Synopsis: A follow-up to Blue Moon. Mia is 16 now and still living with dad. Not only is she having to work out the emotional and practical implications of being a mother when she herself is still a child, she is also having to negotiate new relationships with the adults and young people around her.

Review: What an excellent book. This should be in all secondary schools and used in PSHE lessons instead of stale safe sex guides, this is exactly what teenagers who are contemplating a relationship should read.

The standard of writing is of the highest quality. The subject matter is dealt with in a sensitive and open manner, resulting in a wonderful novel that deals with sex, teenage pregnancy and teenage motherhood in a refreshing way, which is important as there are so many novels about teen pregnancy already overpopulating the shelves.  This novel, however, is in another league.

“A mother at sixteen. It’s tough looking after a baby when you’ve never held one before. Particularly when all your friends are moving on. And you’re stuck.”

Julia Green writes with such knowledge and experience, explaining how Mia feels when she wakes up the following morning after having given birth. Green describing all the things that start happening to Mia’s body now her baby is here, making the reader experience first hand exactly what it is like; having a baby, a real live baby in your arms and it’s all your responsibility and you are only sixteen.

At 246 pages long this book is perfectly paced as the reader gains enough insight into Mia’s life to connect with her, to relate to her and to experience enough of her journey into motherhood, without trying to cram her life story into the pages.

This is a book I will read again and enjoy just as much as I did the first time. Every now and then a book comes along that you cannot stop thinking about and talking about and recommending to people because it is so well written and you enjoyed it so much, Baby Blue  is one of those books.

2006-11-13