kblincoln's review against another edition
4.0
Giulia is the illegitimate child of Count in Renaissance Italy...and her father just died. The Countess uses her husband's willed money for a dowry at the will's bequest, but not for a husband as Giulia hoped, but for a dowry for a convent.
Giulia is to become a nun instead of finally being able to have a husband and home-- a place-- of her own as has been her heart's desire her entire life.
Hoping to counter act this fate, she buys a talisman from a magician before arriving at the convent. The magician promises it will bring her heart's desire.
Although Giulia knows her time at the convent is limited, she finds herself not constrained by rules and hard prayers and locked inside cells (at least not yet) but instead part of a vital world of colors, gesso, pigments, commissions, and painting.
In the midst of this world she finds a woman who is a master painter, only allowed to express her god-given gifts because she is a nun. Suor Humilita holds the secrets to Passion Blue, the most vital, richly colored blue Giulia has ever seen. It makes her hands burn to draw, to paint, to create art in the way the nuns under Humilta do.
But then there is a painter boy who may be the path the talisman has chosen to help her escape the convent....
Passion Blue's cover at first glance made me think this was a fantastical novel. While Giulia does believe in magic, the novel is so immersed in well-researched and vibrantly drawn details of convent life and art of that time as historical fiction that I think the cover might be leading readers astray.
This is a lovely, younger YA that keeps true to limitations of what women faced in Giulia's time while allowing Giulia to experience a more feministic life through the atmosphere of the convent. I think it was hard for me to give Giulia my whole heart as I couldn't identify with the choices she made in her narrow focus on finding a husband, but I do believe those were genuine choices.
This Book's Snack Rating: Zesty Ranch Kettle Chips for the complex seasoning of the rich details of Italian painting on the sturdy crunch of Giulia's believable character
Giulia is to become a nun instead of finally being able to have a husband and home-- a place-- of her own as has been her heart's desire her entire life.
Hoping to counter act this fate, she buys a talisman from a magician before arriving at the convent. The magician promises it will bring her heart's desire.
Although Giulia knows her time at the convent is limited, she finds herself not constrained by rules and hard prayers and locked inside cells (at least not yet) but instead part of a vital world of colors, gesso, pigments, commissions, and painting.
In the midst of this world she finds a woman who is a master painter, only allowed to express her god-given gifts because she is a nun. Suor Humilita holds the secrets to Passion Blue, the most vital, richly colored blue Giulia has ever seen. It makes her hands burn to draw, to paint, to create art in the way the nuns under Humilta do.
But then there is a painter boy who may be the path the talisman has chosen to help her escape the convent....
Passion Blue's cover at first glance made me think this was a fantastical novel. While Giulia does believe in magic, the novel is so immersed in well-researched and vibrantly drawn details of convent life and art of that time as historical fiction that I think the cover might be leading readers astray.
This is a lovely, younger YA that keeps true to limitations of what women faced in Giulia's time while allowing Giulia to experience a more feministic life through the atmosphere of the convent. I think it was hard for me to give Giulia my whole heart as I couldn't identify with the choices she made in her narrow focus on finding a husband, but I do believe those were genuine choices.
This Book's Snack Rating: Zesty Ranch Kettle Chips for the complex seasoning of the rich details of Italian painting on the sturdy crunch of Giulia's believable character
averywindyday's review against another edition
5.0
I received an advanced reader copy Passion Blue by Victoria Strauss through a giveaway on Goodreads.
In Passion Blue by Victoria Strauss, the reader follows Giulia, the illegitimate daughter of a recently deceased Milanese Count whose horoscope has predicted that she will not marry or bear any children. Giulia travels to a sorcerer in order to gain a talisman that she believes will bring her inner heart's desire and will allow her to escape the convent that her father's wife is sending her to. Passion Blue is a brilliant novel full of grace that will transport the reader to the Italian Renaissance.
