Book 841: The Sky Blues – Robbie Couch

After finishing Jay’s Gay Agenda, I stumbled across this one either on Amazon or Overdrive in a “similar books” list. The cover was adorable and then I read the blurb and immediately requested a copy of it.

The Sky Blues is a delightful debut novel that tugs at all the heart strings without causing too much angst to the reader, highlights the importance of found family and community, and gives all the young LGBT+/queer kids out there another wonderful book to read that’s full of hope, wonder, and joy.

This book is not just Sky’s, a young gay teen whose dad died when he was young, who’s mom kicked him out when he came out, and who has an unbearable crush on classmate Ali; it’s Bree’s and Marshall’s (bffs); it’s Ali’s; it’s Dan’s (another LGBT character who becomes a friend); and it’s Teddy’s (OMG so adorable). It’s also, oddly enough, Cliff’s (the antagonist) story—I’m not sure if we’ll revisit this town with Couch, but if we do I’d suspect Cliff might be closeted.

Straight people needlessly speculating over sexuality is a nails-on-chalkboard-level irritant to me. (32)

There was an effortlessness in this book that I really enjoyed. It wasn’t written for the screen like Jay’s Gay Agenda or Playing the Palace and you could really tell that in how easy the book to read and how well it flows. There were a few things scenes and moments that I’m not sure really added to the book (Sky’ brother calling him a f*ggot) but didn’t really detract from the book. If I wished for anything more in the book, it was more time with Sky and Charlie or Sky and his teacher. I get that Couch wanted to focus on the four weeks that had a huge impact on Sky, but the moments when Sky was interreacting with those two adult characters and learning about his dad were just so well written. And yet, at the same time Couch did a wonderful job of really capturing a teenager’s priorities.

How are they even thinking ahead to Saturday? Ali’s party is tonight, and it is literally impossible for my mind to focus on anything beyond that. My calendar currently includes Ali’s party, a bunch of years after, then death. (49)

Another thing I’ll note is that I totally knew where the ending was going really early on in the book. Even earlier than the first quote below, but I was still there for it because you could totally see the adorableness that was happening and on the way:

It’s wild how much I was dreading welcoming Teddy into our friend trio, when, really, he might’ve actually been the best part about tonight. (88)

‘I’ve been gay for you for a while, Sky,’ Teddy says to me softly. ‘Will you go to Yearbook Prom with me?’ (297)

I mean SQUEEEEEEEEEE, even though I knew what was coming I still clutched my chest and sighed dramatically. And to find out that Marshall worked with Teddy for the whole thing just made it 1,000x better. After he asked, there wasn’t a lot of 1-1 time with Teddy and Sky, which was a bit odd, but again it didn’t really detract from the story even if I desperately wanted to hear more about the two of them being adorable together.

And last, but not least, I’m sure someone smarter than I am has already said it, but I’m convinced we’re living in the golden age of Queer Young Adult Fiction. I’ll say thanks to all the other Millennials out there because that really feels like who is authoring these books. And maybe they’re filling the gap that we all needed growing up, but I honestly don’t care because I will continue to read and love them no matter how old I am (even if I am a little bitter we didn’t have anywhere NEAR as many options when we were teens).

Recommendation: READ IT! It’s definitely the best of the most recent I’ve read geared directly at teenagers. The crisis/antagonist of the novel weren’t overwhelming and the resolution though not fun for Sky and Bree was much more realistic than I expected. There’s some homophobia but none of it was gratuitous and serves to empower Sky more than demean him which was refreshing.

Opening Line: “I’m standing in the shower next to Ali Rashid.”

Closing Line: “I expect to get berated with questions from the front about why I’m over at Winter’s in the first place, but I don’t. Bree and Marshall just glance backward at me with grins before Marshall nudges the volume up, Bree shifts into drive, and the car pulls away.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)

Additional Quotes from The Sky Blues
“In my seventeen years on this planet, Ali’s the only boy that’s ever made me feel this way. Actually, the only person, period. Falling this hard isn’t all euphoric and heavenly, like in the four hundred million rom-coms I’ve watched way too many times to count.” (3)

“Bree thrives off a good plot twist. She says she hates drama, but I’ve noticed all the people who say that are the most dramatic people I know.” (7)

“‘I don’t know,’ I say, also low-key panicking. I pull my hood over my head and slip on sunglasses—like in that one Mean Girls meme—desperate to be invisible too.” (24)

“Right before I get out, the front door of the house opens and a humungous St. Bernard comes galloping down the steps toward the car. I yelp. Bree gasps in elation. The beast races up to my side of the car, but it’s wagging its tail and smiling at us, slobbering all over the place in a super adorable way, so I feel a little less like I’m about to be eaten alive by a monster that lives in Hogwarts’s Forbidden Forest.” (127)

“‘That’s the danger of nostalgia,’ he continues, spooning more stew. ‘Your mind wants to relish in a sugarcoated past that never actually existed.'” (174)

“We’ve both been struggling to bury our otherness beneath the surface, but I shouldn’t have assumed our otherness was the same.” (188)

“Sometimes walking around in your own skin and feeling good about it is enough to feel like a badass, is all. Tough feels good.” (298)

“‘I think you’re pretty damn tough, and I know your dad would think so too,” she continues. ‘But even the toughest people need to know they’re loved, need to know they have people in their corner.'” (323)