Book Description
for Bluish by Virginia Hamilton
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Dreenie is so intrigued by Bluish, one of her fifth-grade classmates, that she keeps a journal in which she writes down all her observations, thoughts and feelings about her. Called “Bluish” due to a blue tint to her skin caused by chemotherapy, she uses a wheelchair, brings a dog to school, and makes frequent sarcastic comments. Dreenie would like to have her as a friend. Instead, she’s followed around by Tuli, a girl who wants to be Dreenie’s best friend. Tuli’s brash humor and fake Spanish accent irritate most people, except for Dreenie’s little sister, Willie, who finds her fascinating and frequently invites her to come home from school with them, mush to Dreenie’s dismay. The complexities of fifth-grade freindship are deftly handled in a short novel told through third-person narrative and Dreenie’s first person journal entries. (Ages 9-12)
CCBC Choices 2000. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2000. Used with permission.