In Passion Blue by Victoria Strauss, the reader follows Giulia, the illegitimate daughter of a recently deceased Milanese Count whose horoscope has predicted that she will not marry or bear any children. Giulia travels to a sorcerer in order to gain a talisman that she believes will bring her inner heart's desire and will allow her to escape the convent that her father's wife is sending her to. Passion Blue is a brilliant novel full of grace that will transport the reader to the Italian Renaissance.
wordnerdy's review against another edition
3.0
http://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2012/12/2012-book-358.html
libscote's review against another edition
3.0
I think if I was a teen I would like this more, but I'm guessing I'm just getting to be more of an adult all the time--I mostly wanted to shake Guilia and say "why are you doing this? Can you not see how this is actually what you want?" Oh well.
elephant's review
5.0
This is an intriguing YA historical novel. After 17 year old Giulia's father passed away, his wife, who has always hated that Giulia's mother had been his favorite mistress, sends Giulia away to a convent. Determined not to repeat her mother's mistakes, Giulia is convinced that the only way she can live a life free to do what she wants, which includes art, is to find a man to marry. Having seen her horoscope, which predicted that she would not marry, Giulia is determined to change her predicted future and she goes to a sorcerer to do so. After that, she is convinced that she will meet and marry a man even though she is in a convent so she determines to make that happen. In the meantime, a nun at the convent discovers one of Giulia's drawings and brings her into the artist's workshop in the convent where she learns to paint. Giulia is torn between a young man who she meets who romances her and the painting education that she is receiving in the convent. I totally enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the next one.
crystalisreading's review
3.0
I read this book because it was one of Gail Carriger's selections for her online book club. When I first started reading it, I was enchanted. The setting was so different from anything I'd read, and I was fascinated by the descriptions of the time period and the various settings in which the heroine finds herself--aristocratic household, convent, painter's studios, sorcerer's home, etc. Watching her transition into the convent and finding her vocation was interesting and enjoyable.
However, at some point, I got distracted from the story, and after that I had a really difficult time picking it back up. I didn't care so much about her budding romance with the painter. I was never really sold on their chemistry, and I thought she was throwing away a sure thing on a risky venture. I also didn't enjoy the magical element of the story as much. Astrology and sorcery as concepts are very interesting, but to have them play out in the story threw me off. It took the threat of not being able to renew the book anymore from the library for me to finish it. Once I finally picked it back up again, I managed to forge through to the end in a few days. It's not difficult reading, and I wanted to see how it ended. I liked the final resolution, although the romantic drama still annoyed me.
Overall, I'd say this book was just OK for me. I'd love to read something that was less manufactured drama and more life in this time and place. I liked that the heroine's attitudes didn't feel jarringly out of place in her time period, however. she wasn't an anachronistically saucy teen; her focus on marriage was indeed a reflection of the time. I really don't think that this was a bad book. It just couldn't sustain my interest the whole way through, and because of that, I can't say it was a great one, either.
However, at some point, I got distracted from the story, and after that I had a really difficult time picking it back up. I didn't care so much about her budding romance with the painter. I was never really sold on their chemistry, and I thought she was throwing away a sure thing on a risky venture. I also didn't enjoy the magical element of the story as much. Astrology and sorcery as concepts are very interesting, but to have them play out in the story threw me off. It took the threat of not being able to renew the book anymore from the library for me to finish it. Once I finally picked it back up again, I managed to forge through to the end in a few days. It's not difficult reading, and I wanted to see how it ended. I liked the final resolution, although the romantic drama still annoyed me.
Overall, I'd say this book was just OK for me. I'd love to read something that was less manufactured drama and more life in this time and place. I liked that the heroine's attitudes didn't feel jarringly out of place in her time period, however. she wasn't an anachronistically saucy teen; her focus on marriage was indeed a reflection of the time. I really don't think that this was a bad book. It just couldn't sustain my interest the whole way through, and because of that, I can't say it was a great one, either.
libscote's review
3.0
I think if I was a teen I would like this more, but I'm guessing I'm just getting to be more of an adult all the time--I mostly wanted to shake Guilia and say "why are you doing this? Can you not see how this is actually what you want?" Oh well.
abookishaffair's review
4.0
"Passion Blue" is a young adult, historical fiction book that takes place in Italy during the Renaissance. It is a first book in a series about Giulia, a young woman who is abandoned to a convent when her mother passes away. She doesn't want to be at the convent; however, she has no other choice. She dreams of the day that she may be able to get out of the convent. Her only saving grace is that some of the nuns of the convent actually paint. Giulia is a self-taught artist and she learns a lot from the nuns. She is fascinated by their work and feels that even though this may not be the place that she wants to be and she may find some place to stay she can at least enjoy.
