Blue Lipstick

By John Grandits

Grandits, John. 2007. Blue Lipstick. NY, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN: 978-0-618-56860-4

PLOT SUMMARY:

This book follows a teenage girl named Jessie through her daily life and the struggles she comes into.  In the beginning of the story Jessie and her friend decide to die her hair blue and they use bleach then die.  Her hair comes out horrible but it all ends up okay because Jessie realizes she is growing up and she made this mistake as a woman.  The book continues on discussing many of the issues that teen girls are faced with.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

The poems are created using words to make images. The words are written all over the pages in shapes to describe what the poem is about.  One poem is about a bad hair day and the words are written all over the page in the shape of messy hair coming off a girl’s head.  The hair is blue and white to show that they bleached and died it. 

The poems in this book are related to teens going through their daily lives.  Some of the poems deal with unhappy things that are happening and others are just normal situations.  The book contains many different types of poetry.  This book is appropriate for teen agers but not the younger children.

CONNECTIONS:

The book could be used to build self esteem in teens.  These poems address issues that many teens face and they can take comfort in the fact that they are not the only one who feels that way.  The book is also a good way to re-introduce teens to poetry. They can use these poems as an example for writing their own. 

REVIEW:

"A cover that'll grab adolescent girls' attention--and the poetry inside is equally appealing." Horn Book