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Pure Red

by Danielle Joseph (Goodreads Author)

3.21 of 5 stars 3.21 · rating details · 183 ratings · 25 reviews

I, Cassia Bernard, do solemnly swear to find pure red--my passion--this summer. Dad's passion is art. When he's painting, no one can reach him, not even me. My mom's passion was the ocean. She said the ocean allows you to see whatever you want to see. That was one of the last things she ever said to me...

Sometimes what your heart desires isn't what it needs. Over the cours...more

Paperback, 240 pages

Published September 8th 2011 by Flux

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Feb 22, 2013 Rika rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is Purple.
- It is an introspective color, allowing us to get in touch with our deeper thoughts.
- It can cause frustration.
Both were what I felt with this book.

Cassia is in a mission.
A mission to find passion.
But that's not what makes the book special. It's all the colors and what she connects them with.

I didn't know this book has sports.. which is a bonus. A basketball sports. Double bonus.

All characters need more development in my opinion.. I felt none took their complete space. Howev...more

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Dec 02, 2011 Barbara ~*Lindt Ninja*~ rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, ya

According to Cassia Bernard’s school guidance counselor, she’s coasted through school without ever finding any particular place to fit in or any special passion and it's going to affect her chances for college if she doesn't find something. Hoping to rekindle some happiness she felt playing basketball with her friends, Cassia enrolls in the Y’s summer program and finds not only is she good at it but she enjoys the competitive feeling of the game. It’s exciting, a coordinated and focused dance an...more According to Cassia Bernard’s school guidance counselor, she’s coasted through school without ever finding any particular place to fit in or any special passion and it's going to affect her chances for college if she doesn't find something. Hoping to rekindle some happiness she felt playing basketball with her friends, Cassia enrolls in the Y’s summer program and finds not only is she good at it but she enjoys the competitive feeling of the game. It’s exciting, a coordinated and focused dance and she’s in the middle of it until an on-court accident knocks her out of the game with a sprained ankle. Forced to sit on the sidelines, she ends up back orbiting her famous father’s life.

Jacques Bernard becomes The Famous Painter wherever he goes, drawing attention, losing track of time and usually forgetting his daughter. Cassia meets a cute guy at one of his exhibits and brings him home, only to find out Graham wants Jacques to mentor him. After her basketball injury, Cassia becomes their third wheel, following Graham and Jacques, hoping Graham will notice her and hoping for once her father will pay attention to her.

This is a slight book in a couple of ways, but still one that was easy to read and I think it will resonate with anyone who’s ever had the experience of being overshadowed by someone or felt like there was something wrong with them because they didn’t know what they wanted to be.

Even though it’s her father that spends his life immersed in paint, it’s Cassia who associates a broad spectrum of complicated emotions with colors. Everything she sees has a meaning, from the gray of the opposing basketball team’s shirts to the purple that Graham always wears. Red is the most important color to her – subconsciously perhaps, because it was her mother’s favorite, because it appears in her father’s paintings often. Cassia could be too introspective and a bit bratty for a sixteen year old, but I really loved the basketball scenes. The bullying with her teammate, the focus she felt during the game and the almost obsessive-compulsive way she practiced all felt very real to me.

I don’t know if I can be anything but irritated with her father. I thought he was shamefully neglectful although I will give the author credit – the scenes in the story where he completely tuned Cassia out to go pay attention to someone else were just painful. I can’t say that I bought his redemption – strictly as a reader, I needed more page time to forgive him.

I see-sawed a little with Graham and Cassia’s friendship and sort-of more. I liked him, sometimes against my better judgment, because I couldn’t tell what his motivations always were. I think whether or not he was boyfriend material, he was good for Cassia because he made her think about what she deserved and wherever they ended up off the page, I was okay with that.

My Summary: This isn’t a book driven by external conflict or one that has any great drama. It’s a quiet book, with the relatively quiet personal issues of one girl in one summer. I loved the way Joseph used colors for emotional imagery, especially as it’s used almost defiantly by Cassia at times. Even if this isn’t strictly a “message” book, I think it stands well as a coming-into-self story that nearly all of us can relate to.

