Pitch Black

"Pitch Black" revolves around Morgan Bergstrom. She is a seventeen year old girl who feels like her life is sorta out of control. Her brother uses drugs, her parents are divorced and since her mom started dating a new guy Morgan feels like her mom really doesn't pay any attention to her anymore. When she learns that her friend Jason Harding committed suicide, she blames herself, but soon starts thinking that maybe Jason had the right idea, and decides to join in a suicide pact with two other students. Do they go thru with it? Read the book and find out!
Ms. Carlson tackles the subject of suicide. She tells the story in such a way that you feel like you are actually seeing the story thru the eyes of a teen. While this could have been a depressing story it really wasn't instead it shows us the choices we can make, with an inspirational message woven in. While it is the fourth book in the True Colors series it can easily be read as a stand alone work.This is a good clean read perfect for young adults.

A complimentary copy of this book was provided by NavPress for review purposes.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Is a best friend's death worth giving up your's?

A girl named Morgan has never really had the many friends. Her best friend that she did have was Jason. They did everything together. Then one day she gets really bad news. Her best friend Jason had killed himself. At first Morgan thought that it was a dream or a big joke. But this was no dream and no joke, it was all true. Morgan couldn¿t believe this. She just couldn¿t take the pain of losing her best friend. She couldn¿t go any longer without seeing her best friend. The only solution to Morgan is to just commit suicide herself. But will she? Does she really want to give up her life? Is she strong enough to do it? What I really like about this book was that it started out with a slow pace, but then when Morgan started suggested suicide and then the book really got interesting. The book is part of the Color Me series by Melody Carlson, and it can be read without reading any of the previous books. I would recommend this book mostly to girls because the narrative is a girl, but any boy that wants to read it can.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great book!

When I was 15 I was a huge fan of Melody Carlson's Diary of a Teenage Girl series. For some reason these books spoke to an angsty teen girl's troubles, and possibly gave me an unrealistic view of the future. I didn't read too many of her other books outside that series, so I decided to try out a book from her True Color series.
Pitch Black follows Morgan, as she deals with suicide of her friend, Jason. Jason's death causes Morgan, and her friends to evaluate their own bleak lives to point where they think suicide might be an option too. Morgan has other people who encourage her to observe where her faith has gone, and how it could be thing that gives her the feel of life again.
This book seems to be very relevant by many things we hear happening in the media today. It has the tendency to clean everything up almost too quickly, but there isn't much room in the book to further explore the consequences suicide can leave behind. There is a great discussion guide included, which would probably be very helpful in discussing opinions on suicide with teens. This book should encourage the Christian community to come together more to discuss suicide, and how it is affecting people today.
I think this book would be relatable to teens, or people who have experienced something similiar. If you're someone who just needs a little encouragment in your Christian walk, it is inspiring to see how God is conveyed in this book. The book has researched a variety of ways that people at risk for suicide act, and it deals with various grief responses people have. If you weren't aware of these things before it can be insightful.

This complimentary copy was provided by NavPress in exchange for a review.

engaging and interesting

Melody Carlson is a much loved young-adult fiction author and on this evidence, it is easy to see why. Writing a book about teen suicide sounds like a difficult task as the theme can be dark, finding the right words can be challenging and confronting the reality and fallout can seem almost taboo.
The central character, Morgan is a quite wonderful and partly vulnerable character whose life is surrounded by equally flawed but very human and recognisable fragile friends and family, including a well portrayed drug addict brother and a 'cradle-robbing mother'. But the book's opening chill comes when her best friend Jason, an intelligent, humorous and perfect youth with everything to live for takes his own life.
Like nearly all suicides, it is a shock to his community and the individuals within. What seems a greater shock to our narrator Morgan is that while Jason was a patient listener and insightful sounding board to others, she was not there to listen when he needed her most. The tone of this book is set perfectly between the roller-coaster of denial that this could ever happen to the jolt of acceptance that it has. What is striking perhaps is that the reader almost physically identifies with the characters portrayed - you might find yourself physically reacting at parts of the story as Morgan goes through her cycle of emotions.
This is a story told honestly and with hope. It is a convincing narrative with the dialogue, action and references found in teen novels. What marks it as different is a wonderful grasp of what teenagers say and what goes unspoken in informal understandings. For the reader, this novel might seem like a difficult journey but also a real confrontation with the reality of a life beyond this and of the claims of the one Friend that will never leave us or forsake us.
Engaging. Outstanding. Exemplary.

really cool book

you get into the book really fast. I was very effected by their emotions so the author really draws you in. It is very realistic. Sad but hopeful.

