Born Blue

IT MAKES YOU THINK, DON'T PASS IT UP!

I read this book several years ago, and enjoyed it very much.
You might not always like the bahavior of Lashaya (Janie) but you'll root for her in the end.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Gritty Look At Realistic Issues

Nolan creates Janie, a character that lives day to day without knowing where she will be next. Her voice is her salvation in a world of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. The language and content is definitely for older teens, and her dialect is something to get used to...

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great book

-

Born blue

This is the best book i have read i love the meaning of the book and how true it is. I read this book when i was in high school and as an adult now i still love reading this book.

Wow

Amazing book i read this book years ago the plot of the story seems so real to what can happen with bad influence as a child

Great Book and very touching

Every time i started reading i couldnt stop... it
was great

excellent read

definate page turner

Born Blue: a great book!

Born Blue is a great book and for very mature 7th grade readers. It's about a girl with a tough life, but gets through it all with one thing, Singing. She's terrific at it, and one day plans to be famous with her given talent. Janie, or who calls herself Leshaya,has been borninto the life of a drug-addict mother, many foster homes, run-aways, the losing of best friends,unwanted memories, and no-turning-back-mistakes. I love the way the author makes Leshaya talk, and it makes her unique, beside from her life. Over all it was a very interesting and well ploted book.

Wonderful story

Born Blue was a book about a girl overcoming many obstacles. Her mother had abandoned her because drugs were more important to her. Janie was passed around from one foster home to another. She eventually changed her name to Leshaya, because Janie was a white girl's name, this reminded her of her mother. Leshaya had a passion for singing. Her ispirations were Odetta and Aretha. She never felt wanted or loved by anyone. Leshaya was doing drugs and got pregnant. She did fall back in the shadow of her mother because of her drug use and abandoning her child. This was the one person that she never wanted to be like. It was pretty much inevitable because of her rough childhood. She has never had people to giude her and show her right from wrong. At the end of the book, Leshaya sees her mother on her death bed. She finds out about her mother's past, and that she wasn't an addict all her life. Finding her mom again, and learning something about her was a way that gave her a little part of herself back. Many people would be able to relate to this story, who have gone through a lot in their life. It's not just about loneliness or finding yourself, but also about the passions you have that keep you going.

Born Blue

In Born Blue, Han Nolan takes us on an adventure of a little girl name Janie who grows up to be Leshaya, a young lady with big dreams. The story begins with Janie 7, living with her music lover best friend Harmon in a foster home with Patsy and Pete near Mobile, Alabama. She almost drowns at the age of four because of her mother's negligence. Her mother, Mama Linda, is a heroin addict. Janie receives a sweet social worker name Doris, who goes to church. Janie and Harmon loved the tapes of blue and jazz female artists like Etta James and Billie Holiday. Etta James was Janie's absolute favorite. She loved and wanted to be her when she was older. When she went to church with Doris, she was able found her voice. And after Harmon got adopted, singing became her passion, the only thing no one could ever take from her.

Mama Linda kidnaps her from the Patsy and Pete's when Janie was seven. Mama Linda traded her off to Mitch and Shell, a drug dealing couple, for as much heroin as she wanted. When she was with Mitch and Shell in Birmingham was when she took on the name of Leshaya. And then after that, a series of events happened that took her on a eye opening heart felt journey. Her drug-dealing guardians gave her a nice home and a pretty good education. But they got arrested. She then steals money from the home and runs away to Tuscaloosa to reunite with Harmon. Harmon and his adoptive parents take her in. But things go bad with them and she steals some of their prize possessions. Then she falls in love with a band member and loses her virginity to a stranger and get pregnant. Haves the baby and then pushes the baby on Harmon. Then she runs away again and lives with a songwriter/guitarist and records an album. Things don't turn out good again and she runs away. But back to Mama Linda, who is now dying of AIDS. That's when she starts to become more humble and more thoughtful of what had happened in both her's and her's mother life. Then she tries to go back and 'save' her daughter from the cycle of her and her mother's history. But she leaves her with Harmon, thinking that her life would be better with him instead of her.

I liked this book for many reasons. As a young adult, it's nice to read about other young adult's experiences. I recommend this book to readers of the age 14 and older. Even though the book was fiction, it told a story with painful events but still quite enjoyable at the end. Many lesson were taught in this book, such as hanging around the wrong crowds, breaking away and learning from the past, burning bridges, trust, and love. I think most of it all helped with finding herself. At the end she was able to put her daughter's best interest first and find her own personal identity. She learned that in the past she brunt many bridges with people. She hurt people who cared about her the most and used them. She hung out with the wrong crowds and became a heroin addict herself. But she became meek after staying with her mother and when she passed and made a decision to leave her daughter. Then was when she was able to move on and strive to become the famous singer she was born to be.

