Ramona Blue

by Julie Murphy

Therese Plummer (Narrator)

From Julie Murphy, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dumplin' and Side Effects May Vary, comes another fearless heroine, Ramona Blue, in a gorgeously evocative novel about family, friendship, and how sometimes love can be more fluid than you first think. Perfect for fans of Rainbow Rowell and Morgan Matson.

Ramona was only five years old when Hurricane Katrina changed her life forever.

Since then, it's been Ramona and her family against the world. Standing over six feet tall with unmistakable blue hair, Ramona is sure of three things: she likes girls, she's fiercely devoted to her family, and she knows she's destined for something bigger than the trailer she calls home in Eulogy, Mississippi.

But juggling multiple jobs, her flaky mom, and her well-meaning but ineffectual dad forces her to be the adult of the family. Now, with her sister, Hattie, pregnant, responsibility weighs more heavily than ever.

The return of her childhood friend Freddie brings a welcome distraction. Ramona's friendship with the former competitive swimmer picks up exactly where it left off, and soon he's talked her into joining him for laps at the pool.

But as Ramona falls in love with swimming, her feelings for Freddie begin to shift too, which is the last thing she expected. With her growing affection for Freddie making her question her sexual identity, Ramona begins to wonder if perhaps she likes girls and guys or if this new attraction is just a fluke.

Either way, Ramona will discover that, for her, life and love are more fluid than they seem.

• ISBN10: 0062476033
• ISBN13: 9780062476036
• Publish Date: 9 May 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: Balzer and Bray
• Edition: Unabridged edition
• Format: Audiobook (MP3)
• Duration: 9 hours and 56 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

[lindsey]

I started not to even pick this one up due to the low ratings on Goodreads, but I've enjoyed Julie's previous work so I decided to give it a chance once I realized that a lot of the low ratings came from people who hadn't even read the book.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Ramona, her pregnant sister, Hattie, and their father live in a much-too-small-for-6'3"-Ramona trailer in Eulogy, Mississippi. Ramona believes her life is going to be spent staying in Eulogy, caring for her sister and her soon-to-be-born niece, and she doesn't have plans to ever venture out of her small-town life.

As she deals with growing pains, teen angst, and heartbreak, Ramona begins to discover who she is and what she wants.

Ultimately, I enjoyed this book. There's not a lot of plot, however, and it's definitely character-driven. That's not to say it wasn't well written, because it was, it was just a little slow at times.

It wasn't perfect, by any means, but I don't think it deserves the ire it received from reviews on Goodreads, especially by the people who didn't actually read the book.

Featuring flawed yet realistic characters and a well-crafted story, Ramona Blue is a light read that's perfect for summer.

[girlinthepages]

Ramona Blue was the first ARC I picked up at YallWest this year, and also the first one I read. It's cover, unique title, and the fact that I adored Dumplin' made me eager to dive into another novel by Julie Murphy. I personally have always been attracted to water more than any other element, so I gravitated toward this book where the protagonist hears the siren song of water in so many ways: in her coastal hometown, in the swimming pool where she works away her stress and fears, and even in the destructive storm and flooding that changed her life forever. Though Ramona Blue didn't rival my love for Dumplin', it's another thoughtful novel from Julie Murphy that examines character development, family systems, and complicated relationships and I enjoyed reading it.

Ramona lives in a small, Southern coastal town that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina years ago, and her life has never been the same ever since. I remember being in school when Katrina hit and having friends who had family impacted by the storm, I remember it being unlike anything I had ever seen on the news as I was safely tucked away on the West Coast where we trade hurricanes for earthquakes and flooding of that magnitude was unimaginable. I immediately found the premise of Ramon's fate being so shaped by Katrina an interesting and important aspect of the novel, as tragedies often fade over time to those not directly effected. I found Ramona and her family's story of loss and rebuilding after the storm to be heartbreaking and empowering at the same time, and loved learning more about the individual types of strength that her, her parents, and her sister all carried despite their flaws and the tragedy that so defined their lives.