Is There Really Hope in the Darkness???

Pitch Black, by Melody Carlson, was an amazing book! I was very pleased with the way the author constructed this novel. She starts by introducing the main character, Morgan, who doesn't seem to be having a good day. But then, when it seems as if things couldn't get any worse, she is told the most horrific news! Then, to make things even worse, two of her friends and herself decide to make a suicide pact between themselves! If you enjoy a good, Christian, page-turning novel, Pitch Black is a definite book to read!

most depresssing book

honestly this is the most depressing book i have ever read!!! im on page like pg 54 and i have been crying sense like pg 10... the writer must have been like seriously sad when she wrote this...

Is your life bad enough to kill yourself?

In this book, Pitch Black, Morgan is living a normal life until she finds out her best friend, Jason, committed suicide. She is shocked, scared, sad, frustrated, and alone. She is lost without her best friend and is completely mad at Jason and herself for his suicide. She becomes friends with Seth, Jason¿s neighbor, and Grace, Jason¿s old girlfriend, but plan to kill themselves together. Morgan thought she had a bad life because her mom was going off to Vegas to marry a guy in his twenty¿s when she is in her forty¿s, and Jason had a great life for he had great grades and tons of friends. I guess she was wrong. In this book, Morgan try¿s to find out why Jason took away his perfect life. But the question is will she kill herself first? What I liked about this book is there are a lot of turns to it. You never would guess what will happen next. It is a pretty intense book. They only thing that kept this book from being a five dot book is its pretty depressing and sad to read. But from the start, this book took off pretty good. This book is part of the Color Me Series that Melody Carlson has written. You could read these books in any order because they are all about different people who have different lives and problems. I think teenage girls would enjoy this book, because it is easy to relate to. This book is similar to almost all of Melody Carlson¿s books to the Color Me Series. They have a problem but they only get through their problems by asking Jesus into their hearts. After that they become really good church going people and try to help other people in the mean time. But still each book is different from the next, with different problems, solutions, and friends. So read this book this good book, Pitch Black.

A tragic tale of the cycle of life and death.

Morgan, the girl with all the problems, just found out her friend, Jason, the one with the great life, had committed suicide. She was so surprised. Why did a Christian, with tons of money, with a great life ahead of him throw it all away? He was her best friend, one of her only friends anymore, but now he was gone. Seth and Grace decide Jason is right suicide is the only way out so they try to convince Morgan to go too. What is going to happen? You might just have to read Pitch Black: Color me Lost to find out. I liked how the book started out at a fast pace, but it did start to slow down in the middle, still keeping my interest. Pitch Black: Color me Lost, was good because I could relate to the setting and the loss of a person close to you, even if it wasn¿t a similar situation. This book is one of the True Colors series by Melody Carlson, and you can read the series in any order. Any girl ages twelve and up could enjoy this book. You should definitely read Pitch Black: Color me Lost.

