An exciting new series from the acclaimed author of Red Glass.
Zeeta's life with her free-spirited mother, Layla, is anything but nor... read full description
Zeeta's life with her free-spirited mother, Layla, is anything but nor... read full description
reviews
Feb 06, 2012
Cara
rated it: 
The reason why I picked up this book was because I absolutely fell in love with Resau's writing in Red Glass. Her writing is still impecable here, but a little different like it should be.
Zeeta the seeker and Wendell the wanderer collide paths when they both meet in the colorful country of Ecuador. For Zeeta it's just another move, but she has this restless unease of not being normal and the feeling of not belonging to one place. Wendell on the other hand does have a home, but is lo More...
Zeeta the seeker and Wendell the wanderer collide paths when they both meet in the colorful country of Ecuador. For Zeeta it's just another move, but she has this restless unease of not being normal and the feeling of not belonging to one place. Wendell on the other hand does have a home, but is lo More...
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Oct 09, 2010
Valerie
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It's been more than a week since I've read this book but I do remember that I thought the writing was great. It flowed beautifully and seemed effortlessly. Resau can definitely write no doubt about it.
The plot is Zeeta helping an American boy, Wendell, find his birth parents in Ecuador. The other subplot is Zeeta's mother turning herself normal, instead of being free spirited and irresponsible as she has always been.
Really I loved the story and Zeeta is very observant. W More...
The plot is Zeeta helping an American boy, Wendell, find his birth parents in Ecuador. The other subplot is Zeeta's mother turning herself normal, instead of being free spirited and irresponsible as she has always been.
Really I loved the story and Zeeta is very observant. W More...
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Dec 22, 2010
Laura Resau writes so elegantly that I would probably enjoy reading her grocery lists. (Creamy butter that melts softly under the sultry Arizona sun . . .)
In this book we have the main character, Zeeta, who has just moved to yet another country with her flakey, irresponsible, promiscuous mom. Zeeta meets and gets involved with Wendell who is in Ecuador searching for his birth parents. The adoption angle of the story had me choked up during one part. It's very sweet and probably i More...
In this book we have the main character, Zeeta, who has just moved to yet another country with her flakey, irresponsible, promiscuous mom. Zeeta meets and gets involved with Wendell who is in Ecuador searching for his birth parents. The adoption angle of the story had me choked up during one part. It's very sweet and probably i More...
Jan 30, 2010
Melissa
rated it: 
"If you had one wish, what would it be?" Zeeta asks.
Zeeta wishes for a normal family. Gaby wishes for happiness. Wendell wishes to find his birth family. And so begins a story woven in Ecuador with threads of Remi, Spanish, love and longing.
"The way I see it, people think they know what they want, and it turns out they don't have a clue," responds Gaby.
Resau shows us this truth through a beautifully written story of searching for wishes More...
Zeeta wishes for a normal family. Gaby wishes for happiness. Wendell wishes to find his birth family. And so begins a story woven in Ecuador with threads of Remi, Spanish, love and longing.
"The way I see it, people think they know what they want, and it turns out they don't have a clue," responds Gaby.
Resau shows us this truth through a beautifully written story of searching for wishes More...
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Sep 05, 2011
Caren
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Having read the author's more recent book, "The Queen of Water", I wanted to read her earlier work of fiction set in Ecuador. (Well, "The Queen of Water" is ostensibly fiction, but is based on real events.) In "The Indigo Notebook", the author introduces us to a very interesting and likeable mother/daughter duo, fifteen-year-old Zeeta and her free-spirited mother, Layla. Zeeta is the product of a one night stand on a beach and so doesn't know who her father might be
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Aug 04, 2011
Ari
rated it:
4.5/5
This is a silly thing to dislike and I didn't dislike it per se but I genuinely did not understand the Rumi quotes. My confusion over what he was saying made me feel like a complete idiot but maybe in time I will understand better. For now I'm content just thinking that he writes vague poetry that celebrates nature, simplicity and individuality (and that might not even be right). I was bothered by the fact that the Layla storyline was really cliche, whimsical mother kept safe/pr More...
This is a silly thing to dislike and I didn't dislike it per se but I genuinely did not understand the Rumi quotes. My confusion over what he was saying made me feel like a complete idiot but maybe in time I will understand better. For now I'm content just thinking that he writes vague poetry that celebrates nature, simplicity and individuality (and that might not even be right). I was bothered by the fact that the Layla storyline was really cliche, whimsical mother kept safe/pr More...
Jul 01, 2011
Maggie
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jan 22, 2010
Shenek
rated it:
This book is about a 15 year-old girl who lives with her mom. Every year they move to another country and every country she writes in a different color journal (to help her adapt to her new surroundings). This year she is in Ecuador, which is why I picked up the book.