My Rating: B-

Source: Publisher provided review copy(less)

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Sep 09, 2011 Trisha rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, ya-literature

It's good (read different) to see a main character who doesn't know what she wants. Who isn't sure what her passion in life will be. Chances are Cassia's confusions stem from the death of her mother at a young age, so there's also that we are dealing with.

It is possible to dismiss 'Pure Red' as a quick, slight read, but there is a lot going on in here: the awesome stuff with/about colours, the jealously over BFF's new boyfriend and accepting the changing nuances in friendships, the confrontation...more

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Oct 31, 2011 Erica Cameron rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, youngadult

“I, Cassia Bernard, do solemnly swear to find pure red—my passion—this summer. Dad's passion is art. When he's painting, no one can reach him, not even me. My mom's passion was the ocean. She said the ocean allows you to see whatever you want to see. That was one of the last things she ever said to me...”

Especially for someone who usually feels adrift, meeting someone with a passion—a true purpose for their life—can be unsettling. Living with someone like that is downright depressing if, like Ca...more “I, Cassia Bernard, do solemnly swear to find pure red—my passion—this summer. Dad's passion is art. When he's painting, no one can reach him, not even me. My mom's passion was the ocean. She said the ocean allows you to see whatever you want to see. That was one of the last things she ever said to me...”

Especially for someone who usually feels adrift, meeting someone with a passion—a true purpose for their life—can be unsettling. Living with someone like that is downright depressing if, like Cassia Bernard, you can’t seem to find your own guiding force. Remembering how she used to like playing pickup games of basketball, Cassia joins the summer league in hopes of discovering a love for the game. Not too far into the season, though, she suffers a bad sprain and is forced to sit it out while she recovers. During her recovery, she decides to take a ceramics class and finds something else that may call to her. While all this is happening, she’s dealing with a best friend in the gushing, obsessive new-relationship phase, her perpetually clueless father who gets so wrapped up in his art he forgets to come to her games, and Graham—a new boy who worships Cassia’s father, the famous artist, but doesn’t seem to see Cassia for herself. Will her father ever come out of his own mind long enough to really connect with her? Will Graham ever be able to see past her father long enough to ask her out? Will she ever find her calling?

Like Indigo Blues, Pure Red is more about the characters than the action. Again, I enjoyed Danielle Joseph’s prose and think she has an amazing talent for phrasing. I especially enjoyed the constant use of color and the way Cassia interpreted everything by color—including the opposing teams of the summer league. The characters were interesting and well written and although I would have enjoyed more doing, that’s not always necessary. I think the main reason this book couldn’t get to the four-star mark for me is Cassia’s passion. She states herself that finding her passion will be her goal. Honestly, the buildup was so heavy through the whole book that I really wanted an epiphany moment. I wanted everything to come together like puzzle pieces magically flying into place as she realized, “Oh, goodness! How could I have been so blind!” I didn’t get that. In fact, less than a week after reading it I had to go back to the book to make sure she actually had found her passion at all. I remembered the things she had been interested in, but the realization had been so quiet and subtle that I didn’t feel as though it meant as much to her as it should have. I liked Graham who turned out to be even more interesting at the end of the book than I thought he’d be, but her father annoyed me. That, however, was probably only because it would have driven me crazy to have my only parent be as disconnected and scatterbrained as he was. There were a couple of side characters that I felt went nowhere, but the ones that stuck through to the end made for a very interesting bunch. I recommend the book especially to anyone who likes art or color. It’s also always interesting to read something set in my area of the world (the story takes place in Miami). Overall, a good read, but I expected more from it.

Sera’s Rating: 3/5(less)

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Mar 18, 2012 Avon Bernabe rated it 3 of 5 stars

I had so many frustrations about this book. One is in a good way as it proves the effectiveness of Joseph's writing. But the other thing is the lack of romance. This book really lacked romance upto the end. I was disappointed especially with the ending. I guess I expected more from the synopsis I read.