A Touching Tale of How Truly Lonely Darkness Can Be

If your best friend were to kill them self, where would that leave you? What if it seemed on the outside they had a ¿perfect¿ life and they ¿just threw it away?¿ How would you feel and react? Where would you turn? These are questions that seventeen-year-old Morgan was asking herself after her best friend, Jason Harding, took his own life. Now Morgan is spiraling into a deep depression because she¿s blaming herself for what Jason did. She¿s turning her back on everyone, even God, when she may just need him the most. The only people she trusts right now are the people who are also convincing her to do the unthinkable follow in Jason¿s footsteps. Will she do it? Who knows? But the true question is when will she wake up from this nightmare? I started reading this book solely because my friend told me it was good, and I¿ll admit, I was skeptical. Now I know I was wrong. The story started off sad, but a little boring, but after the first few chapters, it got pretty exciting. Pitch Black is the first book I¿ve read in this series, but you don¿t have to read the series in order like most. I¿ve also read the Caitlin books in the Diary of a Teenage Girl series. I really liked how the main character, Morgan, was the one telling the story. It gave the book a little more color. This book would probably be enjoyed by girls and boys. There isn¿t anything really `girly¿ in it, but girls would probably enjoy the story a little more. As I said before, I really enjoyed reading this book, and I can¿t wait to read the remaining books in the True Colors series by Melody Carlson.

Problems in your life?

This could really be a problem if you have friends like Morgan, Seth, and Grace. Those three were never close friends, but all three were very close with Jason. They never hung out until the day Jason committed suicide. They don¿t know why he did but they all know he did it. He took an overdose of Tylenol. He took over eighty to ninety pills. That made him have a liver problem which then killed him. Ever since then Morgan and her two other friends have been planning to commit suicide the same way Jason did. Will they go through with it? This book was really good. I liked everything about it. It kept me interested during the whole book. This book is part of a series but you don¿t have to read them in order. Basically any girl would love to read this unless you don¿t like reading about teen problems.

¿Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.'

Pitch Black, book 4 in the True Colors series, takes a look at teen suicide, a sensitive yet important issue. Morgan's best friend has taken his life and she and two friends are struggling to figure out why. They come up with the solution that it is best to join him and they make a suicide pact. As Morgan finds out what really happen, she decides to rethink her stance and help others realize that it's not worth it to end your life. I feel that this was a very good book that teens should read. What I found interesting is that Jason tried to kill himself not for the sake of his peers' attention but for his father's. Imagine the guilt his father will now face the rest of his life. The essay about the effects of Tylenol overdose was very informative and should be made more public. I also appreciated Carlson's aknowlegement that Christian teens sometimes shy away from situations they are uncomfortable in handling. When Morgan found herself questioning God, her youth group and even her best friend distanced themselves away from her. Those are the times when they should have been there for her the most. I feel that many teens believe that no one would care if they died and everyone would be better off if they were gone. I know that because I used to feel that way myself. This should not be the case. Suicide is a topic that many Christians are afraid to bring up. Churches and youth groups need to be aware that even their members are struggling with this idea. I hope that more people, teens and adults, read this book and understand that there needs to be more attention brought to this issue. It might even save a life.

Suicide Not Only Kills Someone, But Also Something Someone Else¿s Mind and Heart

When some people read a book, they can¿t put it down while others don¿t seem very interested in the book. I was a person who couldn¿t put down the book while I was reading. The book that I read was Pitch Black: Color Me Lost by Melody Carlson. I would rate this book a 5 because I thought that it was a great book with a good theme behind it. The book starts out when Morgan was at school and she found out that her best friend, Jason, committed suicide by taking too many Tylenol pills. At this time, she went home and her mom went to Las Vegas to get married, so she was the only one home. A group of friends and her decided that they were going to kill themselves too with Tylenol pills. What do you think will happen to the group of friends? The thing that I liked the most about Pitch Black was that the main characters were all about my age and I could relate to what they were thinking. One thing that I disliked about the book was that in a couple of spots throughout the book it dragged on for 3 or 4 days. Another thing that I enjoyed about Pitch Black was the topic. The topic in the book was suicide, peer pressure, and depression. This is a very strong topic because some kids actually do think about committing suicide because of depression and trying to deal with peer pressure. This book is part of a series but there is no order to the series. The series is the Color Me Series. It consists of a lot of books that all have a color in the title and they are all about teenagers. Some of the books in the series are Dark Blue, Deep Green, Torch Red, Fool¿s Gold, and Bright Orange. I recommend Pitch Black to any teenager who ever thinks about suicide or has a friend that talks about suicide. By committing suicide you can really hurt your friends, so I suggest that you don¿t do it according to the book.

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