BLOG TOUR: An Uncommon Blue by R.C. Hancock
ABOUT THE BOOK
In a society where the color of a person’s palm determines their social class, Bruno goes from favored to fugitive when he kills a Royal Guard to save a boy’s life. If he wants to survive, Bruno has to learn to accept the lower colors. A thrilling blend of fantasy and adventure perfect for readers everywhere.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
RC (Really Cool) Hancock began his writing career with a story about a dead cat which his second grade teacher thought was brilliant. Convincing others of his literary genius has taken longer than expected, but along the road he has acquired a lovely wife, four entertaining ankle-biters (who, thankfully, look more like their mother), and a degree from BYU in Recreational Management & Youth Leadership (which means he’s really good at having fun.) An Uncommon Blue is his first novel.
REVIEW
Whew! I'm not sure what I was expecting when I picked this book up, but I got a lot more than I bargained for with this one. The story starts with a bang when Bruno gets 'painted' by a boy who claimed to want an autograph (Bruno is a very talented rugby player). This leads to his unexpectedly defending the boy from the poker (guard) who ends up getting killed in the process. The life that Bruno expected to have as one of the highly favored 'Blues' is destroyed and Bruno goes on the run. I think what I found especially interesting here is the shocking ways that Bruno is exposed to the prejudicial flaws in his country's culture.
Each person is born with a 'fire' and based on the color of his/her fire (blue, green, or red), they are placed in a caste, with Blue at the top, Green in the middle, and Red at the bottom. As Bruno faces the reality that his life is gone and seeks to find out what triggered the attack in the first place, he finds that people are people regardless of the color of their fire, and that some things are more important than others. I really liked the fact that Bruno's strength of character has obviously been developed by his parents and grandmother. So many YA books lack good adult role models that it's refreshing to find some. And it is due to that strong background that Bruno finds the will to survive and try to do the right thing, even in the face of death.
I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Bruno's conscience lead him down the road to some rather painful discoveries about his world and even about himself and those he cares about. The ending is a bit surprising (at least it was to me, although I suspect that many readers will expect it, but I did not). And I have a sneaking suspicion that Bruno's troubles are only going to get worse as he faces a life so utterly different than the one he had planned. An intriguing and thought-provoking book about the dangers of pride and prejudice in society. And just a down-right entertaining story all around. I look forward to reading future volumes.
Thankfully while there is some violence it's not graphic and there is only made-up swearing and no sex.
I love the cover! It's beautiful. I love that this sounds like something I could give my male students (I'm a teacher and always looking for good YA lit). Thanks so much for the recommendation!
ReplyDeleteI tried to comment earlier, but I may have botched it. :) Thanks so much for this awesome review that made my heart happy. I'm excited for book 2 as well. It's written and if this one does well, the sequel will follow soon. Thanks again for taking the time to read and review!!
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