jennoux's review
4.0
I really liked it! The character of Grace was amazing and I would LOVE a novella just about her. It made me want to dye my hair back to blue.
ninetalevixen's review
4.0
I didn't see the Gerry/Lewis snafu coming, so that was pretty interesting. This Bodee was different from the one I loved in Faking Normal, though that makes sense given the timeline. A poignantly simple but touching story.
rosepetals1984's review
5.0
Quick review for a quick, wonderful read. Man, this novella makes me wish I'd been able to see more of Bodee's life and perspective in "Faking Normal", because this was a great, brief view. Courtney C. Stevens makes this narrative pop with tight writing and an intimacy that made the story and interactions work for what it offered. I loved his character, even through the brief interactions we see him with Gerry, a girl who gets off a bus and encounters Bodee as he contemplates leaving at the station. The two of them take a trip together and share insights on their lives and relationships here, knowing they're not going to see each other again - but they share common ground.
I loved Gerry's personality and thought it was a nice match to Bodee's calmer, quiet one. Gerry laments losing her girlfriend and confesses to taking a trip of escape of her own, while Bodee confesses to the abuse that he and his mother suffer from his father. They each have secrets, but they're expanded upon in some measure with a refreshing degree of honesty, albeit brief. This also shows how Bodee becomes the "Kool-Aid" kid as Gerry - with some degrees of hilarity - dyes his hair Berry Blue ("I look like a Smurf.") XD
This kind of slice of life portrait - with attention to tough details and character interaction - and intimacy is the kind of thing I love reading in YA contemporaries, and I would name it as one of my favorite novellas/short stories in the vein.
Overall: 5/5 stars
I loved Gerry's personality and thought it was a nice match to Bodee's calmer, quiet one. Gerry laments losing her girlfriend and confesses to taking a trip of escape of her own, while Bodee confesses to the abuse that he and his mother suffer from his father. They each have secrets, but they're expanded upon in some measure with a refreshing degree of honesty, albeit brief. This also shows how Bodee becomes the "Kool-Aid" kid as Gerry - with some degrees of hilarity - dyes his hair Berry Blue ("I look like a Smurf.") XD
This kind of slice of life portrait - with attention to tough details and character interaction - and intimacy is the kind of thing I love reading in YA contemporaries, and I would name it as one of my favorite novellas/short stories in the vein.
Overall: 5/5 stars
chrysfey's review
5.0
The Blue-Haired Boy has two amazing YA characters. I haven't read about characters like them in a long time. Courtney C. Stevens wrote a great story about youth, love and truth. I'm looking forward to reading Faking Normal.
penpencil22's review
3.0
It was cute, and just the right length for a short story. I would definitely read it after you've read Faking Normal though, even though it's technically set before that book takes place.
cheezyreads's review
5.0
This book gives fans of "Faking Normal" a chance to learn more about Bodee's character and development. It's a short but great read that tells you how he became "kool-aid kid"
briannaw's review
3.0
Now that I've read the book this a prequel to, I'll have to read this a 2nd time.
The one thing that bothers me, is the character on the cover has blue eyes. I'm pretty sure in the book he has brown eyes. I don't know why that bothers me, but it does...
The one thing that bothers me, is the character on the cover has blue eyes. I'm pretty sure in the book he has brown eyes. I don't know why that bothers me, but it does...
acepersephone's review
5.0
I'm so very glad I read this on a bus. It's the perfect way to read this novella. There's a hollowed out kind of happiness I feel after reading this, in a similar way to Bodee and Lewis must feel, exposed and seen and starting anew.
It's been a couple years since I read Faking Normal, had to give myself some time to breathe after that story had settled before reading more about Bodee but I'm so very happy that there is more about Bodee. Everyone should have a Bodee. Everyone should have a Gerry Lee Lewis. Everyone could be them.
One of the things I'm most pleased with this story is the complete turnaround on the manic pixie dream girl trope. Certain people (mostly men) would have used Gerry in exactly that way. This broken confident girl that doesn't fit society's standards comes to fix the broken boy by falling in love. But Court and Bodee make it clear from the beginning that Gerry isn't that and she never feels like that.
This was just long enough for two bus rides home from work and it was a very good first novel of the year.
It's been a couple years since I read Faking Normal, had to give myself some time to breathe after that story had settled before reading more about Bodee but I'm so very happy that there is more about Bodee. Everyone should have a Bodee. Everyone should have a Gerry Lee Lewis. Everyone could be them.
One of the things I'm most pleased with this story is the complete turnaround on the manic pixie dream girl trope. Certain people (mostly men) would have used Gerry in exactly that way. This broken confident girl that doesn't fit society's standards comes to fix the broken boy by falling in love. But Court and Bodee make it clear from the beginning that Gerry isn't that and she never feels like that.
This was just long enough for two bus rides home from work and it was a very good first novel of the year.
vegancleopatra's review
4.0
3.5 stars
I'm always surprised when short stories are capable of growing an authentic and likable character in so few pages. Gerry, the girl Bodee befriends in this novel, is an interesting and sympathetic character, much like Bodee. I was going to give this three stars but the ending chapters packed an emotional punch I felt worthy of a higher rating. If one plans on reading this, I would recommend reading it after Faking Normal simply so nothing is ruined for you.
I'm always surprised when short stories are capable of growing an authentic and likable character in so few pages. Gerry, the girl Bodee befriends in this novel, is an interesting and sympathetic character, much like Bodee. I was going to give this three stars but the ending chapters packed an emotional punch I felt worthy of a higher rating. If one plans on reading this, I would recommend reading it after Faking Normal simply so nothing is ruined for you.