Passion Blue (edition 2012)

Giulia is the illigitimate daughter of a count of Milan and a seamstress. She has lived in his house, under his protection, until his death. Now his wife is sending her to a convent instead of using the dowry her father left her to find a husband for Giulia. She seeks a talisman from an astrologer to get her heart's desire, but the astrloger warns her to be sure she knows it, or the results will go awry. Now Giulia is at the convent of Santa Marta, but things are not at all how she thought they would be. Instead of a trap, her artistic skill of drawing is cherished and nurtured in the convent painting workshop, and she may now have more freedom than she has ever had. But to be able to paint, she may have to give up her dream of a husband and children. ( )

Review originally posted here

[caption id="attachment_3399" align="alignleft" width="200"] Image from Victoria Strauss's website[/caption]Passion Blue is one of those books that I heard about from several sources (Book Smugglers and Charlotte) and put on hold. And then it was several months later and I had forgotten all about it until it came in. At that point, I didn't remember anything about it, but when I looked at the blurbs on the back cover, I saw ones from Robin McKinley, Jane Yolen, and Megan Whalen Turner.

Basically, if I didn't love this book, I was going to declare the universe broken.

Fortunately, the universe seems to be going along about as well as it ever does. Because this book is not only awesome, it's surprising. And I am at the point where few books are actually surprising.

However, what I really liked about this book is spoilery in the extreme. So for those of you who haven't read this and are allergic to spoilers, Passion Blue is a lovely and fresh historical fiction (with a few fantastic elements), fully inhabiting its setting in Renaissance Italy. For everyone else, follow me below the jump.

SPOILERS AHOY! LAST WARNING!
Giulia is the illegitimate daughter of a Milanese nobleman and as such her future has always been a bit tenuous. But when he dies, his wife arranges for her to be sent to a convent. Giulia, who has wanted all her life to be married and have her own house, is utterly dismayed. She is determined to change her fate, with the help of an astrologer and a spirit.

First of all, I loved the fact that Giulia really wants to get married, which is a point of view we don't see very often in recent YA fiction. Moreover, this is her heart's desire, partly because she wants to have a place of her own. In the time period and setting depicted, all of this makes total sense. And I think that it might also resonate with a surprising number of teenage girls.

Giulia is an artist--she has always loved to draw, though she's never had a teacher, and her sketchbook is her greatest treasure. When she reaches the convent, she discovers that it contains a workshop of artists, nuns who have been given an obedience* because of their artistic talents. Working there becomes her greatest joy, and over time she enters into a sisterhood of other novices and nuns.

Throughout this book, Giulia's conflict is between this world of art and sisterhood, and her heart's desire--to get married. A young apprentice offers her a chance to escape the convent, embodying her dilemma. And here's the surprising, spoilery part that made me love this book: she chooses the convent. Partly because the apprentice turns out to be a lying, thieving jerk--but that's not the way the book presents it. She chooses to come back, even though it means admitting her guilt and having to prove herself to everyone again. She chooses it because it's her true heart's desire.

And that brings me to the last thing: religious faith is presented as real and valid. It's not that Giulia doesn't struggle with her faith, or that all the nuns are there for starry-eyed reasons; she does, and they're not. But part of the resolution is Giulia's heartfelt return to faith, and repentance. While it's not preachy, I really felt like it was written in a way that was honest and respectful of religious faith and I cannot tell you how much I appreciated it.

Book information: 2012; Amazon Children's Publishing**
Book source: public library

* That's the Orthodox term; I don't remember how the book puts it, so I'm leaving it that way.
** WHAT? Do I have to like Amazon now? No...won't do it. ( )

While the historical detail is strong, Giulia is one of those anachronistic protagonists that get on my nerves in historical fiction. Giulia is a headstrong girl, educated in a way that would be, of course, vastly unusual for her time and given the freedom to learn to draw, also in a way that would be unusual for her time. She desperately wants to be married, which isn't surprising, given that she has a rather modern view of marriage. Instead, her father's vindictive wife (Giulia is a noble bastard, of course) shuts her away in a convent. Giulia proceeds to act like a ninny in the convent, where she is actually given the opportunity to work with a master painter and pretty much live the life she wants to live. Instead, she throws herself at some dude. She doesn't even particularly care if he's nice, if he likes her, if he would let her paint or even if he makes enough money. You know she'll figure it out in the end, though, because the prologue totally gives it away.

Still probably appealing for teens who aren't the Renaissance buffs I am and like I said, the historical detail is great. ( )

Passion Blue is a simply-told and beautiful story of Giulia, a teenage girl whose dreams of painting and having a place where she belongs seem to be mutually exclusive.

The book was skillfully written so that details seemed to pop out of the words and into my imagination as easily as the blue of passion blue pops of out of the paintings at the convent. At the same time, the writing did not get in the way of the story.

One of my favorite things thematically was the incorporation of magic, religion, and astrology into the story. I could never be sure whether or not they were real or if Giulia, in her naivete and hopefulness, ascribed events and dreams to supernatural causes. ( )

Giuila is a bastard. Her mother was a seamstress and mistress to an Italian Count. Her mother died when she was a child and now her father has passed away. Now that she has no protection in the household, the Count’s wife is eager to be rid of her. The count left Giuila a small dowry and instead of marrying her off to a husband, the Count’s wife gives the dowry to a convent and forces Giuila to be a nun.......

You can read my full review HERE ( )