Burning Blue Review

Title: Burning Blue

Author: Paul Griffin

Date of Publication: October 25, 2012

Formats Available: Hardcover, E-Book

Synopsis: Nicole Castro is the most gorgeous and popular girl at her high school, until someone attacks her, splashing her face with acid. As the incident gains national news coverage Nicole finds herself followed by reporters and the victim of gawks and stares. Jay Nazzaro, computer hacker extraordinaire knows how it feels to be stared at. After his embarrassing seizure in front of the whole school he's mostly kept to himself, until he sees Nicole in the school counselor's office. The two strike up a surprising friendship and the more time Jay spends with Nicole the more he begins to fall for her. Armed with his expert computer hacking skills Jay is determined to find the person who ruined Nicole's life. The deeper Jay digs the more danger he puts himself in, now Jay must find the perpetrator before Jay becomes their next victim.

My Review:

I didn't immediately fall in love with this novel, however the more I read the more I found myself loving Burning Blue. Taking me on an emotional roller coaster I felt for all the characters as they struggled to come to terms with what happened to Nicole. A fantastic mystery and plot, paired with amazing characters made this a novel worth every second of my time.

The short chapters and pieces of Nicole's diary entries made this novel a fast read and I blew through this novel fairly quickly. I loved how Griffin told the story mainly from Jay's perspective but switched between anonymous emails, Nichole's diary, and notes from her counselors. While I was originally a bit bored by this novel I soon got into the story as Jay tracked down the culprit and developed his blossoming romance with Nicole.

Jay was a fantastic main character. Caring and desperate to help Nicole I loved reading about him. The romance between him and Nichole was subtle but sweet, making me smile as he looked past her deformed face and fell in love with the person that she was. Nichole was also a great character, vulnerable and relatable she added a whole new perspective to the novel.

The mystery aspect of this novel definitely took me on a wild ride. From one suspect to another everyone looked suspicious and those who seemed least likely to be guilty all had something up their sleeve. I really enjoyed reading about Jay's hacking skills, something I don't know very much about. Even though the plot started out a bit slow as the story picked up I found myself completely wrapped up in the story.

An original and unforgettable novel, Burning Blue took my breath away. Full of heartbreak, love, mystery, and intrigue this novel has something for everyone. I'm looking forward to reading more by Griffin! Very highly recommended!

4/5