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Blue Suburbia: Almost a Memoir    by Laurie Albanese Amazon.com order for
Blue Suburbia
by Laurie Albanese
Order:  USA  Can
Perennial, 2004 (2004)
Paperback
* * *   Reviewed by J. A. Kaszuba Locke

I read Blue Suburbia, a memoir in verse, three times in one sitting. Laurie Albanese commands the reader's attention from the first few lines. By the tenth page, she had me in tears ... and I was just beginning to absorb every word. The verse format stirs a silt of memories, as the author tells her story succinctly and poignantly -- a heart-wrenching account of living with abuse, fear, illness, failure, hope and faith; searching for acceptance and finding love.

Albanese is an artist in the true sense of the word. I challenge readers, who normally avoid verse, to try this book, which is likely to change your perspective and make you search for more in a similar vein. It's an artful blending of pain and despair, a sense of inadequacy and discovery. Beautifully expressed with minimal verbiage, Blue Suburbia is an intense, endearing read, one that I plan to enjoy over and over again.

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