I was so impressed by how well Ecuador is represented. Descriptions of food (including guinea pig and cilantro), the buses (they would have looked nice 30 years ago), the garbage (overflowing in the street), the drunks, More...
I was so impressed by how well Ecuador is represented. Descriptions of food (including guinea pig and cilantro), the buses (they would have looked nice 30 years ago), the garbage (overflowing in the street), the drunks, More...
May 09, 2009
Diana
rated it:
Zeeta's fifteen years have been spent traveling the globe with her mother, Layla, an itinerant English teacher and free spirit. On the flight to Ecuador they interact with Wendell a teen boy who looks like an Otavaleno, but talks and walks like an American, and Jeff, who personifies everything Zeeta has always wished for in a "normal father." After settling in in Otavalo, Zeeta makes friends in the marketplace and runs into Wendell again who needs and interpreter. Adopted as an infant,
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Dec 02, 2011
Erin
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The Indigo Notebook
by Laura Resau
“There is an inner wakefulness that directs the dream. And that will eventually startle us back to the truth of who we are.” – Rumi
Zeeta is the daughter of a wanderer. Since she was an infant, she has traveled from country to country with her mother, learning the truth of who people are, souls who all want to be loved, taken care of, appreciated, and remembered. Zeeta knows that people all need a place in this world where they belon--but, Zeet More...
by Laura Resau
“There is an inner wakefulness that directs the dream. And that will eventually startle us back to the truth of who we are.” – Rumi
Zeeta is the daughter of a wanderer. Since she was an infant, she has traveled from country to country with her mother, learning the truth of who people are, souls who all want to be loved, taken care of, appreciated, and remembered. Zeeta knows that people all need a place in this world where they belon--but, Zeet More...
May 01, 2010
Books and Literature for Teens
rated it:
Fifteen year old Zeeta and her eccentric mother, Layla, travel the world hitting a new country every year. From Italy to Guatemala to Australia to Thailand, Zeeta has been traveling her whole life and she's ready to stop, to have a normal life. When Layla moves Zeeta to a small village in the Ecuadorian Andes, Zeeta meets an American boy named Wendell who is desperately scouring the market place for his long lost birth parents. Together the unlikely pair team up to search the country side and d
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May 30, 2011
Marti
rated it: 
There were some really interesting things about this book that might be appealing to teens - the main character is a biracial 15 yr old who doesn't know who her father is and has a mother who moved them to a new country every year. This book could be a nice way to introduce American teens to very different ways of life in other countries and introduce them to citizens of first world countries who choose to live nomadically in third world countries. One of the other main characters was a boy who'
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Aug 24, 2011
Marina
rated it:
The Scoop:
Zeeta and her free-spirited, wanderlust, ESL-teaching, Rumi-quoting mother Layla have lived in 15 different countries. That's one country for each year that Zeeta has been alive. And for each of those countries, Zeeta has kept a notebook (well, since she could write, at least) that holds her observations, thoughts and the stories of the native people. This year, the year of living in Otavalo, Ecuador, Zeeta has an indigo notebook.
Now, more than ever (she's just three years aw More...
Zeeta and her free-spirited, wanderlust, ESL-teaching, Rumi-quoting mother Layla have lived in 15 different countries. That's one country for each year that Zeeta has been alive. And for each of those countries, Zeeta has kept a notebook (well, since she could write, at least) that holds her observations, thoughts and the stories of the native people. This year, the year of living in Otavalo, Ecuador, Zeeta has an indigo notebook.
Now, more than ever (she's just three years aw More...
May 30, 2010
Vicki
rated it:
This is really a good one -- a nicely paced, nicely connected story about a girl who's been a world traveler pretty much since she was born. Her mother is an ESL teacher who realized she was pregnant a few months after she'd left whomever the father might have been. So it was just Layla, the young ESL teacher, and Zeeta, her baby girl born in Italy. Now Layla's a teenager, and they've landed in Ecuador, after Thailand. Zeeta is sick of her mother's flighty Rumi-quoting ways, and wishes for n
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Feb 03, 2012
Lisa
rated it:
Another novel by Resau set in Ecuador. A solid, good read; not amazing, but really good.
Zeeta is 14 and has lived in a different country every year of her life. Her mother, a bohemian spirited woman, flits about through like like gauze in the wind. Zeeta wishes for nothing more in life that to be NORMAL. A kid living in Maryland with a sofa, tv and munching on McD's fries.
When a series of events place Zeeta with an adopted American teen who is searching for his birth par More...
