Review: Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar

Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar.

Page count: 274 pages

Publisher: Penguin Books Australia

Release Date: June 29th 2009

Format: Paperback

Who I'd Recommend it To: Melina Marchetta fans!

Rating: ★★★ 1/2

Synopsis from Goodreads: Carly has dropped out of uni to spend her days surfing and her nights working as a cook in a Manly café. Surfing is the one thing she loves doing … and the only thing that helps her stop thinking about what happened two years ago at schoolies week.

And then Carly meets Ryan, a local at the break, fresh out of jail. When Ryan learns the truth, Carly has to decide. Will she let the past bury her? Or can she let go of her anger and shame, and find the courage to be happy?

                                                                                                                    

Review:

I picked this one up from the library thinking it'd just be a light read, but boy, was I wrong. The title 'Raw Blue' reflects this book wonderfully. This story is raw and it's real, as is the prose. I was wow'd by how good Kirsty Eagar's writing was - how she'd described things so perfectly, how the dialogue was filled with such emotion. . .  It's probably even up there with Melina Marchetta's wonderfully writing. After reading this book, I know I'm definitely going to be looking into more Eagar's work.

Raw Blue deals with a lot of tough things a lot of people shy away from reading about. And I warn you, this book is not for the light-hearted. There are many parts that people would find disturbing and may not want to read about, and this book never sugar coats anything. Sometimes I was shocked this is a YA book. 

 I really liked the characters (the ones which you're supposed to like, anyway). They were all well-rounded, complex characters, even the supporting ones. I especially liked Carly. I also really liked some of the supporting, including Adam, Ryan and Hannah. Another thing I loved about this book was the way the author described surfing. I adored the way she talked about it so vividly. And even though I've had some bad experiences with surfing (NEVER AGAIN.),  I guess I know why people love it so much now. 

With all that said, I felt like something was missing with this book - something that would've made me enjoy it more. Maybe it was something to do with the shortness of the novel, or how it ended quite abruptly, but I'll get back to you on that one...

Another thing that bothered me was the sheer bogan-ness of the people in it. Like, I don't know, I've never been to Sydney nor have I ever lived near the beach (and I never will. Ugh), but most Australians don't talk the way people do in this novel. I, for one, never say 'mate'. EVER. I'm just glad no one said 'G'day' in this book. (Just FYI for people who aren't Australian that read this novel - please don't think we all talk like that.)

In short: Raw Blue is a raw, realistic Australian novel with excellent prose and complex characters. Not for the light-hearted, but definitely give this one a go!