Well, I liked that this book deals with one's finding what she'he really likes to do. It deals with one's finding his/her passion which I believe, happens in real life. If only this book didn't lac...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Katy rated it 2 of 5 stars

I didn't like this book as much as I thought I would. I understand that Cass is trying to find herself as she deals with finding her passion, dealing with her dad and trying to win over a boy. But there wasn't any depth in her journey. I didn't really connect with her as much as I wanted to. And I didn't really get a feeling of what type of book this was. It wasn't a romantic comedy or a teen romance really. It wasn't really funny, but it wasn't really sad either. I was even a little bored. It j...more

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Nov 07, 2011 Princess Bookie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read2011

My Thoughts: What happened to loving loving Danielle Joseph? I loved Shrinking Violet, I really enjoyed Indigo Blues but Pure Red was just okay for me.

We are introduced to Cassia who lost her mom as a child. She has lived with her dad. Her dad is a painter, and he's quite known, or at least in some parts. Cassia is trying to find her passion. She's good at a few things but never really feels like they can be her "thing." Even though her dad is around a lot and in her life, I didn't feel like he...more My Thoughts: What happened to loving loving Danielle Joseph? I loved Shrinking Violet, I really enjoyed Indigo Blues but Pure Red was just okay for me.

We are introduced to Cassia who lost her mom as a child. She has lived with her dad. Her dad is a painter, and he's quite known, or at least in some parts. Cassia is trying to find her passion. She's good at a few things but never really feels like they can be her "thing." Even though her dad is around a lot and in her life, I didn't feel like he was really there for her. I didn't like that because dang, the girl has already lost her mother, pay attention to her!

She decides to join the Y's basketball team during the summer with her best friend. It's fun enough, and distracts her from other things. She's quite good at it. She also meets a boy named Graham aka cutebutt. Graham has an interest in her father's paintings, he became his mentor. Graham is over at her house quite a bit now, and Cassia spent the novel trying to get him to notice her.

Honestly, that is basically the plot. I felt like this book might be considered more middle grade than actual YA if that makes sense. It was really easy to read but I felt like it lacked the substance that the author's other two books had. It didn't have the wow factor for me. It was more of a cute read than a super fun read.

Even though we are supposed to believe Cassia has grown a lot by the end of the book, I'm not sure how much she actually grew up.

I think Joseph is a talented young author but I just don't think this lived up to the hype I had built up in my mind. I was hoping I would love it like the other 2 novels.

Overall: It was just okay. I liked it enough to keep reading. I was hoping it would get better, to be greatness and by the end of the novel I was left wanting more, and to know more details. Hopefully Joseph's next book brings me back to the WOW factor. This one was probably more of a 3.5 cupcake for me than a 3 cupcake book. I liked it enough to continue reading but wasn't blown away.

Cover: Like it a lot. Its very eye catching. Love how their heads are down next to each other. Very cute cover.

What I'd Give It: 3/5 Cupcakes
_____________________________

Review Based on Softcover Edition

Taken From Princess Bookie
www.princessbookie.com (less)

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Sep 11, 2011 Kelly rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-fiction, read-in-2011

2.5.

This book reminded me a lot of Liz Gallagher's "My Not-So-Still Life" with the use of art to come into one's self. More than that, though, it suffered a lot of the same weaknesses: the main character comes off way too young, and the bulk of the story contains no action or movement. I found Cassia to be quite boring and I was getting a little tired of hearing about Graham's butt. I don't know if I buy the ending, either. I kind of felt like she was exactly the same as she was in the beginning...more

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Oct 09, 2011 Jolene Perry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, recommend-to-anyone

I put book on my "recommend-to-anyone" shelf, books that are great stories, with nothing I feel the need to "warn" people about.

I love books that feel like a true glimpse into a part of someone's life. That's what this book did for me. The characters were fun. I have SUCH a clear picture of the eccentric, artist father, and the love he had for Cassia's mother.
Cassia felt very real teen to me. She thought a lot of things she didn't say, and I love her journey through the book.

And Graham . . . a...more

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Nov 10, 2011 Samia Ruponti rated it 3 of 5 stars

Let me say first, the plot is unique with a capital U! The girls(and boys) who are really confused about what really makes them happy(who isn't?we are a confused lot!) will be able to connect with Cassia. I'd have loved to have a little more description of her pain, but they way it was provided was awesome! The overall writing was a lee-tt-le bit dull,but the story was good,characters believable and nice. The chapter names were really cute too! I'll definitely read more books of Danielle Joseph.

