Ramona Blue

For fans of Rainbow Rowell and Morgan Matson, Julie Murphy has created another fearless heroine, Ramona Blue, in a gorgeously evocative novel about family, friendship, and how sometimes love can be more fluid than you first think.

Ramona was only five years old when Hurricane Katrina changed her life forever.

Since then, it’s been Ramona and her family against the world. Standing over six feet tall with unmistakable blue hair, Ramona is sure of three things: she likes girls, she’s fiercely devoted to her family, and she knows she’s destined for something bigger than the trailer she calls home in Eulogy, Mississippi.

But juggling multiple jobs, her flaky mom, and her well-meaning but ineffectual dad forces her to be the adult of the family. Now, with her sister, Hattie, pregnant, responsibility weighs more heavily than ever.

The return of her childhood friend Freddie brings a welcome distraction. Ramona’s friendship with the former competitive swimmer picks up exactly where it left off, and soon he’s talked her into joining him for laps at the pool.

But as Ramona falls in love with swimming, her feelings for Freddie begin to shift too, which is the last thing she expected. With her growing affection for Freddie making her question her sexual identity, Ramona begins to wonder if perhaps she likes girls and guys or if this new attraction is just a fluke.

Either way, Ramona will discover that, for her, life and love are more fluid than they seem.

What happens when the one thing you’re sure of is the one thing that might change?

• Questioning Sexuality: Ramona has always liked girls. But when her childhood friend Freddie returns, their easy bond starts to feel like something more, forcing her to question everything she thought she knew about herself.
• Childhood Friends: Freddie was her first real friend before his family stopped visiting for the summer. Now he’s back, and their connection picks up right where it left off—until a shared love for swimming changes the current between them.
• Working-Class Heroine: With her sister pregnant and her parents struggling, six-foot-tall, blue-haired Ramona holds her family together, juggling jobs and responsibilities far beyond her years in their Mississippi trailer park.
• YA Contemporary Romance: Set in a post-Katrina Mississippi town, this is a heartfelt and honest story about family, identity, and the breathtaking discovery that love can be more fluid than you ever imagined.