Going Nowhere Faster

SOPHIE BLUE WILL DRINK TEEN REVIEWER'S MILKSHAKES!

Below are 100% real and unedited reviews of Fade To Blue from students who chose to read an advance copy of it whlle taking part in reviewer programs at their schools. I especially love the final one, which calls it "interesting but generally useless"....

Fade to Blue is a quirky masterpiece... in a style that's half Chuck Palahniuk and half Lovecraft. The story of Sophie and O.S. begins out innocently enough, but the fast-paced and often confusing plotline leads you from the classically goth musings of a jaded teenage girl to a sweeping and horrifying denouement, as well as a breathtaking conclusion; when I reached the end of the novel, I was out of breath (this doesn't happen often). Sean Beaudoin's tale reads like science fiction, tastes like horror, and goes down smooth as anything; it is modern and accessible philosophy in a fascinating and often hilarious vehicle.

-Jessica, 15

This book is a fast paced action packed adventure book. It's hard to put down and it's so addicting! I never took a break between the time I received the book to the last page. That's how addicting it is. It's a dark novel with sprinkling of humor and surprise. The book keeps you guessing; when you think you know it all, you find out you don't. The main character Sophie Blue, is a normal goth girl or so you think. She's crazy - there's numbers in her head and dreams that don't make sense. Then, there's Kenny. He's crazy, too. The same thing is happening to him. This book is the best book I've read this year and I hope there's a sequel!
-Erica, 13

Overall "Fade to Blue" was a really good book. I enjoyed listening to their thoughts and wondering what was going to happen next. I also enjoyed the illustrations, the comic book, and the Glossary. (I do think the comic book should be placed toward the end of the book, but that's just my opinion.) There were a few things I think could be improved. An example was in places it was a little choppy, leaving me slightly lost. If that was what Sean Beaudoin was looking for then he hit the nail over the head. Another thing that I noticed was that the quotation marks were messy and I was wondering who was talking.(They also had multiple quotation marks next to each other, even though it was only one person talking.) This book kept me questioning their every move until the very end.
I really enjoyed this quick read and hope to have the privilege to read another one.

-Tawny, 13

This is a crazy romp through what's real and not. I found myself turning the pages wanting to know more about Sophie, Ms. Goth chica. Also the whole mystery of the nurse and comic book was interesting. The comics in the middle were a big plus. For sure this is one interesting and unique book. I hope more come out like it.

-Kimi, 17

Fade to Blue is a marvelous masterpiece. Its start-stop-start over style may be hard to follow, but like learning a new language it's easy once you get into the groove. For all you right proper headcases out there, you have nothing on the heroine of this fantastic, gut wrenching thrill ride. Reading this book was like being on a roller coaster that went from zero to one-twenty in five seconds, and back to zero in...well...zero!

-Ashleigh, 15

I have never been so unexpectedly impressed with a book as I was with Fade to Blue, the new novel from Sean Beaudoin. In reading Going Nowhere Faster, an earlier young adult novel, I noticed that Mr. Beaudoin had found a true manifestation of the teenage mind, without adhering to standard trends or stereotypes. But I also thought that the book was also filled with tiny diversions from reality, which I feared might jeopardize the natural snapshot of the teenage mind he so capably brought to the page. Well, I take back everything I said.
Fade to Blue takes the slight surreal moments, which Going Nowhere Faster hinted at, and runs with it to elaborate and extraordinary ends. On paper, the premise appears simple and cliché. There is a girl with a wardrobe desperately in need of color and even bleaker social prospects. And then there is the opposite, a teenage basketball god for whom everything seems to fall perfectly into place. Sure, there’s some nonsense about an ice-cream truck, probably a delusion of a girl missing her father, but I would usually hazard a guess that the girl and the boy manage to find some way to battle their insecurities, and find their true places in the world around them. But I could not have been so happily estranged from the truth. The social connotations of these characters are almost haphazardly left by the wayside, and what follows is a tumultuous and exhausting journey into realities so far separated from cliché that I forgot what cliché looked like.
The characters, all of them, are wild and completely unique, their unpredictability completely natural, and at every moment hilarious. As dry as the humor may be, the jokes are tasty morsels just waiting to fall off the bone. There is something to laugh on every page, and you rarely see them coming. Even when you do, they end up better than expected, which is a style the book adheres to in every part.
In terms of how well Sean Beaudoin tackles the mindset of an adolescent, there he sacrifices nothing in opting for a completely unrealistic world to set them in. Clearly visible are the nuances of a troubled girl, not really knowing what it is that troubles her, and, in a typically teenage fashion, not caring. But where Mr. Beaudoin really shines is in his efforts to portray the adults of his world. They are all stylized representations of their stereotypes, but very discernibly only through the lens of Sophie Blue, whom the story (usually) orbits.
Although the story is funny and as captivating, the lead-in is fairly difficult to navigate. While the writing itself is accessible and interesting from the very beginning, the style and format of the story seem to change at every chapter. And with a book that has 42 chapters plus one excerpt from a comic, at only 191 pages long, it averages about one style change every four and a half pages. But it doesn’t take very long to shift into high gear, and from that moment on I was riveted.
As most young adult novels do, Fade to Blue takes the time to tackle sexuality, but it does so in a highly intelligent fashion. While retaining the book’s characteristic humor, it lays out boundaries for its own sense of sex and doesn’t seek to break them, as other books, targeted for the same audience, seem to do out of a sheer desire to push their limits. Outside of one raunchy cartoon depiction of a nurse, I see very little to be concerned about in offering the story to the twelve and up category the story prescribes itself to.
Some readers will take the book for the thrill ride that it is, laughing and holding on through the story’s many adrenaline filled twists and turns and engrossing narrative. Others will pick the story apart, searching for meat in metaphor, or translating the binary code scattered throughout the book (although I believe it’s gibberish, I’m sorry to say). And they will be pleased if they do, for there’s a wealth of sustenance under almost every surface.

