Bluebird Bluebird by Attica Locke

On Monday, February 4th, the Booked for the Day Book Group met to discuss, Bluebird Bluebird by Attica Locke.  Here are a few things we discussed during the meeting:

• As always, we had a great discussion after reading this book. It was a mixed review with some members loving the book and some not liking it at all. The book about an African American experience in a rural area and in a red state, brought up issues of discrimination and privilege which were discussed at length.
• None of our members were familiar with Texas so we learned a lot from this book through the characterization of both the people and the places of rural east Texas.
• What shocked us was finding out that the white supremacist gang that is featured in the book, The Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, actually still exists.  Pam Holtman sent me a link to a video, The Aryan Brotherhood (ABT) Texas Gang Documentary. If you would like to know more about this group you can view it here.
• One member thought Locke created a wonderful sense of place with her description of sights, sounds and smells.  She thought you could really picture the places she described.
• Bluebird, Bluebird sets the stage for a sequel, and as we found out it is the first of a trilogy. We also discovered that FX plans to develop a crime drama series based on the book.
• Most of our group likes their stories all wrapped up in a neat little bow.  Unfortunately the storyline for Mack and Darren’s mother kept us hanging. One member thought Darren should have just grabbed the purse and run! But we learn from the summary of the upcoming book in the trilogy that “his career and reputation lie in the hands of his mother, who’s never exactly had his best interests at heart. Now she holds the key to his freedom, and she’s not above a little maternal blackmail to press her advantage.”
• The book had a twist at the end and most of us did not see that development coming, especially since Isaac was out of the picture. But a few of our sleuths caught the clues leading up to the conclusion.

These are just a few things mentioned during the discussion. Please feel free to add any of your thoughts in the comment section.