Streaks of Blue in Q & A with Jack Chaucer

Sep 23, 2013 Alicia (AtlantiaReads) rated it really liked it

"Streaks of Blue" was a book that normally I wouldn't consider as something that I would be willing to read. But I'm very glad to have gotten the chance to read this incredible coming of age story. Though this book focuses on some incredibly strong and dark topics I found myself flying through it. Nicole, the lead character is faced with a chance to prevent a school shooting that's being planned by two of her classmates. I must admit, I have a lot of respect for Nikki she showed great strength a ...more

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Oct 17, 2013 Billie Jo rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2014-my-year-in-books

First off I want to thank the author Jack Chaucer for writing such an amazing novel and donating half the proceeds of this novel to the Newton Memorial Fund. This was a great coming of age novel that delves into the occurrence of school shootings and bullying that has become an epidemic as of late. The main character Nikki really brings this story together,she is a very strong-willed young lady and is more together at 17 yrs old than some people I know. She displays a great deal of courage and s ...more

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Sep 09, 2013 Stephanie rated it it was amazing

From the Militant Recommender Book Review Blog:
http://militantrecommender.blogspot.com/
Streaks of Blue" by Jack Chaucer is an intriguing take on one of the darker aspects of our society. School shootings. It's sub-title is How the Angels of Newtown Inspired One Girl to Save Her School. Nicole Janicek is 17. Her long, dark hair is highlighted with streaks of blue dye that is one of her distinguishing features. She loves hiking in the New Hampshire White Mountains with her best friend, Candace. Th From the Militant Recommender Book Review Blog:
http://militantrecommender.blogspot.com/
Streaks of Blue" by Jack Chaucer is an intriguing take on one of the darker aspects of our society. School shootings. It's sub-title is How the Angels of Newtown Inspired One Girl to Save Her School. Nicole Janicek is 17. Her long, dark hair is highlighted with streaks of blue dye that is one of her distinguishing features. She loves hiking in the New Hampshire White Mountains with her best friend, Candace. They revere Cheryl Strayed , author of the memoir "Wild". On their last hike before the start of their senior year at High School, Nikki longs to camp out at the Lakes of the Clouds above the tree line even though it's not allowed. When a hut crew member shows up to warn them about what they're doing, Candace makes a deal with him to let Nikki stay if she spends the night in the hikers hut. He agrees, as it's hard to say no to the 6 foot tall, gorgeous girl.
Nikki spends the night looking up at the stars. That night...she has an odd dream. A little girl appears in her tent... the girl tells her that her name is Star. She asks Nikki to accompany her to her classroom which is outdoors under the stars. She notices an older boy, the girl tells him his name is Adam. Adam Upton. Nikki remembers him from elementary school where they used to be friends. Then the teacher turns to Nikki and asks her for her help. They tell her Adam is planning something bad. The teacher writes a figure on the chalkboard. 12:14. They tell her to bring Adam back before it's too late. Nikki asks for the address and is told Star will give her a note, so she'll remember. It's a blue sticky note with stars on it. It says 14th & Stardust.
She wakes up in her tent. What could the dream mean? She searches in her pack to find her notebook...and finds a baggie she doesn't remember. Cookies from her mom, with a note. Contained in her mother's note are the date 14th, and the word stardust.
Was it just a dream? Or a premonition? Adam is a boy often referred to by other students as trailer-trash. His best friend is Thomas "Lee" Harvey an angry, sneering loser who identifies with the original Lee Harvey (Oswald). Are they planning something? Will she reach out to Adam? Despite Candace's objections?
I won't give away too much of the story. While the subject matter might have been trite or exploitive in other hands, Mr. Chaucer treats it with sensitivity and his characters sympathetically. It's tense, moving and thought-provoking. Nikki is an amazingly strong, smart and brave young woman. She's a great, realistic role model for girls (or anyone!). Give this one a try! Plus, this is just up on the author's website: "And remember, no matter how or where you buy “Streaks of Blue,” I’ll be donating half of the proceeds to the Newtown Memorial Fund. So here’s a chance to read my best novel yet AND help a worthy cause all at the same time!" ...more

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Oct 13, 2013 Bec rated it liked it · review of another edition

I received a copy of this book to review and to be honest to start with it didn't really grab me but as I kept reading it definitely improved and I found the story quiet enjoyable. While the concept of Nikki being told in a dream to stop a school shooting was slightly far fetched to me, her actions in befriending Adam and basically trying her best to be a decent, caring teenager were heart-warming and the story had a lot of good advice with out being too pushing with the "be nice to everyone" li ...more

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Sep 05, 2013 Katie (Katie's Corner Blog) rated it it was amazing

to see my full review please click on this link http://crasyabout.blogspot.com/2013/0... thank you.:))

While reading the book, I didn't want to stop, and it was one of that times when I wished I didn't need to sleep, because it was the time when I had to close the book and my eyes to get some hours of sleep.