-Lukas, 20

Fade to Blue is a very different novel that puts a new twist on suspense. The book does a great job hooking the reader from the first couple pages, all the way to the ending. The protagonist Sophie Blue is a very well developed character who takes a new turn on her life after her dad’s disappearance. I really enjoyed the novel because I could relate to some of the things in the book which allowed me to look at it from a different perspective. I think that this book can really connect with its audience. Not only is it funny but it entertains you throughout the plot. A book worth reading!

-Hinal, 14

There is only one piece of advice I can give you about this book: never ever think you know everything that's going on because trust me, you don't. Fade to Blue is full of twists and turns that will keep you hooked throughout the story. In addition to delving into science-fiction matters - like another dimension and a mind-altering substance in the most literal sense of the term - Fade to Blue also includes the story of a teenager dealing with her father's disappearance, her social isolation, and her not-altogether-there family. While this isn't a book I would normally choose to read (I'm not a big sci-fi fan), I'm glad I did. It was a quick but enjoyable read. I recommend this book as something a little different, especially if you don't normally read sci-fi. A quick warning: you'll never look at Popsicle trucks the same way again.

-Sacha, 16

Fade to Blue by Sean Beaudoin is a fantastic novel. Each twist and turn of the plot keeps you on your toes, always thinking about the newest development in this crazy world. Sophie is such a strong character. I loved to follow her story as she tries to solve her biggest mystery.

-Laura, 18

For a book with a scary looking goth girl on the cover, Fade to Blue by Sean Beaudoin was really good. It was short and sweet, and at times confusing, but I couldn’t put it down. There are multiple clever plot twists and plenty of symbolic occurrences, from which many lovable characters learn lessons. The end is fast paced and feels somewhat like standing in the middle of a zoo with all sorts of animals throwing things at you, but, well, it’s cool. It’s funny and yet my intelligence wasn’t insulted. It was the unusual combination of an absolutely unrealistic story in a perfectly plausible setting that only some can pull off flawlessly. Definitely worth the time over spring break.

-Meg, 15

I absolutely loved reading this book. The plot was really captivating and intriguing, and I always wanted to find out what happened next. I
also loved the interaction between characters that seemed unexpected.
Each character had a distinct personality, and it made the book really interesting. Unfortunately, my copy of the book got lost when I was moving out of my dorm for spring break, so I was unable to finish it :'( If I ever find it in my library, though, I would love to get to the end!

-Aliyah, 18

Sean Beaudoin's Fade to Blue is an interesting but generally useless book. The plot seems lost in an attempt to be possibly the strangest YA book ever written. Though it was interesting enough that one would continue to read, it's disappointing. Too many questions are never answered, and those that are make little to no sense. Even though it's filled with action, the reader always seems to be waiting for something real to happen. Most of the characters are under developed and the many switches in perspective make it difficult to keep track of who is doing what. All in all, a confusing, odd book that will probably keep you reading, but for all the wrong reasons.

-Rose, 17