I really enjoyed this book. I love reading about Italy and I especially love reading about the Italian Renaissance. I think that that timeframe is so interesting. The author adds a ton of historical detail so that we can picture exactly what Julia's world looks like. I also really like diet this book" included a lot about art. I love reading about historical fiction and art together!
I also really like Giulia's character she is fascinating character because she doesn't exactly get her choice with what she does but she's at least a good sport about it, for the most part anyway. She dreams of being able to escape and find something more suitable to our dreams. I love it hearing how she and the sisters created art. I thought it was interesting to hear about how they had to use statues for a lot of their inspiration for paintings because they weren't necessarily allowed to look at any other male figures except for priest or people in their own family. That was definitely sort of interesting.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. And it definitely makes me wonder why there are not more young adult historical fiction books out there. The detail in this book was very well done and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
I really enjoyed this book. I love reading about Italy and I especially love reading about the Italian Renaissance. I think that that timeframe is so interesting. The author adds a ton of historical detail so that we can picture exactly what Julia's world looks like. I also really like diet this book" included a lot about art. I love reading about historical fiction and art together!
I also really like Giulia's character she is fascinating character because she doesn't exactly get her choice with what she does but she's at least a good sport about it, for the most part anyway. She dreams of being able to escape and find something more suitable to our dreams. I love it hearing how she and the sisters created art. I thought it was interesting to hear about how they had to use statues for a lot of their inspiration for paintings because they weren't necessarily allowed to look at any other male figures except for priest or people in their own family. That was definitely sort of interesting.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. And it definitely makes me wonder why there are not more young adult historical fiction books out there. The detail in this book was very well done and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
lapetite's review
4.0
Very sweet story with an incredibly powerful message. The characters were easy to love. It was a joy to live in the world created by the author. Then again, I love art.
singinglight's review
5.0
Review originally posted here
[caption id="attachment_3399" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Image from Victoria Strauss's website[/caption]Passion Blue is one of those books that I heard about from several sources (Book Smugglers and Charlotte) and put on hold. And then it was several months later and I had forgotten all about it until it came in. At that point, I didn't remember anything about it, but when I looked at the blurbs on the back cover, I saw ones from Robin McKinley, Jane Yolen, and Megan Whalen Turner.
Basically, if I didn't love this book, I was going to declare the universe broken.
Fortunately, the universe seems to be going along about as well as it ever does. Because this book is not only awesome, it's surprising. And I am at the point where few books are actually surprising.
However, what I really liked about this book is spoilery in the extreme. So for those of you who haven't read this and are allergic to spoilers, Passion Blue is a lovely and fresh historical fiction (with a few fantastic elements), fully inhabiting its setting in Renaissance Italy. For everyone else, follow me below the jump.
SPOILERS AHOY! LAST WARNING!
Giulia is the illegitimate daughter of a Milanese nobleman and as such her future has always been a bit tenuous. But when he dies, his wife arranges for her to be sent to a convent. Giulia, who has wanted all her life to be married and have her own house, is utterly dismayed. She is determined to change her fate, with the help of an astrologer and a spirit.
First of all, I loved the fact that Giulia really wants to get married, which is a point of view we don't see very often in recent YA fiction. Moreover, this is her heart's desire, partly because she wants to have a place of her own. In the time period and setting depicted, all of this makes total sense. And I think that it might also resonate with a surprising number of teenage girls.
Giulia is an artist--she has always loved to draw, though she's never had a teacher, and her sketchbook is her greatest treasure. When she reaches the convent, she discovers that it contains a workshop of artists, nuns who have been given an obedience* because of their artistic talents. Working there becomes her greatest joy, and over time she enters into a sisterhood of other novices and nuns.