Zeeta is 14 and has lived in a different country every year of her life. Her mother, a bohemian spirited woman, flits about through like like gauze in the wind. Zeeta wishes for nothing more in life that to be NORMAL. A kid living in Maryland with a sofa, tv and munching on McD's fries.
When a series of events place Zeeta with an adopted American teen who is searching for his birth par More...
Dec 27, 2009
Deanna
rated it:
Realistic fiction, travel, family, adventure/mystery.
15 year old Zeeta and her 35 year old English teacher mom travel and live in a new country each year--this year in Ecuador. Zeeta dreams of a normal life with a fantasy father and family. In each country she gets a new writer's notebook which serves to help her in her chaotic life. "Writing in my notebooks always makes me notice more things" (p. 12). Mother and daughter visit landmarks in each country. For example they ge More...
15 year old Zeeta and her 35 year old English teacher mom travel and live in a new country each year--this year in Ecuador. Zeeta dreams of a normal life with a fantasy father and family. In each country she gets a new writer's notebook which serves to help her in her chaotic life. "Writing in my notebooks always makes me notice more things" (p. 12). Mother and daughter visit landmarks in each country. For example they ge More...
Mar 01, 2011
Rachal
rated it:
This was a really good book. The title was deciving, but the synopsis drew me in. It was a nice size book, but I finished it in a respectible amount of time. Where as, I usually take forever to read a book this size. I guess it just shows how much I liked it. The book was very well written and the main character was charming. She was very true and the author didn't glamorize anything, nor did she go into detail where she could have. There were a few sensitive topics in the book, so I wouldn't le
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Jul 06, 2009
Meri
rated it:
This one is about a woman and her daughter who travel the world, living in a different country every year. Zeeta, who is fifteen, yearns for a "normal" life involving a permanent home. There's also an Ecuadorian boy searching for his birth parents who happens to be precognitive.
The story is fun and it moves pretty well, but Zeeta and her mother are very unbelievable characters and much of the book is devoted to developing them. The "plot" is an afterthought, an More...
The story is fun and it moves pretty well, but Zeeta and her mother are very unbelievable characters and much of the book is devoted to developing them. The "plot" is an afterthought, an More...
Feb 07, 2012
Stephanie
rated it:
I believe that Laura Resau did a fantastic job with the Spanish incorporation in the book. Many writers can't seem to add another language and get the grammar and the slang correctly, but Resau did a good job. Me encanto!
I can almost picture the Market with the vibrant colors and wonderful articles of clothing and arts and crafts- it's like I actually visited Ecuador (which I intend to do in the future)
I did have a few problems with Zeeta while I was reading (mainly I wanted to hit he More...
I can almost picture the Market with the vibrant colors and wonderful articles of clothing and arts and crafts- it's like I actually visited Ecuador (which I intend to do in the future)
I did have a few problems with Zeeta while I was reading (mainly I wanted to hit he More...
Aug 11, 2011
Anna Francesca
rated it:
After having listened to Red Glass, I was intrigued to find another coming-of-age YA novel by Laura Resau. Heritage, growth, redemption, family, identity-- these are all themes that the book covers. The reader on the audio-version handles the various accents and tonalities expertly. Also, for literature lovers there is an interesting allusion to Rappaccini's Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and several quotations by Rumi. Despite a little magical realism, the book makes extreme circumstances
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Aug 01, 2010
saferia
rated it:
In some ways this is not my typical read; flighty mother, chakras, irresponsible parent... On the other-hand, the story is not centered around the mother, but rather her 15 year-old daughter, Zeeta.
I enjoyed the Rumi wisdom (as he's one of my favorite poets), as well as the realistic potrayal of Zeeta and Wendell.
I appreciated the beautifully described country and city scenes of Ecuador.
I disliked the "stereotypical" smuggling bit. I felt that the More...
I enjoyed the Rumi wisdom (as he's one of my favorite poets), as well as the realistic potrayal of Zeeta and Wendell.
I appreciated the beautifully described country and city scenes of Ecuador.
I disliked the "stereotypical" smuggling bit. I felt that the More...
May 25, 2010
Annell
rated it:
This is a beautiful story of love, family, a magical waterfall and a crystal cave. I can see the bright colors and clothing. I can imagine walking through the market and I can almost taste Mamita Luz's bread. It is a great reminder that families are not just made up of blood relatives and that sometimes what you think you want, is not always what you need.
This is the first book in The Notebook Series, each of which will be set in a different country. The second book is due out in the More...
This is the first book in The Notebook Series, each of which will be set in a different country. The second book is due out in the More...
