April is Poetry Month! I'll be celebrating by reading a number of novels in verse. Here's the first one.
EVERYWHERE BLUE is about twelve year old Maddie and her family. Their lives usually revolve around music. Her mother gives voice lessons, her father tunes pianos and composes music, her brother and sister celebrate music in their own ways. Top on Maddie's mind is trying to earn an oboe solo in the spring concert. Her playing is definitely improving and is her way of dealing with stress.
When her parents get a phone call about her brother who is attending college in Colorado, the entire family begins to crumble. Strum was seen walking away from campus one afternoon, and he's now officially missing. Maddie's mother is distraught. Her father is concerned, but he and Strum have been at odds in recent years.
Strum is a climate change activist who believes the younger generation needs to step up to make change. His father is a climate change denier who thinks Strum is wasting his time. Strum preaches about the Artic ice caps melting and endangering polar bears, so Maddie is convinced that he is headed north.
Maddie's parents fly off to Colorado in search of answers. While they are gone, older sister Aria is in charge, but she takes off with friends leaving Maddie home alone and frightened. Maddie tries to stay close to her brother by joining the Eco Club her friend Emma started at school. Maddie hopes the club and practicing her oboe will keep her emotions under control, but she worries about a few strange habits she's developed are a sign of something bad.
Written in verse, EVERYWHERE BLUE paints a vivid picture of a family trying to deal with possible mental health issues and contradictory philosophies. Can they figure out where Strum has gone? Will they find him safe? Will his disappearance tear the family apart or pull them together?
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