Throughout this book, Giulia's conflict is between this world of art and sisterhood, and her heart's desire--to get married. A young apprentice offers her a chance to escape the convent, embodying her dilemma. And here's the surprising, spoilery part that made me love this book: she chooses the convent. Partly because the apprentice turns out to be a lying, thieving jerk--but that's not the way the book presents it. She chooses to come back, even though it means admitting her guilt and having to prove herself to everyone again. She chooses it because it's her true heart's desire.
And that brings me to the last thing: religious faith is presented as real and valid. It's not that Giulia doesn't struggle with her faith, or that all the nuns are there for starry-eyed reasons; she does, and they're not. But part of the resolution is Giulia's heartfelt return to faith, and repentance. While it's not preachy, I really felt like it was written in a way that was honest and respectful of religious faith and I cannot tell you how much I appreciated it.
Book information: 2012; Amazon Children's Publishing**
Book source: public library
* That's the Orthodox term; I don't remember how the book puts it, so I'm leaving it that way.
** WHAT? Do I have to like Amazon now? No...won't do it.
[caption id="attachment_3399" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Image from Victoria Strauss's website[/caption]Passion Blue is one of those books that I heard about from several sources (Book Smugglers and Charlotte) and put on hold. And then it was several months later and I had forgotten all about it until it came in. At that point, I didn't remember anything about it, but when I looked at the blurbs on the back cover, I saw ones from Robin McKinley, Jane Yolen, and Megan Whalen Turner.Basically, if I didn't love this book, I was going to declare the universe broken.
Fortunately, the universe seems to be going along about as well as it ever does. Because this book is not only awesome, it's surprising. And I am at the point where few books are actually surprising.
However, what I really liked about this book is spoilery in the extreme. So for those of you who haven't read this and are allergic to spoilers, Passion Blue is a lovely and fresh historical fiction (with a few fantastic elements), fully inhabiting its setting in Renaissance Italy. For everyone else, follow me below the jump.
SPOILERS AHOY! LAST WARNING!
Giulia is the illegitimate daughter of a Milanese nobleman and as such her future has always been a bit tenuous. But when he dies, his wife arranges for her to be sent to a convent. Giulia, who has wanted all her life to be married and have her own house, is utterly dismayed. She is determined to change her fate, with the help of an astrologer and a spirit.
First of all, I loved the fact that Giulia really wants to get married, which is a point of view we don't see very often in recent YA fiction. Moreover, this is her heart's desire, partly because she wants to have a place of her own. In the time period and setting depicted, all of this makes total sense. And I think that it might also resonate with a surprising number of teenage girls.
Giulia is an artist--she has always loved to draw, though she's never had a teacher, and her sketchbook is her greatest treasure. When she reaches the convent, she discovers that it contains a workshop of artists, nuns who have been given an obedience* because of their artistic talents. Working there becomes her greatest joy, and over time she enters into a sisterhood of other novices and nuns.
Throughout this book, Giulia's conflict is between this world of art and sisterhood, and her heart's desire--to get married. A young apprentice offers her a chance to escape the convent, embodying her dilemma. And here's the surprising, spoilery part that made me love this book: she chooses the convent. Partly because the apprentice turns out to be a lying, thieving jerk--but that's not the way the book presents it. She chooses to come back, even though it means admitting her guilt and having to prove herself to everyone again. She chooses it because it's her true heart's desire.
And that brings me to the last thing: religious faith is presented as real and valid. It's not that Giulia doesn't struggle with her faith, or that all the nuns are there for starry-eyed reasons; she does, and they're not. But part of the resolution is Giulia's heartfelt return to faith, and repentance. While it's not preachy, I really felt like it was written in a way that was honest and respectful of religious faith and I cannot tell you how much I appreciated it.
Book information: 2012; Amazon Children's Publishing**
Book source: public library
* That's the Orthodox term; I don't remember how the book puts it, so I'm leaving it that way.
** WHAT? Do I have to like Amazon now? No...won't do it.