Blue Echohawk doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know her real name or when she was born. Abandoned at two and raised by a drifter, she didn't attend school until she was ten years old. At nineteen, when most kids her age are attending college or moving on with life, she is just a senior in high school. With no mother, no father, no faith, and no future, Blue Echohawk is a difficult student, to say the least. Tough, hard and overtly sexy, she is the complete opposite of the young British teacher who decides he is up for the challenge, and takes the troublemaker under his wing.
This is the story of a nobody who becomes somebody. It is the story of an unlikely friendship, where hope fosters healing and redemption becomes love. But falling in love can be hard when you don't know who you are. Falling in love with someone who knows exactly who they are and exactly why they can't love you back might be impossible.
“His wings were as black as your hair,” Jimmy commented, turning away from the bird that had enlivened our morning. “Maybe that’s what you are… a little blackbird a long way from home.”
I have put off writing this review long enough. You see, I’m kind of afraid that no matter what I write, I won’t be able to do this book justice. I passed over A Different Blue a couple dozen times. I was afraid it would be a sappy story about a girl who’s all kinds of messed up, falls in love with her young handsome teacher and sneaks around until they get caught. Someone would end up broken, maybe even both of them. Ha! I was soooooo far off it’s not even funny. I’ve learned a very valuable lesson – Never, and I mean NEVER underestimate Amy Harmon.
Blue Echohawk isn’t even Blue Echohawk, or maybe she is. Are you following me? Yeah, I didn’t think so. You see she was dumped in the lap of a wood carving drifter when she was two. Uh, well, maybe she was two; we’re not quite sure. He raised her for the next 8 years or so until he disappeared, leaving her with Cheryl, a chain smoking dealer at a Las Vegas casino. The long and short of it is that Blue has no idea who she is, where she came from or where she’s going.
Jimmy’s little blackbird died a slow and painful death. In her place I build a gaudy, colorful blue bird. A loud, obnoxious peacock with bright feathers, who dressed to call attention to her beauty at every moment, and craved affection. But it was all a bright disguise.
Until she meets Mr. Wilson… Darcy Wilson.
Darcy Wilson, or Wilson as he likes to be called, is the new history teacher at Boulder High School. He’s young, British, and incredibly smart – Oh, and did I mention sexy? He’s that too. He’s interesting and engaging. He makes history come alive and encourages his students to write their own histories. This proves to be a little difficult for Blue…obviously. Blue wants to hate Wilson, she really does, but he makes it almost impossible. He pushes her in ways no one else ever has.
When graduation rolls around Blue finds that even though she’s tried to change her ways, tried to leave her history behind, it won’t let her go. With nowhere else to turn, she runs to Wilson. They have an odd relationship. He wants to help her and she wants to stand on her own, but like a baby bird, she’s afraid to spread her wings and fly. What if she plummets to the ground? As time goes by, Blue learns more and more about herself – about her strength and courage. She finds out more about her history and eventually who she was meant to be. No matter what she finds out…she’ll always be Blue.
“I keep wishing you had a better life… a different life. But a different life would have made you a different Blue.” He looked at me then. “And that would be the biggest tragedy of all.”
Darcy Wilson is the perfect blend of book nerd and sex on a stick. I don’t know about you, but I think a man who quotes poetry, studies literature, and knows his history is definitely swoon worthy. This is not just a coming of age novel, it’s a history course. It touches on all the greats – Julius Cesar and Joan of Arc to name a few. Wilson quotes Emily Dickenson and Edgar Allen Poe. I mean, come on people, what’s not to love here? And then there’s Blue… so tough and strong, yet so lost and alone. She shares stories from Native American tribes that Jimmy would spout out to her as they traveled. This book is brilliant. B-r-i-l-l-i-a-n-t. When Blue faced adversity, she did so with such courage and determination. When her heart broke, so did mine. When her heart swelled with love for Wilson, I felt mine grow in size right along with hers.
This book – these page, they are something more. They’re deep. They make you think beyond the story in front of you. It’s so hard to put into words how much I loved A Different Blue. Giving this book 5 stars feels like I’m doing it a disservice. It’s just – more. Please, please, please pick this book up. I don’t often beg you to read anything. In this case, I am. Read it. I’m confident that you’ll love it just as much as I did.
Amy Harmon is a USA Today and New York Times Bestselling author. Amy knew at an early age that writing was something she wanted to do, and she divided her time between writing songs and stories as she grew. Having grown up in the middle of wheat fields without a television, with only her books and her siblings to entertain her, she developed a strong sense of what made a good story. Her books are now being published in several countries, truly a dream come true for a little country girl from Levan, Utah.
Amy Harmon has written six novels - the USA Today Bestsellers, Making Faces and Running Barefoot, as well as Slow Dance in Purgatory, Prom Night in Purgatory, and the New York Times Bestseller, A Different Blue. Her newest release, INFINITY + ONE, is now available. For updates on upcoming book releases, author posts and more, join Amy at www.authoramyharmon.com
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