Review: All The Colours by Lo-arna Green

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☆☆➹⁀☆4 stars ☆➹⁀☆☆

What it’s about:

Jazz lives her life according to colour.

She vibes off people’s colour.

Her world is happy, bright, fluro. Until her sister goes missing, followed closely by her mother.

She moves across the country and starts a new life. Some of it good, some of it a little bad. All of it colourful. It is there she meets a man who makes her question herself, her previous life and where she is going in this one. Jazz wants to move forward but she also can’t forget the mystery surrounding her mother and sister.

My Thoughts:

All the Colours by Lo-arna Green is a young adult/new adult suspense romance. The story is set in Australia, and it is filled with the sights, sounds, colors and slang of the Land Down Under.

All the Colours is about a young woman whose life is suddenly upended and her journey to find peace, happiness and forgiveness. Right after a tragic loss, Jazz must relocate and begin again. With a lukewarm welcome from her cousin, she is on her own to establish herself in her new school and new life. It was dispiriting to think of a young girl dealing with this loss and change. As Jazz acclimates, she moves on to more normal teen issues like boys, bullies, decisions about going to university or getting a job, and underneath the normalcy of her everyday life is the nagging curiosity of where her sister might have gone. The story takes us through Jazz’ gray days of loss, to red days of infatuation and love, to angry orange days, and eventually to peaceful, blue days.

Ms. Green has spectacularly captured the young adult attitude and voice in her characters. They see the world from their inexperienced, myopic point of view. With a couple exceptions, I found her characters to be believable (but you really must read with a “young adult” view in mind).

Main character and narrator, Jazz, is an inexperienced young girl. She shows all the insecurities and flightiness of her age. She has a unique view of the people. She sees them as colors as one who reads auras would. I loved her colorful descriptions of the people she encounters and her own moods/feelings. Jazz’ youth shows in her absurd and questionable decisions regarding her relationships. Then again, her youth and the trauma of losing her twin sister, Stella, has recently experienced have probably skewed her thinking.

Kelly is Jazz’ high school bestie. She is seemingly supportive, but her behavior is completely selfish. This character could have been developed a little more through interaction with Jazz via social media and phone after her move to Perth.

Cordy is the first friend Jazz makes in her new school in Perth. She’s delightfully upfront and outspoken. She quickly becomes Jazz’ best friend. She is the sort of person you hope to meet your first day at a new school!

Aunt Becks & Cousin Oliva are the family to whom she flees when her life seemingly crashes around her. Aunt Becks is warm and welcoming, and Olivia is a stereotypical “mean girl” who makes Jazz’ life even more miserable.

Oscar is a handsome young man who pursues Jazz. His interest in her is rather shallow as he has little interest in really knowing Jazz, and in the end, he is a poor substitute for Jazz’ one true love.

Jack is Cordy’s brother and the best thing that has happened to Jazz. He is handsome, attentive, and supportive. He’s the perfect boyfriend.

There is a lot going on in All the Colours; the long list of characters alone would necessitate a complicated story. The usual YA/NA relationship angst is present and not over the top for avid YA/NA fans. If YA/NA drama and “inane” decisions drive you mad, you might want to choose a different book. Given that All the Colours is billed as a suspenseful romance, I expected the plot to be more focused on the mystery of Jazz’ missing sister. The mystery resolution was rushed a bit for me. Beyond those two grievances, the book is well paced, and the writing and character development are good. It is not a page-turner, but it is an engrossing coming-of-age story about a teen girl exploring the meaning of friendship, love and forgiveness.

About the author: Lo-arna (pronounced Lou-ah-na) is an Australian author who lives with her husband, two sons and their cat in Perth. When Lo-arna isn’t writing or reading, she can be found spending quality time with her family, baking, fending off the sock monster in the laundry, staying active and chilling at the beach, more likely admiring the view and burying her feet in the sand rather than swimming—she gets cold easily.

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