In Bailey's opinion, Indigo didn't look like she needed a hero. One by one, she looked Mona, Saskia, Betti and Kay in the eye. Then she gave them the finger: slow motion. Headphones on again, she sauntered off towards the science wing. Hell. That was... She was...
| Indigo Donut by Patrice Lawrence | |
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| Category: Teens | |
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Reviewer: Jill Murphy
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| Summary: Fabulous story of young love and the search for identity. Patrice Lawrence creates characters you can get lost in. I loved this absorbing story. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 400 | Date: July 2017 |
| Publisher: Hodder | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 1444927183 | |
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That's Indigo for you! Indigo is seventeen. And on her umpteenth school. Pitt Academy is a last chance for Indigo and her foster mother Keeley is anxious that she makes it there. But it's not easy for Indigo - her reputation for kicking off always precedes her. And that's the least of it - because someone always finds out about her past: that she is the tiny little girl who was found by the body after her father killed her mother.
Bailey doesn't have these problems. He has nice middle class, right-on parents. They encourage his love of playing guitar and he's secure in his mixed race identity - particularly proud of his fabulous ginger afro. He doesn't like to see people picked on and sticks up for Indigo on the bus one day. This leads to an awkward and stumbling but intense fledgling romance between the two.
And then Bailey is approached by homeless guy with information about Indigo - should he keep that information to himself, or should he speak up?
Oh, I loved this story. The plot hinges on the mystery surrounding Indigo's family and it's gradually revealed with genuine care and compassion by Lawrence. The two central characters are quite stereotypical as I've outlined them here, I know, but they really aren't. Both Indigo and Bailey are fully-rounded people - fallible and vulnerable, vivid and interesting. I loved them both and was rooting for them almost from the first pages. The relationship between them can be awkward and precarious but also intense and life-affirming, as most early love affairs are. The city of London also infuses the pages vividly, capturing a narrative rooted in the reality of lived experience.
Lawrence is a storyteller, you know? I believed in her setting, I believed in her characters and I was absorbed by her plot. I don't know what more I could have asked for.
If Indigo Donut appeals, you might also enjoy Carnaby by Cate Sampson or Solace of the Road by Siobhan Dowd.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Indigo Donut by Patrice Lawrence at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Indigo Donut by Patrice Lawrence at Amazon.com.
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