Blue is For Nightmares

by Laurie Faria Stolarz

(Llewellyn 2003, ISBN 0-7387-0391-5)

With teenager interest in paganism growing, especially in Wicca, I was curious to read this first novel written for and about young teenage girls. Hereditary Witch Stacey is at an American boarding school studying for exams when she becomes troubled by a recurring nightmare. Her clairvoyant abilities prompt Stacey to recognise that her best friend Drea is in danger, although convincing her isn’t going to be easy. In a bid to make Drea believe her, Stacey is forced to reveal a traumatic secret from her recent past involving other dreams and the death of a young girl. Drea then begins to receive telephone calls from a stranger, notes scrawled in blood red ink, and items of the girls’ belongings suddenly go missing. Is Stacey’s imagination working overtime or is something truly awful about to happen? The story twists and turns and lays red herrings a plenty, so you aren’t sure who to trust. There’s more than a touch of both “Scream” and “Blair Witch” about this book, and a scary climax in the dark woods near the school. Stacey’s spellcraft is simple but genuine and, realistically, she doesn’t get it right all the time, needing to use her own wits and interpretations to work the magic correctly. A sequel is being written which I hope will develop the main characters further. A suspenseful and worthy first novel.

Krystyna Boswell