Blue Like Friday

by Siobhán Parkinson

NOT EVERYONE SEES THE WORLD THROUGH THE SAME LENS. From the author of Something Invisible comes this funny and poignant novel about the hues of friendship. Spunky Olivia and eccentric Hal are an unlikely pair. While Hal suffers from a neurological condition called synesthesia that causes him to associate things with colors, Olivia tends to see the world in black and white. Still, these two are friends through thick and thin, through rose-colored days and blue days, even when Hal’s plan to get rid of his mother’s boyfriend backfires by driving his mother away. Olivia’s honest, funny and always-opinionated voice tells this story with colorful perception.

Genres: Contemporary, Ireland, Middle Grade, Friendship

160 pages, Hardcover

First published May 3, 2007

About the author

Siobhán Parkinson is an Irish writer for both children and adults. Siobhán grew up in Galway and Donegal. Her books have won numerous awards and have been translated into several languages. She is currently a co-editor of Bookbird, the magazine of international children's literature organsation IBBY. She resides in The Republic of Ireland with her husband Roger Bennett and son Matthew.

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I originally picked up this book because one of the characters (Hal) has synesthesia. Unless you already have an idea what synesthesia is, you'd never know it existed in this book except for the vague reference to Friday being blue. There is never any mention of it other than Olivia, his best friend, thinking he's just weird. And without knowing Hal has synesthesia, most readers probably walk away thinking he is "just weird" as well. That's a shame, because synesthesia is such an intriguing, marvelous phenomenon, in my opinion, and a teaching opportunity was sorely missed in this story. On the other hand, this is a cute story of friendship and devotion and is appropriate for any aged reader. While I'm still confused about the actual ages of Olivia and Hal, I'm guessing they are in grade school.

Some of my favorite passages from the book:

"I looked at Hal and tried to imagine him in rugby gear. It didn't work. He kept disappearing up his own sleeves."

"His face was like a snowflake that gets stuck on the outside of the window and you're looking at it from the inside, and you know it's going to slither down any minute and then disappear."

"Hal's face looked whiter than ever, if that's possible. He's in danger of turning into an angel, I thought, and flying away altogether."

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Young Adult Novel / Fiction

This is the story of friends. They decide to play a prank of one of their mother’s boyfriends hoping it will break the two adults up. But there are some complications and they begin to worry about what will happen to the boyfriend. And after the mother doesn’t return for a couple of days, the children really start to worry. This book is both funny and heartwarming. Because of the friendship that the children have, it allows for an easily relatable book between yourself and the characters. In a classroom, I would demonstrate how to associate the days to the week and times of the day with tasteful colors. I really liked how this book made you realize that everyone sees the world differently. That is one of the main themes that I personally got out of the book. It is important to children and students to understand this theme because most of the time you will always have a different opinion from someone else over a subject matter and it is also important to understand that everyone's opinion is valuable.

Parkinson, Siobhán. Blue like Friday. New York: Roaring Brook, 2008. Print.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Siobhan. 2008. Blue Like Friday.

This one has a nice, quirky narrator. Olivia has definitely got a voice all her own. Blue Like Friday is a book about friendship, about life, about holding on and letting go. On the surface, though, this is a light and enjoyable mystery. Olivia has a best friend, Hal; he's definitely quirky and weird. But he's got a tragic past as well. His father died when he was young. And Hal is having a really really difficult time accepting her mother's boyfriend. Hal wants to come up with a plot to get rid of this man for good, a way for it to be just him and his mom again. But plans don't always work out the way you want. And sometimes kids don't really know what's best for them. (It's set in Ireland by the way.)

This one is enjoyable enough. I liked it. I really liked it. But I'm not sure I loved it.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

[Roxanne Hsu Feldman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess poignant is a good descriptor for this book -- at points it is also quite funny. I am not entirely sure about the narrator's voice -- she seems slightly inconsistent, both too wise and too dense at various times. But, I guess any 12-year-old might be exactly like that: getting to be adult like sometimes, and yet very childish at other times. The kite as a metaphor is not quite subtle, although also quite beautiful. I guess my feelings are quite mixed about this book. Definitely enjoyed the journey with these two slightly odd kids but often felt unsettled and slightly bewildered, not quite able to put my fingers on exactly where the authors want to take me emotionally.

[Ginger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though I only gave this book two stars, I'm a bit on the fence about it. I seriously considered abandoning this book after about ten pages, because I couldn't stand the narrative voice and there didn't seem to be a plot to hang my hat on. I stuck with it, though, and there was a certain pay-off by the end, as the narrative voice evened out and the plot came together. Still, I'm left wishing there had been more.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely little Irish book for upper primary kids - full of adventures like the famous five talking to policemen (only in Ireland it's the Guard). It has a little sad feeling to it though (the explanation behind the title) but has a sweet ending.
The kids (boy and girl best friends) deal with divorce, bossy parents, big brothers, the law, cycling all over town, curfews, and letting go (of kites and fathers).

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

something that i like about this book it that it explain you about him like the boy name is call Hal and it said that he isn't bonkers but only a bit weird because he get idea that make s things back something like that. but Hal doesn't see the world like most people do. when he says friday is blue he is not using a metaphor to him friday is literally the color blue. olivia is other person so she does understand that despite. this what i remember about the book.

[Sarah D. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not stand this book. I felt that it was very confusing and weird. I do not recommend it. This is a book about weird things and I didn't understand a single word of this book. For me, it was truly a tedious read.

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hal cannot accept the new man in his mother's life. He is still grieving from his father's death. He makes an elaborate plan to get his mom and her boyfriend to argues, so they will separate. This is humorous, heartwarming storytelling.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this one up when I saw that one of the characters has synesthesia, which ended up not playing much of a part in the story other than that the other main character kept calling him weird. Nevertheless it was kind of a sweet story about friendship.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really like this book-- quirky kids and great writing. I think I'm going to nominate it for the Rebecca Caudill Book Award (2011). Some kids might struggle with the text more than others (due to the Irish dialect/tone) but there is a glossary in back for those troubling words :)

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and I liked it but not particularly memorable.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet, funny book. Give it a chapter to get used to the Irish dialect. There is a glossary in back. I liked this almost 4 stars.

[Jan B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is it wrong of me to say i didnt...get it? I liked it a lot but the ending sort of fizzed.

[Ozma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so obviously narrated by a preteen that I could almost hear my younger self in it.