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Aug 04, 2011

Flannery rated it:

Somehow Kirsty Eagar manages to capture the feeling in your gut you get when you are so struck with nature that you stumble over yourself trying to describe it to someone else but even if you can never describe it, you’re happy to have ever seen it. I’ve got a couple of these places in my back pocket* but Carly Lee sees one every single day when she goes down to the beach. I know next to nothing about surfing (I’m pretty sure watching Blue Crush probably deducts knowledge rather than adding any) More...

44 comments like (55 people liked it)

Feb 08, 2012

Tatiana rated it:

As seen on The Readventurer

I remember this one surfer guy from 10 years ago. I was working a summer in a beach hotel in San Diego, and so was he. It was always very curious to me, how little ambition he had. He was smart and had opportunities to be promoted, to make more money, be a boss, but he always refused. When asked why, he used to say he didn't care to work more or have more responsibilities. All he wanted was to have his mornings open to surf and just enough money to pay for hi More...

21 comments like (43 people liked it)

Aug 01, 2011

Maja rated it:

I wish I could pay someone to write this review for me… I think it will turn out to be one of the hardest I’ve ever written. Or one of the easiest… who knows with these things?

First of all, don't you just love this cover? Maybe you need to read the book to fully appreciate it, so all of you who haven't… what are you waiting for?
There aren’t many authors who can portray emotions and transfer them to the readers like Eagar does. Her writing style is readable and clear, and stil More...

64 comments like (27 people liked it)

Aug 11, 2011

Isamlq rated it:

Reading Raw Blue had me breathing in, then breathing in some more until... him. Carly read honest and real and possible to me. I 'got' her. Am I being redundant in saying I was hooked by her flaws? She's so hard but she's so fearful too and it's all clear why. But she's still sad that way anyway and that's even given her words that were sometimes profound, sometimes heartbreaking but sometimes frustrating too.

It's the characters that impressed me most:

Carly isn't a simpl More...

2 comments like (14 people liked it)

Aug 28, 2011

oliviasbooks rated it:

3.5 personal stars, but deserving more. I honestly do not know how you could deal with the subject - a group rape, which the victim has kept entirely to herself, and its repercussions on her struggle to pretend to live a "normal" life - better than Kristy Eagar does in "Raw Blue". Everything feels so honest, so real, everybody is painted with intrinsical, well-set strokes. There is a lot of old and new pain and hurt and fear and shame and brokenness. Hope glimpses through tem More...

5 comments like (12 people liked it)

Sep 24, 2011

Janina rated it:

Objectively, this novel is worth much more than the three stars I decided to give it. But on a did-I-deeply-care-for-the-characters and were-my-expectations-met level, I just can’t give it any more. This book has received raving reviews from so many of my friends here, it has been described as life-changing and utterly captivating, it has been compared to Melina Marchetta’s novels (which I love with abandon) … but it just wasn’t any of those things for me (which makes me sad). I expected this to More...

10 comments like (12 people liked it)

Aug 01, 2011

Arlene rated it:

You just have to see those times for what they are: a chance to look down at your life. And when you do, you see it’s a skin made up of shiny little moments.

~whimpers~
Noooooooooo!!!!! Just one more chapter please!
I mean, I can imagine how that conversation went, or I can hope it went a certain way, but I can’t think it better than Kirsty Eagar can pen it. Absolutely beautiful!

I’ve said this so many times before… Aussie writers have this gift. It’s a magical ab More...

29 comments like (23 people liked it)

Apr 14, 2011

~Tina~ rated it:

Aussie Book challenge 2011 #5

Raw Blue is such a powerful and haunting story about a girl named Carly who went through a traumatic experience and channels cooking and surfing to her every single day routine to stop the memories from over powering her life. When she meets Ryan, she doesn't know if she can let him into her heart because of her past. This is a raw and emotional read about letting go, trust and healing the human soul.

I love Australian books. I love how differe More...

39 comments like (18 people liked it)

Aug 04, 2011

Emily rated it:

I don't know why I am even bothering to write a review. How can I adequately express my love for this book? How can I write a review when all I can do is sit around with a stupid grin on my face thinking about how fabulous it was? I am going to try though, because that's what I do and this book deserves another rave review.

