AnyBook4Less.com	Find the Best Price on the Web Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Home  |  Store List  |  FAQ  |  Contact Us  |
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money Keyword AuthorISBN

Title: La Vie Blues by Han Nolan, Laetitia Devaux ISBN: 2-07-055207-1 Publisher: Gallimard Jeunesse Pub. Date: 15 May, 2003 Format: Paperback

Your Country USA Canada United Kingdom Australia Austria Belgium France Germany Italy Netherlands Switzerland Currency AutoUSD CAD GBP EUR AUD CHF Delivery Only cheapest delivery All delivery options Include Used Books Are you a club member of: Barnes and Noble Books A Million Chapters.Indigo.ca

Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (30 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: Lovestruck by Music
Comment: Janie is the main character in Born Blue. She is born to a drug addict mother who nearly lets her drown at age four. That is when social services steps in and puts her in a foster home. It is here that she meets a foster brother, Harmon, who introduces her to the "ladies"--Aretha Franklin, Etta James, etc. She and Harmon would go to the basement of the "stink house" and listen to his tapes of the ladies. The words and the ladies' powerful voices burned into Janie's head. When Janie is seven, her birth mother kidnapps her and trades her for heroin. Her new parents are Mitch, a drug dealer, and Mama Shell, who becomes a user of them because she is so paranoid about having Janie. While there Janie changes her name to Leshaya. One day when she was returning from school, she sees the police taking both her parents away in handcuffs. At this point she starts running her own life. She finds Harmon again but the friendship is shortlived. She finds bands to sing with and her sultry, sexy, heartbroken, yearning voice is awesome. All she ever wants to do is sing and be famous. Unfortunately, Leshaya is also drawn to drugs and alcohol which affects her judgment. She ends up pregnant at twelve years old. Will she follow the path her own mother took or will she take the higher road and devote herself to this child? Two characters lives end in this book. You'll have to read it to find out who and how their lives tragically end.
Han Nolan addresses many issues in Born Blue. These are serious issues that many young adults face. By age twelve, Janie has lived with five sets of parents, experienced drugs, alcohol, sex, unwanted pregnancy, and an eating disorder. Just pick up this riveting novel and watch how Janie's own self destructive behavior and flawed decision making send her life on a downward spiral.

Rating: 4
Summary: Lies and [illegal substance] for Stardom--Kayla Valdes
Comment: The book Born Blue, written by Han Nolan, is an excellent book. Although it has some flaws, it is still very interesting. It's well written in most parts and you can get a feeling of what the main character is thinking at times. This book should have a strong connection with kids tat have been in a foster parent's care, even though the experience in the book isn't positive. I do not recommend this book to anyone under the age of twelve because of the content inside it.
Janie or Leshaya, as she is later called, was abandoned by her heroin-addict Mama Linda at the age of four. While Janie was swimming in the Gulf of Mexico, her Mama Linda is getting high and doesn't pay attention to Janie when she starts to drown. Janie get put into a hospital, and when she is released she get put into a foster home with Patsy and Pete in Alabama. In this house she meets another foster child named Harmon, an African-American who introduces Janie to "the ladies", whose music churns her sole. This music inspires Janie to sing, at times that's the only thing that she can think about. Harmon and Janie became good friends, being around Harmon made Janie think that she was an African-American and that she was just "light". Harmon's and Janie's social worker, Doris, is the only other that Janie talks to. When Harmon gets adopted and Doris's daughter, Leshaya, dies Janie is left all alone. In honor of Leshaya, Janie changes her name and decides to be Leshaya.
One day when Leshaya is coming home from school, Mama Linda appears and she takes her away. Leshaya knows that she is being kidnapped, but she doesn't care since she is with her mother. Little does she know that her mother actually sold her for heroin. She then goes to live with her new "parents" Daddy Mitch and Mama Shell, who later on get arrested for [illegal substance]. Leshaya takes some of the profits that Daddy Mitch made selling heroin and runs away before the police can come and put her back into Patsy's and Pete's house. She finds where Harmon lives and decides to invite herself to live with them for a while. Once she ruined her friendship with Harmon and his family, she runs away again and meets up with a band. This band is Leshaya's first big break, people actually get to hear her sing and this makes Leshaya gets into bigger things. During some turning with a band, Leshaya gets pregnant and when she gives birth to the baby she gives it to Harmon, even though he isn't the father. Leshaya becomes [an] addict at the age of fourteen and start not to care about life anymore. Leshaya has a lot to deal with in her life, but can she make the right decisions?
Noland uses a lot of literary elements in this book. She does a great job with the plot of this book. The story is well thought out and planed. The imagery in this book is really good, sometimes you can actually get the feeling that you are Leshaya and you're suffering as much as her. For example, you could really feel the pain Leshaya was going through when she had to give up her daughter. I think that this novel is just like the blues; it makes you feel sad and alone, but yet sympathetic for the character.
I really started enjoying this book at the end, the last two chapters to be exact, because the author finally got to the resolution of the book. The part that I didn't like about this book was the way the author portrayed the character. Leshaya was, at first, an admirable person, but hen she turned into a self-centered ... addict. Another thing I didn't enjoy was that the author made Leshaya use improper English and that made it confusing at times. Despite all the negative parts to the book, overall, it was very interesting. You can really get the feeling of what some kids are feeling. I would defiantly recommend this book to anyone, young or old. It has great ideas on what young foster children are going through.

Rating: 5
Summary: Thrilling and can relate
Comment: A legitamate combination of words. Love the story, keeps you on the edge of your seat each page that is turned! Not able to put down once you start reading it.