Monday, May 17, 2010

Blue Diary by Alice Hoffman


This book, which is 2/9 for my Colorful Reading Challenge, was really good because it made me question my beliefs about the justice system in The United States.

Ethan is a small town hero, husband, dad, and baseball coach. He's a volunteer for Monroe's fire department and is always the first on the scene. He's even saved people's lives. Everyone looks up to him.

Jorie is just Ethan's wife of 10 years and a mom, and Monroe is just a small town until the day they all discover after Ethan's seemingly random arrest that in the past he murdered a 15 year old girl.

Questions ran through my mind throughout the book: can a person really reform themselves? Is that enough if they haven't served time in prison? Is someone absolved of a crime just for going to prison? What would I do if that was Corey? What should Jorie do?

This book is a shining example of why Alice Hoffman is one of my favorite authors.

3 comments:

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

I read this a few years ago and had a similar reaction. It really makes you think about how your past can haunt you.

lisa :) said...

I've only read a few of Hoffman's books and this one sounds really interesting. I'll have to check it out. I like the color challenge too - very cute idea!

Becca said...

I have to say this does sound interesting. I wonder what the story is, why he killed that girl.