A Blue So Dark by Holly Schindler

 

The story opens with Aura, her mom and dad and her best friend Janny on a trip to Florida. Everything was supposed to be perfect, but for Aura the beach was a disappointment with undertones of foreboding lurking in the wings. 

Fast forward 5 years and Aura’s life seems to be falling apart. Her father has left the family, Aura’s best friend has her own issues and slowly Aura’s mom is sinking into schizophrenia. Aura feels like she is sinking, but has promised her mom “no drugs” and not to tell anyone. 

The rest of the story is Aura trying to help her mother through her episode hoping that she will come out of it. The thing that scares Aura the most though is how much is she like her mother, is this her fate as well? 

Oh, I’m telling you, author Holly Schindler knows how to pack all the feels into her stories! There was so much here! I wanted to shake Aura and tell her to GET HELP! I wanted to shake her mother and tell her to GET HELP! I wanted to shake both Aura and Janny and tell them to get their act together and listen to each other. Mental illness is such a hard thing to deal with. Add the fact that Aura is only 15 and having to make adult decisions, it was a train wreck waiting to happen. The subject matter is heavy, this is definitely not a light and fluffy read. But the story was engrossing and kept me reading and rooting for Aura and hoping, like she did, that someone would come alongside her and help her. Again, all the feels! A book I very much recommend.