Blog Tour: Blue Running by Lori Ann Stephens

Author: Lori Ann Stephens

Genre: YA Contemporary

Published by: Moonflower Books

Publication date: 2/12/21

Pages: 334

My rating: ★★★★★

I received a free review copy from Midas PR in exchange for an honest review

Synopsis:

Blue Running is a gripping coming-of-age thriller set in post-secessionist Texas.
Fourteen-year-old Bluebonnet Andrews is on the run across the Republic of Texas. An accident with a gun killed her best friend but everyone in the town of Blessing thinks it was murder. Even her father – the town’s drunken deputy – believes she did it. Now, she has no choice but to run.

In Texas, murder is punishable by death. There’s no one to help her. Her father is incapable and her mother left the state on the last flight to America before the secession. Blue doesn’t know where she is but she’s determined to track her down. First she has to get across the lawless Republic and over the wall that keeps everyone in. On the road she meets Jet, a pregnant young woman of Latin American heritage. Jet is secretive about her past but she’s just as determined as Blue to get out of Texas before she’s caught and arrested.

Together, the two form an unlikely kinship as they make their way past marauding motorcycle gangs, the ever watchful Texas Rangers, and armed strangers intent on abducting them – or worse. When Blue and Jet finally reach the wall, will they be able to cross the border, or will they be shot down in cold blood like the thousands who have gone before them? Some things are worth dying for.

Where do I start? When the email dropped in my inbox I knew I had to read it. Blue Running immediately caught my eye because I had been looking for this exact book for awhile. I had very high expectations and it more than exceeded them. I couldn’t put it down from the moment I started. It’s phenomenal! Its like kind of book that makes you angry, feel uncomfortable, smile and sob. I don’t even know how to this book the justice it deserves.

Blue Running follows Bluebonnet as she flees her town after she’s accused of murdering her friend, despite carrying a gun being mandatory. This is where she meets Jet, who is heading to the border to escape Texas. They form an unlikely friendship and navigate the treacherous journey to the Texan border together. This isn’t an easy read at times, its so worth it, though. The characters are incredibly well written, it feels like they’re living, breathing people you care about and root for. Without spoiling anything, the ending will have you on the edge of your seat and an anxious mess.

I cannot recommend Blue Running enough, this is one that will stick with me for a very long time.

Buy from: Waterstones Hive