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Aug 28, 2011 Medeia Sharif rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011

Being a color fanatic—her father’s a painter and she’s studied all the colors and their meanings—Cassia focuses on the color red this summer, hoping to find her passion. She decides to join a basketball team, but that’s not going too well when there’s a bully who zooms in on her. Also, she’s a klutz as she plays. She meets Graham, aka Cutebutt, but he’s perhaps more interested in her artist father, who becomes his mentor. Cassia’s mind is also on her mother, who died of a heart defect when Cassi...more

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Feb 25, 2012 ﻉммel☼ foxes are foxy... :D rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 22, 2012 TheSaint rated it 2 of 5 stars

Got a little tired of hearing our heroine lust after a hot guy who was really hot, and whose posterior was hot, and how to get at that hotness. I mean. She was supposed to be finding her "passion," so the whole hotness issue served to misdirect the reader from the purported theme.

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Dec 08, 2011 Citra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Originally reviewed here

I never thought that I would like this book. It's not a typical soapy romance teen novel, it is just something different.

This book is also and easy read, however, it doesn't lessen its meaning.

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Apr 23, 2012 Leah rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a nice story. I kind of wanted more, especially since things seemed to be looking up for Cassia already, and I wanted to see the two leads interact with more sweetness or what not, but what I read was nice enough already.

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Jun 06, 2012 Angie rated it 3 of 5 stars

LOVE LOVE LOVE all the cool refrences to color :) And I loved the teen angst. And the end was so much fun! Why only 3 stars. There was a bit of swearing that pulled me out of the story, but overall a solidly goodread.

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Nov 13, 2011 Chucha rated it 4 of 5 stars

I like this book because:
1. I like how Cassia tries to search for her passion (although it involves a guardian counselor)
2. How she worked things out with her father
3. The chapters are named with colors, each colors are defined by emotion - it is quite nice.
4. I love the cover. It is so eye-catching.
5. The kiss she and Graham shared. It was so simple and yet so sweet.

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Jul 17, 2011 John Egbert marked it as to-read

Does she seriously call the love interest Cutebutt throughout the entire novel? THIS I gotta see!

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Sep 04, 2011 Christina Gonzalez rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved reading about Cassia's search for her life's passion. Great story!

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Aug 20, 2012 Oksana *Bookaholic* rated it 3 of 5 stars

There wasn't anything WRONG with this book, exactly. Just it got boring at times, and I couldn't really connect with the character. And so I rated it a three star, because I DID like it... Sorta. :) But I strongly recommend you to read this book so you can judge on your own :)

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Feb 04, 2012 Tayiba Ahmed rated it 3 of 5 stars

A good book, but the ending was a bit unsatisfying.

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Dec 07, 2011 Frezanda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: youngadult

One word. Boring.
Danielle Joseph is a good writer. I really loved Shrinking Violet. So style of writing is excellent for this book. The problem I found with it is how unfocus the story were. It's just about an everyday life of a teenage girl...But I don't really see what's the purpose of the story. There is no deep issue told. There might be some possible issue but the story only touch it on the surface and does not dig deeper.

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Jul 18, 2012 Maandoe rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 22, 2012 Tara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen, read-in-2012

This was a slow read. It reads more like a j-fiction book rather than a teen book. The book tackles different situations that young adults might have to deal with like death of a parent, abuse and first love. I get the reference, I really do but in this day and age you can not have a chapter called "Golden Showers".

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Nov 14, 2011 Hpitcher rated it 2 of 5 stars

The first Danielle Joseph book i read was Shrinking Violet and it made me think that all her books would meet a similar standard but i have found that her last two books have been severely lacking.

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May 18, 2013 Bekah Meeker marked it as to-read

May 17, 2013 Diya (BittersweetDahlia) marked it as to-read

May 17, 2013 Erin marked it as to-read

May 15, 2013 Jenten0018 marked it as to-read

May 14, 2013 Israa marked it as to-read

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About Danielle Joseph

I'm the author of SHRINKING VIOLET from MTV/Pocket Books and INDIGO BLUES and PURE RED from Flux Books. SHRINKING VIOLET will be debuting as the movie RADIO REBEL on the Disney Channel in early 2012! When I'm not writing, I'm either listening to music, eating chocolate or swimming--sometimes all at once!

For more info visit my website at: www.daniellejoseph.com

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