal and a third-person narrator, allowing readers to glimpse the firsthand incredulity of a child witnessing serious illness and also the reaction of a classroom community as it follows the highs and lows of Bluish's health. This structure doesn't always work, and readers may be puzzled when the narrative voice switches from third person to include Dreenie's journal entries. Hamilton occasionally slips into a heavy-handed adult perspective that does not reflect a 10-year-old's experience. At times, topics are introduced but are never fleshed out, such as Tuli's capricious living situation or Dreenie's sister's accusation that Dreenie "sure ain't one of us Anneva and Gerald Browns." A sensitive and quiet story that is not fully realized.-Katie O'Dell Madison, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Gr 4-7-Over the course of four weeks in December, three girls form a close, hard-won friendship in this novel by Virginia Hamilton (Blue Sky Press, 1999). Dreenie, a fifth grader in New York City, comes from a loving home with two parents. Tuli, a biracial girl who pretends to be Latina, needs lots of attention and support from Dreenie. And then there's Natalie. The kids in school call her Bluish because her chemotherapy treatments for leukemia have left her with skin so pale that it looks almost blue. Dreenie is cautious about Natalie at first, reacting to her wheelchair and her prickly dislike of being on the receiving end of anyone's pity. As Dreenie begins to truly empathize with Bluish, the rest of the class begins to follow. The changes in point of view are somewhat confusing when reading the text, but the recording alleviates this problem. Actress Lisa Renee Pitts ably gives each character her own voice, helping to clarify changes in perspective. Tuli is exaggeratedly Latina, Bluish has a tiny and high voice, and Dreenie sounds like a New Yorker. A well-done audiobook dealing with the themes of differences, independence, friendship, and acceptance.-B. Allison Gray, John Jermain Memorial Library, Sag Harbor, NY Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Set in New York City, BLUISH is a story of friendship, coping with serious illness, and being different. Interactions between community and family portray Bluish, a fifth-grader returning to school after treatment for leukemia. Her classmates learn to accept her knitted hats, wheelchair, and frequent absences as they confront the reality of her challenges. Although useful in an instructional setting, the story has some heavy-handed messages about human differences and being a friend. Lisa Renee Pitts’s fully voiced narration is well paced and generally successful at indicating the various ethnicities of the class. The voice of Bluish herself is high-pitched and trembling, to highlight her illness. L.H. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine
| BN ID: | 2940169903362 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Blackstone Audio, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 01/01/2006 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Age Range: | 10 - 13 Years |
