Pure Red

by Danielle Joseph

Overview

I, Cassia Bernard, do solemnly swear to find pure red-my passion-this summer. Dad's passion is art. When he's painting, no one can reach him, not even me. My mom's passion was the ocean. She said the ocean allows you to see whatever you want to see. That was one of the last things she ever said to me... Sometimes what your heart desires isn't what it needs. Over the course of a hot Miami summer, sixteen-year-old Cassia discovers that sometimes it takes bullies and basketball, a best friend, and a gorgeous guy to help you understand what you actually need-and to help you see that, maybe, everything isn't so black and white.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738730844
Publisher:	North Star Editions
Publication date:	10/08/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Danielle Joseph (Miami, Florida) was born in Cape Town, South Africa, and grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, where she learned to play French horn, guitar, and clarinet. She is the author of YA novel Shrinking Violet. Visit her online at www.daniellejoseph.com.

Also visit her Fan Page on Facebook.

Editorial Reviews

"Joseph's third novel has much in common with her first two—strong teen girl protagonists who are straightforwardly dealing with real-life issues." —VOYA

From the Publisher

Despite her ear for authentic teenspeak, Joseph's (Indigo Blues, 2010) latest effort falls flat.

Cassia's summer goal is to find her passion before junior year. Her focus shifts between basketball, where she's thwarted at league play by a more seasoned player, and Graham, a boy whose cute butt she's had her eye on since spotting him at her father's art exhibit. She faces obstacles in both arenas—perceived slights on the court from Kate, a.k.a. Thunder, and her inability to draw Graham's attention away from her father and toward herself. Frustrated, she schemes to get Graham to lust after her with the help of her friend, Liz. The narrative leans heavily on Cassia's internal monologue at the expense of plot, making Cassia come across as mean-spirited and quick to judge. Fueled by jealousy, with Liz as "back-up bitch," she counters Thunder's verbal barbs with hostility out of proportion to actual events. She's jealous of her father's new girlfriend; she's even jealous of people who respond to her sprained ankle with stories of their own, asking herself, "What do you have to do to be special around here? Be in a full-body cast?"

A framework of color imagery lends little to this novel, which is further marred by superficial dialogue, choppy sentences, non sequiturs and poor character development. (Fiction. 12 & up)

Kirkus Reviews