Ramona Blue is a novel by Julie Murphy.
Finished on: 13.7.2023

Plot:
Ramona is almost done with high school but that’s the least of her responsibilities. She also has several jobs and her only slightly older sister Hattie is pregnant and Ramona is sure that she will have to take care of her instead of Hattie’s boyfriend who seems pretty useless. That’s when Ramona’s childhood best friend Freddie returns to town. As they rekindle their friendship, Ramona also rediscovers her love for swimming. And she kind of starts to have feelings for Freddie that go beyond the platonic which is extra confusing since Ramona is into girls and always has been. In short, Ramona has some stuff to figure out.

Ramona Blue gave me exactly what I hoped for from a Julie Murphy novel: a breezy read with engaging characters and nice romance, though the romantic part takes a backseat in the overall coming-of-age story. Absolutely lovely.

Usually when we get queer coming-of-age stories, they are all about a character realizing that they’re queer, not straight. It was a wonderful breath of fresh air that in Ramona, we get a character who realizes that she is a different type of queer than she originally thought. Those kinds of discoveries happen, too, and are not necessarily any easier on the people having them, so it’s nice to see this experience reflected in a story for once.

Especially since this story is generally good. The characters are vibrant and the setting highlights different social issues without it ever overcrowding the story. Plus, Murphy has such warmth for all of her characters, it’s always a joy to read. Most importantly, though, Ramona is great and gets to grow so much, and her relationship with Freddie is super cute.

This makes Ramona Blue a fantastic read for teens and beyond (my teenage years are long since over), giving the option of just enjoying it or taking up the many possibilities of a more critical examination of the world around Ramona.

Summarizing: really good.