The Blue is
for Nightmares Series
I
first read this series when I was about eleven or twelve years old. At that
point, I was not quite a teenager, I was just hitting puberty, and a lot of
things were changing in my life. I was experiencing all of the turmoil most
teenagers go through and then some. I had a million questions and a million
feelings running through me constantly. What this series offered me was both an
escape and some answers to all those questions and feelings.
Since
the book is about older teenagers (16-18 years old), I felt like it was giving
me an idea of what life would be like. True, I wouldn’t be having premonitions
or practicing magic, but I’d hopefully be kissing boys and growing up. This
book was not a challenging read, but it did open my eyes to what it is to be a
teenager and put your childhood aside. It was the first book that I had read
which involved dating, kissing, having sex, fighting with your friends, dealing
with a complicated relationship with you parents, and so on. These were all
things I later would go through, but had no idea about at the time. After
reading this series, I read several other series that also contained more
mature content and I think in a lot of ways they helped me to grow up.
As
an adult, I’ve experience everything that I was wondering about back when I was
twelve. Now I know what it’s really like to date, to be a part of girl drama,
to fight with your parents, to fall in love, to get your heart broken, etc.
It’s hard to look back at my past self and not cringe. Which is why, re-reading
the second book of the series made me cringe often. Once you’ve passed that
awkward, drama filled portion of your life, you never really want to experience
it again.
This
was the first book that I ever fell in love with. I cared deeply about the
characters and, in the third or fourth book when the love of the main
character’s life is possibly dead, I sobbed my eyes out. It’s safe to say that
I became completely immersed in the story while reading the series. As an
adult, that immersion was completely gone. I couldn’t get past the awful
dialogue, the boring drama, and the outdated references. Although the plot was
interesting enough, it wasn’t the fast paced, thrilling read that it used to
be. One of my favorite characters, PJ, who I used to think was quirky and
funny, now seemed completely unrealistic and ridiculous. Never in my life have
I ever met a group of teenagers that were that quirky and “cool”. The main
character was much more relatable, but suddenly now she seemed bland. I
couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
Disappointment
is truly the best way I can describe my experience re-reading my then favorite
series. All the magic it contained through my naïve eyes was lost to my adult
perspective. I think a lot of it has to do with the quality of the writing and
how, now that I’ve read so much more, I can see the difference between
something well written and something that’s just okay. This series doesn’t
really grasp at any big questions or make you think. Perhaps that’s something
adults crave more than teenagers. That’s not to say that all young adult
literature doesn’t get at bigger questions, but there’s something appealing in
the soap opera format of a lot of young adult books. When I was young, drama
was intriguing. Now that I’ve had my fill, it’s just obnoxious.
This
book was not terrible. It was not all that great, either. It simply couldn’t
hold my interest like it used to. It’s been about ten years since I last read
it and ten years is a long time. I’ve changed too much from the person I was. I
still think this series could be great for a younger audience. I’m sure lots of
young girls are still falling in love with this series. Maybe it’s time for me
to pass these books on and leave them to those who still need to know what it’s
like to grow up.
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