To those who haven't read Raw Blue yet: Find a copy immediately. I know it's tough, being an Australian release and all. But don't let that get in the way. Spend yo More...

10 comments like (13 people liked it)

Feb 03, 2012

Ari rated it:

Why is it that we can relate so easily to pain, to struggle, to despair instead of happiness and joy?
When you say "emotional story" there's a small possibility for you to be referring to some positive feelings. You always imagine yourself in your bed, with a book in your hand and a lot of tissues around you.. Why do we remember the bad things in our life with such intensity but we forget so easily all the good things that happen to us?

"If I was a sheep, I’d

More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Aug 26, 2011

Giselle rated it:

3.5 stars
Well apparently I'm the only one in the world who didn't absolutely love this book. It's not bad by any means. I still genuinely enjoyed it, I just didn't completely fall in love with it.

Raw Blue is a deep and dark story about a girl who went through a traumatic ordeal and she's taken up surfing as an outlet to take her mind off of it all and, in a way, punishing herself for having been a victim. Like the title says, this is a raw story. It's dark. It's deeply impassione More...

13 comments like (9 people liked it)

Sep 01, 2011

Jo rated it:

“Even though the world looks grey and gloomy, the water’s warmer than you’d think.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
My entire body aches.

High Points.
Secrets. Honesty. Brutal. Raw. Glitter skin. Seeing colours. The ocean. Salsa dancing. Strength. Delicious treats. Accidental best friends. Tattoos. Board shorts. Sex. Love. Forgiveness. Understanding. Her. Him.

Low Points.
The entirety of my knowledge of surfing comes from this song and that one time I More...

14 comments like (17 people liked it)

Oct 06, 2011

Aly (Fantasy4eva) rated it:

RAW BLUE is one of the many Aussie books that I have bought on a whim after reading lovely reviews. And although books like THE PIPERS SON AND JELLICOE ROAD were amazing, I was quite underwhelmed by this novel. I think the gushing reviews gave me high expectations, but that's my fault, I got a little carried away there.

Carly is a 19 year old girl who two years ago after "it" happened - dropped out of University and was kicked out by her father. So with nowhere to go and wit More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Oct 06, 2011

Rebecca rated it:

I loved how AUSSIE this book is, the language (Ryan and his use of mate), the setting, the characters and the surfing!

Kirsty Eagar's writing is so visual and doesn't miss a beat descibing each scene perfectly, like were apart of the audience.
Her prose of writing, was fresh, light, entertaining, enjoyable and easy to read. Need I go on?

The way Eagar wrote about the ocean was brilliant! It made me feel like I was at the beach, on the warm sand watching the rippling, e More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 23, 2011

Holly rated it:

Nineteen-year-old Carly is simply surviving. Having dropped out of uni and working as a thankless cook in a local café, there’s not much to live for. Her brother has his own life and her parents barely acknowledge her existence, but she could care less. As long as she has her day to spend surfing, nothing else matters. But the day she meets assured, carefree surfing local Ryan she realizes she can’t coast forever. He’s kind to her without expecting reciprocation and his patience for her open a More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Mar 20, 2011

Audrey rated it:

full review can be found on my blog, holes In My brain

RAW BLUE was amazing. I’m not even sure to start off this review, but how about just saying that it is So. Australian. Which is just cruel because it makes me want to go to Australia SO BAD and watch hot boys surf. The diction and slang is so lovely and different, but it doesn’t end there. The descriptions of the waves and the breaks were exquisite and might I also add: the surf culture in this novel is excitingly awesome.

More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 08, 2011

Donna rated it:

I was so incredibly excited to win a copy of Raw Blue from Linds over at Bibliophile Brouhaha. (thanks Linds!!) She had raved about this book so much that I knew that I simply had to read it! Once I had read it though, I found that it is quite difficult to write a review about a book that feels like such an intimate, personal story. Its almost like reviewing someone’s journey to recovery, because that’s kind of what Raw Blue is.

After surviving a traumatic event at school, Carly, the More...

7 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 30, 2012

Wendy rated it:

Update: edited for typos, yeesh! ... say Hi, Vicodin! (recovering from foot surgery .. )
** Possible spoilers ahead, ye be warned...**

I don't really know where books like this belong. Yes, I realize they're 'realistic fiction', 'contemporary fiction', etc.

