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.
Initial thoughts: What I liked about Pure Red was the exploration of passion and personal interests, particularly in terms of how wide-ranging they can be. Bridging sports and the arts, and showing that they don't have to be mutually exclusive was great. Beyond that, I thought the book was more on the bland side. Nice little story to while away the time but otherwise, rather forgettable. The dialogues sounded oddly stilted at times too, making it difficult to feel any connection to the characters.
