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One + One = Blue


One + One = Blue is a coming-age-novel that explores friendship, family, fitting in, and synesthesia (a condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another). Even though this novel has all the necessary ingredients to be quite interesting and thought-provoking, it ends up being remarkably ordinary. Twelve-year-old Basil, who’s been home-schooled all of his life, is secure in his belief that he is the “class loser,” and that having no further to fall from grace, he’s secured the bottom rung on the elementary school social ladder.  Much to his own dismay Basil is befriended by Tenzie, a bossy new girl who—like him—has synesthesia. Furthermore, she “comes to his aid” when his estranged mother returns, upending his otherwise peaceful existence. Albeit Tenzie helps Basil through this difficult time in his life, she’s, unfortunately, not the solution that you would like for her to be.
  • One + One = Blue by Mary Jane Auch
  • Secondary
  • Henry Holt and Company
  • 268pp.
  • 2013
  • 978-0805094053
  • $16.99
  • Realistic
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