I love books like this more for what they don't have: winky winks, smirky smirks, over-wrought emotion, stalking paranormal boyfriends that take over a vapid, useless girl, the stuck up beautiful girl who causes tr More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 11, 2011

Alyssa rated it:

Originally Posted at Redhead Heroines!

This book is terribly difficult to review.

While I was instantly drawn in to Carly's world as a part-time chef and surfing-addict, I wish that I would have been warned about how intense this book is. As you can probably infer from the summary, Carly was viciously and brutally raped two years before the events of this book take place.

This is learned pretty early on in the novel, as well as the fact that Carly has not told More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 19, 2012

Anna (AnnaReads.com) rated it:

If this book were a feeling, it’d be that feeling you get in your gut when you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the monster to jump out from around the corner, for the giant sob you can just feel coming on.

Even thinking about it now, my stomach feels hallow, like I’m about to head down the drop in a rollercoaster.

Oh man, it’s good.

So Carly clearly has some tragedy in her past (think Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson) and she’s sad and lonesome and broke More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Mar 18, 2011

Savannah (Books With Bite) rated it:

This book is awesome! So awesome that I can not find the right words to describe this book. This book had so many emotions and so many good characters that I fell in love with it quickly. It also hurt to read the book. Raw Blue is raw. It cuts into your very soul so deep that you can not get out.

What I like most about this book were the characters. The characters were real, alive, and out there. Carly is an amazing character. She shows a real live aspect of who she is after all that sh More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 09, 2012

Rhiannon added it

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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 24, 2011

Danielle rated it:

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

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 23, 2011

Cassi aka Snow White rated it:

It seems the influx of excellent Australian YA is never going to end. Let's just all move there because I am tired of waiting for the books (or begging my Aussie goodread friends to send me presents).

Raw Blue is another excellent, gritty, and heartbreaking book. It's standing barely on the fringes of YA, with a 19-year-old protagonist who's living on her own. I love these borderline YA books. I think there's a lot of stories that can be found in this place between genres and I'm happ More...

10 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 24, 2011

Missie rated it:

Carly has built herself the ideal life. One which allows her to surf and be free of worries. She may have disappointed her parents by dropping out of uni, but she has never felt like she could live up to their expectations anyway.

Surfing provides Carly the escape she craves. Riding the waves, skimming the surface of the ocean, leaves little time for thinking about what has happened in her past. Until she meets Ryan.

Soon the disgrace she thought she drowned begins to surfa More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 10, 2011

Steph Su rated it:

I’ve heard of and wanted to read RAW BLUE, an Australian debut novel, for two years before I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a copy, thanks to the amazing generosity of a blogger friend who is a staunch RAW BLUE evangelist. The verdict? Oh boy, was it worth the years of quiet and patient waiting. I wish more people know about this powerful, heartbreaking, and full novel.

RAW BLUE is not an easy read. Carly is an emotionally damaged young woman who pushes people away as much as More...

0 comments like (9 people liked it)

Dec 03, 2011

Alexa rated it:

I give up. I really wanted to write a review, but it's been MONTHS. And I think I have finally accepted that a review just ain't gonna happen. It's always so hard writing reviews for books I loved. I tried though. Here's what I had when I started a review:

There were a lot of things I loved about this book. The writing and the characters, especially. I don't know anything about surfing, so I admit I wasn't always able to visualize what was happening during those parts. But, I just wen More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 12, 2011

Aleeza rated it:

Unfortunately, unlike every other person on the planet, I wasn't able to love this book. I'm not saying I didn't like it--I did. But that's it. I went into it hoping I'd join the group of rabid fangirling Raw Blue lovers on Goodreads, and that did not happen.

I mean, all that surfing stuff was pretty rad, but sometimes the descriptions became a little too technical for my tastes and I found the scenes a bit hard to picture. And while I did like Ryan quite a bit, I wouldn't say he comp More...

5 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 09, 2010

Selena rated it:

Resilience is everything. Carly has had her share of knocks (and numbness) but she keeps going. I don't know quite how but Kirsty Eagar has created an authentic character in the midst of (re)building herself. I feel like I know Carly...and I like her so much I want to see how she turns out at thirty, fifty, eighty.
[Full disclosure: this author is a great pleasure to work with]

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 10, 2012

Emi rated it:

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

0 comments like