A review by ashurah
Blue Is the Warmest Color by Jul Maroh

emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book destroyed me in a good way. I initially thought I wouldn't like the characters, but as I continued reading Clementine grew on me as a protagonist. No one in this book is a good person, but you can somewhat sympathize with the choices they make and understand why they believe what they believe. I loved seeing Clementine's character arc of coming to accept her sexuality, and the overall melancholy tone of the book really added to my reading experience. One thing that I liked in particular was the usage of color, with
scenes in the past being colored in black and white with the exception of Emma's blue hair, while scenes in the present are in color. The choice to use these really muted colors and a mixture of mediums to illustrate the book was breathtaking.


I found the art style a bit too cartoony and rough-around-the-edges, but that's a personal preference that other people may not necessarily agree with. I also thought that the last part of the book
(starting from when Clementine is kicked out and disowned by her parents)
was rushed, and thus I didn't experience as much of an emotional impact as I could have potentially (though I was and still am really emotional about the book).
The drug aspect of the plot wasn't expanded upon as much as I would have liked and the time skip in general was too rushed; I didn't realize that almost ten years had passed until I reread it a second time.


Nevertheless, Maroh does an excellent job of portraying these two women and their relationship. I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did, but it's a very worthwhile read if you're looking for a tragic LGBT character-driven story.
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