Indigo Blue - Softcover

Cathy Cassidy has been writing ever since she can remember. She went to art school in Liverpool, England, before getting a job as fiction editor at a British teen mag–where she loved every minute of it! Later, she got married and had a big party with fireworks and a chocolate wedding cake, before switching careers to become an art teacher. Several years and two children later, a friend talked Cathy into finishing a children's novel she'd started... and this is the result!

Cathy lives in south-west Scotland with her husband Liam, two children, three cats, two rabbits, and a skinny, hairy dog named Kelpie, who was the model for Leggit in Dizzy. She still teaches art two days a week and writes the problem page for a British teen magazine. You can find out more about Cathy by checking out her website and watch out for her next book, Indigo Blue.

Grade 4-7–Indigo, 11, is a super-responsible kid with a weak, unstable mother. She tries to take care of her toddler sister and to ignore the fights between Mum and her abusive, live-in boyfriend. She attempts to fit in with her more conventional classmates, cope with a strict teacher, and enjoy time with her friend Jo. Life is bearable until Max's bad temper turns physical and Mum flees with the children to a dilapidated basement flat with a dour and suspicious landlady. Things get even more complicated when Jo turns temperamental and tryouts for the school play add a competitive aspect to many of the kids' relationships. For a story filled with problems, this is a surprisingly bright book, with a sympathetic main character and an absorbing plot. The first-person, present-tense narration grounds events with a straightforward immediacy, as does the emphasis on physical details, from nail polish to foods to the smell of mold in the apartment. Yes, Indigo learns to face her feelings rather than hide from them. She also learns the meaning of true friendship. Cassidy seems more committed to telling Indigo's story than hitting readers over the head with a message. A British import with a refreshingly light touch.–Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL
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