I also loved the running themes that Julie Murphy incorporated into the narrative, especially the parallels of Ramona to Peter Pan, with her mythic blue hair and constant and dependable presence in the small coastal town, especially to her friend Freddie. Ramona feels trapped (not always in a bad way, but more in a resigned way) to her life and responsibilities in Eulogy, and at times her narrative feels very wary and more adult and mature, yet she's juxtaposed against this Peter Pan theme because she's trapped living in this coastal seaside vacation town seemingly forever, never growing or changing to the outside world. It's such a clever comparison and one that I enjoyed reading as Ramona morphs and grows out from under the stagnant spell of her hometown.

This book is also so quotable. Though I'm not including any in my review since it's an ARC and not a finished copy, my copy is peppered with (blue) page markers because there were so many quietly profound quotes and interactions between the characters, especially in reference to Peter Pan. However, this novel does clock in rather on the long side for a contemporary at nearly 400 pages and I felt that at times it really started to drag, especially in the middle, which is what accounts for most of my rating decision. I also felt that at times to book became a bit heavy handed with its messaging and almost felt like the author was talking TO the readers to get across a message, and that lessened my suspension of disbelief for the book.

Overall: Ramona Blue is a novel of self-discovery, family systems, and coming to terms that you may have outgrown a place that hasn't outgrown you. With a diverse and extremely developed cast of characters, I truly felt as though I knew the cast and visited the deep South (a place I've never been) by the end of my reading experience. While I really enjoyed reading the novel overall, I did start to lose interest around the middle and think it could have benefited from being a bit shorter. However, I'm sure I'll be picking up Murphy's next novel because her writing style is better than ever in this novel.This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages

[Sam@WLABB]

Ramona thought she had it all figured out. She thought she knew exactly who she was and exactly where she was going, but then everything she thought she knew began to unravel.

This book is about so many things, but if I had to pick one major theme, I would say it's about identity. Ramona spends a lot of this book struggling with her identity, because so many things begin to change, which challenge all these ideas of who she thought she was and the things she thought she could have or do.

Ramona was a sister, and although she was the "little" sister, she was the one always looking out for Hattie. She believed that she had to be the one to take care of Hattie and her unborn child. Ramona was a lesbian. She came out in 9th grade and never looked back. Ramona was poor. She did not see college in her future, because her family did not have the means to pay for it. She believed she would be stuck in Eulogy waiting tables for the rest of her days. Ramona had put herself in a box, and she saw no way out of it.

"But there has to be more. I'm made up of tiny pieces; scattered, they are nothing more than sharp edges. But all those pieces combined are what makes me Ramona."

Enter Freddie, or rather, re-enter Freddie. He was a summer friend from her pre-Katrina life, which included a real house to live in and both her parents. I wasn't shocked that Ramona would embrace and hold tight to Freddie as things around her were falling apart. He was associated with a stable time in her life, a happy time in her life. When they reconnected, Ramona was dealing with a broken heart, her sister's baby-daddy drama, her friends leaving her for college, and a future that seems like a dead end.

"It terrifies me and it excites me and it's not because he's a guy and I'm a girl. It's because he's Freddie and I'm Ramona."

Freddie gave her love and support. He was a wonderful friend to her. His grandmother, who was like Ramona's surrogate mother, pulled her right into the fold, and gave her all the things she wished her own mother was able to give her. They gave the chance to swim with them, and that led to an opportunity, which could prove to be life changing for Ramona.

"I wish I could just say yes. I wish I could put myself in that box for my sake and his, but I don't know."

This could have been a pity party, but Murphy did not allow that to happen. She wrote Ramona as a survivor, and she gave her the things money could not buy. She had love from family and friends. She had their faith in her, that she could achieve those things that she thought were out of reach. She had her own strength, which kept her moving in the right direction.

"Instead, I've embraced another facet of myself. Life isn't always written in the stars. Fate is mine to pen. I choose guys. I always choose girls. I choose people. But most of all: I choose."