The book tells us a story of Nicole (Nikki) Janicek, who is given a mission to save her school . The book starts with Nikki and her best friend Candice hiking Mt. Washington. Nikki's dream is to see my full review please click on this link http://crasyabout.blogspot.com/2013/0... thank you.:))

While reading the book, I didn't want to stop, and it was one of that times when I wished I didn't need to sleep, because it was the time when I had to close the book and my eyes to get some hours of sleep.

The book tells us a story of Nicole (Nikki) Janicek, who is given a mission to save her school . The book starts with Nikki and her best friend Candice hiking Mt. Washington. Nikki's dream is to sleep under stars "The Lake of Clouds" as she calles them. Nikki has a dream/vision where she is given mission to help her classmate Adam Upton, and to prevent a mass murder at her school, which he is planning.

Nikki is trying to reconect with Adam after that dream/vision. She tries to befrind him, and faces many judgments and conciquences. But she doesn't back down, she is inspired to help him, because she sees good in him. And becuase she doesn't want another 12/14 Newtown mass murder at her own school.

The description of the school and it's cliques was so accurate, that I, just Graduated, Re-lived the school again. It was so alive, so real. I really my thought that the author was writing about my school, it was like a carbon copy of mine. And I had this idea of the author being a teenager, who was studing at school at the time of writing. Because only teenagers see the school like it was described in the book.

"...the hardest walk I ever made was very short and flat - the one from my table in the cafeteria to the table where Adam and Thomas sat about 25 feet away...."
"...I was too little, too late, I wasn't enough. We have to reach out to kids sooner. Everybody needs to step outside of their comfort zone and become friends with someone who is different, no matter what that difference is..."
Nikki's these words, made me re-think my school life, how we are rejecting our peers. And it made me call and write to all of my classmates and ask them if they wanted to talk and hang out. I would highly recommend this book not only to teenagers but to adults too. For teenagers, because it will make us think about our lives and how we reject people bacause they are different. And for adults, because they have to see what we sometimes suffer at school. And maybe if we all unite, and try to over come our stupid rejections, we will make this world a little bit better. It's up to us how we want to live. ...more

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Oct 24, 2013 Lesli Kraft rated it it was amazing

Shelves: finished, arc-netgalley

I absolutely loved everything about this book and would recommend it strongly! With all the school shootings going on these days it really makes you think what you could change if you just reach out to people. I found myself rooting for Adam in hopes he would turn his life around and proud of Nikki for giving 100% even when times got bad and it became more of a challenge. This book really makes you think!

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Oct 03, 2013 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-star-books, in-my-bookshelf, read-2013, netgalley

Amazing book!
Review on my blog: http://jennifershorna.blogspot.se/201... (in swedish). ...more

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Oct 24, 2013 Sunny rated it it was amazing

Shelves: general-fiction, moral, angel, a-read-again-novel

This book was not that long, but I would probably remember it for the rest of my life.
This book read like a dream, and I loved the characters and multi-POV. Nikki, our brave protagonist has a streak of blue in her hair, and is now one of my favorite characters. I also loved what the author did with each individuals' history. Some authors do write about a character's past, but only because they need to in order to create a conflict, Chaucer didn't have to. He made them real by giving them emoti ...more

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Sep 03, 2013 Kayla Emerson rated it it was amazing

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I didn't want to stop reading it. This book is about one girls journey to save herself and her school in a small New Hampshire town. The book starts off with Nicole, aka Nikki and her best friend Candace hiking the White Mountains of New Hampshire, Mt. Washington to be exact. Nikki's dream is to spend the night under the stars at the "The Lake of Clouds". While sleeping under the stars, Nikki has a dream/vision warning her that Adam Upton, a boy she went to elemen I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I didn't want to stop reading it. This book is about one girls journey to save herself and her school in a small New Hampshire town. The book starts off with Nicole, aka Nikki and her best friend Candace hiking the White Mountains of New Hampshire, Mt. Washington to be exact. Nikki's dream is to spend the night under the stars at the "The Lake of Clouds". While sleeping under the stars, Nikki has a dream/vision warning her that Adam Upton, a boy she went to elementary school with is planning a mass murder at her school.

"Star", a little girl in her dream, take Nikki to her classroom where she sees Adam of the past. The teacher in the classroom prompts Nikki to help Adam because "He's lost and need to be found very quickly. Then the teacher pointed at the chalkboard. where she had written the numbers 12:14. "Please bring Adam back here before its too late," the teacher warned.

This dream propels Nikki on a journey to save not only Adam but her friends and school, and ultimately her own life. The author does an amazing job of evoking emotions from his readers, you laugh and cry with the characters. This book hits home after the terrible tragedy at Newton, CT last December. The author is trying to tell us that with a bit of kindness we can try to prevent terrible things from happening.

"the hardest walk i ever made was very short and flat -- the one from my table in the cafeteria to the table where Adam and Thomas sat about 25 feet away. As soon as I did that, everything changed [...] We have to reach out to kids sooner. Everybody needs to step outside of their comfort zone and become friends with someone who is different, no matter what that difference is."

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn from the past, because "Those
who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." -George Santayana. Within recent years our country and our world has been filled with new story, after news story of one new atrocity after another. If we could all just learn to accept each other differences and to extend a helping hand to one another, I believe our world would be a better place.

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