Release Date: December 2nd 2021
Publisher: Moonflower Books
Pages: 334
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis

Blue Running is a gripping coming-of-age thriller set in post-secessionist Texas.
Fourteen-year-old Bluebonnet Andrews is on the run across the Republic of Texas. An accident with a gun killed her best friend but everyone in the town of Blessing thinks it was murder. Even her father – the town’s drunken deputy – believes she did it. Now, she has no choice but to run.

In Texas, murder is punishable by death. There’s no one to help her. Her father is incapable and her mother left the state on the last flight to America before the secession. Blue doesn’t know where she is but she’s determined to track her down. First she has to get across the lawless Republic and over the wall that keeps everyone in. On the road she meets Jet, a pregnant young woman of Latin American heritage. Jet is secretive about her past but she’s just as determined as Blue to get out of Texas before she’s caught and arrested.

Together, the two form an unlikely kinship as they make their way past marauding motorcycle gangs, the ever watchful Texas Rangers, and armed strangers intent on abducting them – or worse. When Blue and Jet finally reach the wall, will they be able to cross the border, or will they be shot down in cold blood like the thousands who have gone before them? Some things are worth dying for.

Review

Blue Running is the moving story of fourteen-year-old Blue. Blue lives in the small town of Blessing, which is part of the Republic of Texas. When an accident occurs and Blue’s friend Maggie is fatally wounded by a gunshot, everyone believes Blue did it. With Blue’s father being the drunken town deputy and her Mother abandoning them when she was little, Blue has no choice but to go on the run. Whilst on the run Blue meets Jet – a pregnant Latin American woman just as desperate to escape her past. The two must work together if they have any hope of surviving the motorcycle gangs and Texas Rangers out looking for them. But will they make it to the wall and be able to escape Texas forever?

Blue Running is unlike anything I’ve read before. It was a gripping story that drew me in right from the very first page and I found myself thinking about this book long after I finished reading. I really enjoyed the writing style and the short, sharp prose really kept me hooked. I ended up reading this over the course of a single day, it was a fascinating and terrifying read – the idea of guns being so common that even children carry them every day.

This story is very much a coming-of-age tale and I really felt for our main protagonist Blue. She has gone through so much in her short life – her father is a drunk and she doesn’t have any friends at school. In the beginning, she’s incredibly naive and it was so interesting watching her grow as a person. She forms an unlikely friendship with Jet and the two were both well-developed characters. Blue Running is an incredibly engaging read and one you do not want to miss.