The overall message of this book is so positive. To see that when she finally freed herself from her box, when she finally stripped away the labels, she was free. She was free to expand her horizons and explore new opportunities, and all these things lead her to bigger and better things. I love this idea!

I enjoyed being part of Ramona's journey to self discovery, and was extra pleased that as she began to understand herself, it helped her better understand others.

**I would like to thank Edelweiss and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. Quotes are from an ARC and may change upon publication.


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[layawaydragon]

Love. Love. Love. Love.

Notes from Listening:
-->Awww yes, straight to the f/f
-->Yes the shaving hate.
-->Oh, I get the feet self-hate.
-->Adorbs.
-->Blue hair!
-->Oh. "Olive juice" = "I love you" didn't know that.
--> Awww dad!
-->Yep, got trailer parks right.
-->Wow, 6'3
-->Hmmm, Saul.
-->Gay, Cajun, & white
-->Ewww religious conversion shit.
-->Awww her family. But fuck her mom.
-->Damn Katrina stories. =(
-->Her sister is a hot mess.
-->Heteronormative BS.
-->Fuck Tyler.
-->"He's even cuter when I'm sober." lol
-->The movie theater awkwardness! lol
-->You go girl! "How many boys did you kiss before deciding you were straight?"
-->I love Ruth
--> "What point does someone's extraordinary become your ordinary?"
-->Oh no. That party...Viv.
-->Lisa Frank pencil bag!!
-->Yep, get that abortion stuff. Good reality check depiction.
-->Ugh her mom.
-->Saul reminds me of the main dude from S-town the podcast.
-->Good point about "that's how black kids get shot"
-->So true about the lunch breaks and pay!
-->Tyler is a jerk. ugh.
-->"Bring the straight one" LOL. Still true in the end too.
-->Oil rig lover boy.
-->Ya, fuck thanksgiving.
-->I REMEMBER MASH! OMFG SO LONG AGO.
-->Awwww Freddy!
-->Omfg the ass woman part, yesssss.
-->Omfg, picking Ruth & Ramona for MASH, Freddy lol
-->Omfg, that's so adorable!!!!
-->Omfg, Tyler on that conspiracy theory shit.
-->Demi rep!!
-->He has two Moms! And one is black!
-->First time Adam's brought girls home and they're both gay! 3
-->Good point about SW whiteness.
-->The random WW in Speedo, lol. "didn't look like a mess out there"
-->Wow that locker room scene. *whew*
-->Ewww Tyler creep. "almost like look at a boy" FU
-->Ah, gender bending Peter Pan references.
-->Oh no, asked about the gender. At least no gender reveal shit, I guess?
-->Yep the biphobia sucks.
-->Karma sucks, huh?
-->Omg the gift! 3
-->Oh Reggie, adorbs 3
-->That intro from Ruth! oh oh ohhhhhhhhhhhh
-->Aw Reggie
-->Ahh New Years
-->In text make outs, off scene sex.
-->AWWWW
-->Okay, the shoe thing is adorbs.
-->Smelly feet! Acne scars! Weird to be excited about, but teens always perfect in novels so yeah, it's important.
-->Yay Agnes.
-->Mardi gras baby shower.
-->Poor naive Freddy. No cops in the trailer park. Go home foundation boy.
-->FUCK HIM UP!
-->Homophobic fuckface.
-->Oh the pain.
-->Woot! Go girl!
-->I getchu.
-->Healthcare is fucked here.
-->Hahaha Saul.
-->Racist POS @ the baby shower. Slutshaming assholes
-->haha "pizza rolls not gender roles"
-->Ugh the mom
-->omg grace!
-->Still 2 hours, why do audiobooks feel so long?!?
-->Oh god, Hattie please!
-->Okay this prom I can get behind.
-->"It's not that I'm gay, but that I'm gay in Eulogy, MS." This whole passage is fantastic.
-->Yay Ruthie!!
-->Woooo librarian!
-->Totally cheesy and amazing ending.