Tripping Back Blue

  • Interest Level: Grade 9 - Grade 12
  • Reading Level: Grade 9

Finn is a 17-year-old full of paradoxes. He’s a drug dealer, but he’s scoring money to send his twin sister to Harvard. He’s desperate to shoot up even though he’s the most popular kid in Dammertown. He’s a philosopher and orator who’s failing all his classes. The only time he finds peace is when he’s bird-watching. Finn’s life begins to spiral out of control, until he discovers a miracle drug called indigo. Finn is convinced that the drug is the way out of everything broken in his life. But is it really as magical as it seems?

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978-1-5415-1486-7
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Interest Level Grade 9 - Grade 12
Reading Level Grade 9
Genre Young Adult
Copyright 2016
Publisher Lerner Publishing Group
Imprint Carolrhoda Lab ®
Language English
Number of Pages 368
Publication Date 2016-04-01
Text Type Fiction
BISACS YAF058080, YAF018070, YAF019000
Dewey [Fic]
Dimensions 5.5 x 8.25
Lexile 790
ATOS Reading Level 5.3
Accelerated Reader® Quiz 181167
Accelerated Reader® Points 16.0
Features Author/Illustrator biography and Reviewed

Author: Kara Storti

Kara Storti graduated from the University of Southern Maine with an MFA in Creative Writing, where she fell in love with writing novels for young adults. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Tripping Back Blue is her first book.

Reviews

Star Tribune

“Not for the fainthearted, Tripping Back Blue snares attention, thanks to the complexity of its deeply flawed but fascinating narrator.”—Star Tribune

VOYA

“Substance abuse is at the center of this story, in the form of . . . the elaborate mystique around indigo. . . . Finn seems resigned to his slippery slope to addiction. . . . Nevertheless, he is an appealing character.”—VOYA

Booklist

“Hand to teens on the edge of new-adult readership who seek a gritty, twisting, high-stakes plot overlaid with pensive, well-crafted language.”—Booklist Online

School Library Journal

“This is a gritty novel . . . [with] a touch of magic. . . . Chapters leave cliff-hanger endings for a faster pace that entertains readers. . . . Recommended for high school and public library collections.”—School Library Journal

Publishers Weekly

“There’s nothing pretty about drug addiction, but a new drug called indigo, named for the powder’s lovely hue, would suggest otherwise. . . . Storti’s debut . . . is a coming-of-age story wrapped in a cautionary tale . . . yet [Finn’s] desire to rise above his circumstances makes for an undeniably entertaining story with a hopeful conclusion.”—Publishers Weekly

Kirkus Reviews

“This unusual and distinctive tale of family violence, addiction, and hope is fascinating . . . [with] an authentically complex and likable narrator. An emotional and original debut novel that will hook older teen readers and young adults.”—Kirkus Reviews