Review: Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar

Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar

Pages: 274
Publisher: Penguin Australia
Published: June 29th, 2009
IBSN: 9780143011453

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. Then she meets Ryan and 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?

[Synopsis by Goodreads]

Raw Blue is, in a word, raw.

It came from the first-person perspective of Carly: surfer, uni drop-out, rape victim. Her narration is incredibly emotional, and you can feel her anguish over her past trauma in everything she does. I felt immediately sympathetic to her.

The characters were all well-developed. Ryan wasn't the unrealistically perfect love interest you see in a lot of other YAs nowadays, but a real guy, complete with neccessary character flaws. And Danny? He was completely adorable and precious.

Kirsty Eagar's writing style was engaging and fluid, and the Australian slang was woven in well. Though I don't think I could respect anyone who called me 'mate' in real life, little interjections like that made the dialogue realistic.

After reading Raw Blue, I'm embarrassed that I let the cover keep me from reading it for so long. I always thought it was about shark attacks, or something.

I give Raw Blue a 4 out of 5.

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I read this book for the Aussie YA Reading Challenge.