Born Blue by Han Nolan was the awesomest book a 13 year old could ever read.

How would you feel if your mother gave you away to drug dealers for drugs? Or if you got pregnant by someone you don¿t even know? Or even being in foster homes, experiencing physical abuse? Just think how you would feel. Well Janie feels that way, in Born Blue by Han Nolan.


Janie grew up in a foster home with her best friend Harmon. Then one day Mama Linda (Janie¿s mom) came to visit Janie. Mama Linda told her that she¿s been sick with amnesia and couldn¿t take care of her since she¿s been in the rehabilitation center. Now Janie did not understand, so Mama Linda came by once a week, then one time she took Janie out and told her to sing for her because Doris (Janie¿s social worker) told Mama Linda she can sing well. Then Mr. James and Mrs. James came and adopted Harmon. That really made Janie sad and depressed. She gets `kidnapped¿ by the drug dealers and has a good life until she finds out her mom had given Janie to her for drugs. She runs away with this boy and gets pregnant at a party where they were drinking and taking drugs. Janie was a part of all that was happening at the party. She then has the baby and gives it to Harmon so the baby can have a good life. She visits her mom and stays with her until her mom dies of AIDs. Then she goes see her daughter contemplating on taking her but is better off leaving her with Harmon. I think Janie needs counseling to get over what her mother has done to her. Harmon needs to carry on with his life and his new daughter and not worry about Janie. The impact this book gave on me is to not do drugs, drink, smoke, and not get pregnant during my teenage years.

I would recommend this book to people that like real teenage world conflicts. Also if you like books about getting over drugs and what they can do to you, and what unannounced pregnancies can do to you if you¿re only a teenager.

Rating~ * * * * *
Sarah Patrick
1st period

i liked it

I really liked it but it was hard to get use to the slang or the accent she used...the girl was actually really rude in my eyes but it was great to see her percpective...it was very different than most of the books i've read.

a freshman review

I borrowed this book from a friend and read the first paragraph and could not put it down... it is truely an amazing book, especially for one of who also has rockstar dreams.

A reviewer

Lisa has had a very hard life. Her mother traded her off for heroin. Lisa wants to meet Etta James and she wants to be a big singer like Etta James. But, as they say, you can¿t have your cake and eat it too. She begins singing. she also gets mixed up with drugs herself. She does not want to be this person but she does not know what to do. She never really had that kind of life style, she always had people that she lived with, but did not care what she did. Although there was one family¿ but she does not know how to be good. They tried, but she just did not want their help. She thought that want she was doing is ok. This book was a very good book I think that if you don¿t like to read, and you pick up this book, start reading it, you would not be able to put it down. and The chapters are short, so if you are like me and you don¿t like long chapters, this book would be so good for you.

A waste of Talent

This girl thinks that she is someone she is not. People try to help her but she doesn't want their help. Her mother traded her off for heroin at a young age. She wants to be a singer but gets mixed up with drugs herself. It may take you awhile to understand this book, but at the end of it, its all worth reading. It makes you appericate the finer things in life. It makes you apperciate the good things that you have in life and who you have in life.

Down-and-dirty

Wow-talk about a book that lets nothing out. This is about a girl who cares only about her music and her singing. Her mother was a drug addict who lost custody after almost lettig Janie drown. Later she kidnapped Janie and sold her for drugs. Janie took on the name Leshaya and began a wild ride. She was raised so poorly that she has no morals or ethics and throughout the book talks like a black person and wishes she was black. She sees it all and then some. She does such bad things that the reader finds it almost hard to like her, but getting a look at her childlike dreams leaves us rooting for her. Her 'one good decision,' shows us that her experiences have taught her something, and this book ends on a bittersweet note. This is an outstanding book, but you had better be prepared for it.

Evelyn's Review

I thought that this was one of the greatest books I have ever read! I could not but this book down. The way this book was written really made me understand and retain each word and memory of Janie's (Leshaya's)life. It was a great book, and I think every person should read it. It has a wonderful moral, 'always be happy with yourself and what you have.' I hope I have influenced someone into reading the book, 'Born Blue.'

it inspired me to write my own book

this book was great!!!!!i think i read it about five times.my cousin gave it to me.the first time i read it,it only took me two days to finish. it inspired me to write my own book!!!i started writing my own book called three friends,like brothers.three friends spend time with eachother before a party.then at the party something happens to one of them and it changes everyones lives forever.but in a tragic kind of way.and i'm hoping to finish it soon!!

This is an AMAZING book

I am currently reading this book, and I love it. I look forward to reading it every single night. Eventhough this book is taking me longer to read then some other books I've read, it is one of the best.

It was Okay...

I did like it. It was a very informative book that made you want to help her and make you thankful for all the good in your life. But Im not sure I liked it to much not one of my top favorites