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Mar 05, 2010
Lisa
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This was an under-looked book of 2009! Fifteen-year-old Zeeta's latest move to Equador with Layla, her free-spirited mom, results in adventures that lead to Zeeta's re-evaluation of her goal of a normal suburban life. While Zeeta helps with Wendell's quest to find his birth parents, Layla begins to turn into the responsible, normal mother Zeeta always longed for. Turns out that might not be such a good thing after all. Zeeta is a believable and likable character. I appreciated the treatment of
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May 11, 2010
Pamela
rated it:
Fifteen-year-old Zeeta comes to terms with her flighty mother Layla and their itinerant life when, soon after moving to Ecuador, she helps an American teenager Wendell find his birth father in a nearby village.
I enjoyed this book. I read it on our trip to Veyo and Zion, and was very glad that Shawn missed that last exit driving home, so I had another five minutes to finish it up. I liked getting to know Zeeta and seeing how her relationship with Wendell and her mom changed over the co More...
I enjoyed this book. I read it on our trip to Veyo and Zion, and was very glad that Shawn missed that last exit driving home, so I had another five minutes to finish it up. I liked getting to know Zeeta and seeing how her relationship with Wendell and her mom changed over the co More...
Jan 24, 2010
Emma
rated it:
I imagine that this is what a chick flick book would read like. Nothing goes too deep, and everything's pretty glossed over and sugary and sweet and leaves you in that 'feel good' mood.
I enjoyed this book. Yes, it was cliche (irresponsible artistic mother with daughter who has to look after her). Yes, there were many technical problems (Why Ecuador? How does Layla make money? How can she change so completely upon meeting Jeff, etc.) But you gotta kinda look past it and just accept t More...
I enjoyed this book. Yes, it was cliche (irresponsible artistic mother with daughter who has to look after her). Yes, there were many technical problems (Why Ecuador? How does Layla make money? How can she change so completely upon meeting Jeff, etc.) But you gotta kinda look past it and just accept t More...
Feb 22, 2011
Thomas
rated it:
While The Indigo Notebook contained interesting cultural points, it also possessed plenty of underdeveloped plot structures.
The best aspect of this book was its foray into the lives of foreign denizens - the main character, Zeeta, has visited an abundance of countries while traveling with her mother. She can speak seven different languages, not all fluently, but enough to survive as a passing tourist. Through her perspective the reader can garner gratuitous cultural knowledge of the More...
The best aspect of this book was its foray into the lives of foreign denizens - the main character, Zeeta, has visited an abundance of countries while traveling with her mother. She can speak seven different languages, not all fluently, but enough to survive as a passing tourist. Through her perspective the reader can garner gratuitous cultural knowledge of the More...
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Jun 09, 2011
Anna
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More than anything, Zeeta wants a "normal" life in the suburbs like she once enjoyed one summer with her grandparents in the United States. Zeet believes that she is unhappy with the peripatetic existence she has with her mother, Layla. Their latest move takes them to Ecuador, where her mother has a near-death experience and subdued transformation that leads Zeeta to appreciate her bohemian mother and she meets and finds romance with Wendell, an American teenager seeking his biologic
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Jan 27, 2011
Jennifer
rated it:
Reviewed by Monica Sheffo for TeensReadToo.com
At fifteen, Zeeta's life as been anything but ordinary. In those fifteen years, she has lived in fifteen different countries with her flighty single mother, Layla.
To document her many experiences and the interesting people she has met along the way, Zeeta keeps a journal. Each journal is a different color to symbolize the country she was living in at the time.
This year, she's in Ecuador, where she first meets Wende More...
At fifteen, Zeeta's life as been anything but ordinary. In those fifteen years, she has lived in fifteen different countries with her flighty single mother, Layla.
To document her many experiences and the interesting people she has met along the way, Zeeta keeps a journal. Each journal is a different color to symbolize the country she was living in at the time.
This year, she's in Ecuador, where she first meets Wende More...
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Sep 10, 2009
Julia
rated it:
What a sweet book. It's a quick read, but it's laced with the same feeling of wanderlust that made me love The Bean Trees. There definitely are kids out there who are raised on the road like this, kids who feel like they are more responsible than their parents. Although I've met people who could have been Zeeta, I've never encountered a book written from this perspective, let alone one written for young adults. I get excited when books I read give voice to an overlooked population, no matter
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Jul 22, 2009
Liesl
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This is the 1st book in a series. I think that it has very strong potential. The premise seems a bit forced and unrealistic. But as a vehicle for exposing new cultures and introducing new rites of passage it seems perfect. Also, while Zeeta wishes so much to be "normal" we are opening our minds to what "normal" is to different people. There is also room for discussions of poverty, alcoholism and responsibility. Seems like a really solid coming of age book-clean, inter
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