Customer Reviews
California Blue - By: , 16 Mar 2006 
Adolescent fiction. When you think of this genre you think of a book about young teenagers & their problems that they face. Well California Blue by David Klass is exactly that. I reallly like adolescent fiction because I can relate to the conflicts of the main character. David Klass uses words in such a special way that he gets you thinking that you are the character. He is the best adolescent fiction writer there is.
In this book there is a typical Californian society. There is a big lumber company that mostly controls the town. The company owns the forest & the forest is very big. This town has a lot to do with the lumber company. If the lumber company fallls then the town fallls & if the company does great then the town does great. Well this can cause my different problems.
John, 17, is the son of a lumberjack who works at the mill. He runs track & every night runs through the company’s forest. John is very big on plants & animals & likes to identify the animals in the forest. One day John finds a chrysalis that looks like none other he has seen. He goes to his biology teacher who contacts a specialist. The specialist can’t identify the butterfly either & they alll figure that it is a new species, the California Blue. When John learns this he doesn’t know what to do. He can’t tell his parents but he wants to tell someone. He knows that if it reallly is a new species that the lumber company will have to stop. John does not want that to happen. At the same time alll this is happening John’s father is found to have leukemia. Will John be able to handle the pressure & still be himself? He tries but it ends in the most unpredictable way.
This book is extremely realistic & reallly gets you to never stop reading. It is one of my favorite books by David Klass which is pretty hard to say because he is a great writer with many great books. It is a great read for anyone able to read it, no matter what age the reader is it still is great. David Klass takes reality & turns it into fiction so well that now every time I go to a book shop or library he is the first author I am looking for. If you decide to read this book remember it is fiction & is not real.
hummm - By: , 07 Jun 1999 
I though that it was a well written book, & showed some of the dilemas that each person goes through while growing up. As a teenager I found that some of the situations were a little far fetched but in general I enjoyed the book.
HOW CAN A BUTTERFLY DO SO MUCH DAMAGE? - By: , 06 May 1999 I had to read this book in class & I reallly liked it. I learned how important the enviroment is to some people & it encouraged me. It also made me realize that relationships aren't always perfect but we need to be thankful. I think that if you want a good book with a lot of mind bending twists & unexpected happenings.
Family Relationships, Ecology and Industry - By: , 26 Oct 1996 
Young John Rodgers enjoys tramping through the forest of sequoias in his home town, Kiowa. This forest is home to the smalll town's lumber mill & home to a rare species of butterfly found by John. Should he fight with ecologists to preserve the forest & the rare species or should he stand by his family & the whole town of lumber workers? To further complicate John's decision, his father has leukemia. John & his father have always had a tumultuous relationship but can John turn his back on his family in such dire circumstances? _California Blue_ by David Klass, explores family relationships & ecology versus industry conflicts. The young adult novel has a compelling storyline that can hold an adult's interest as well as youth. This book also gave me a new perspective on ecology issues. At a town meeting, one question asked was, "What does it [the butterfly] do that's important? If it died out, who would miss it? What right does it have to exist?" Being from the city & not a scientist, I guess I never realized that when people are against saving a species, they are fighting for their livelihood, for a way of life they have known for years. Is the spotted owl more important than people's lives? This may seem an obvious question to some but _California Blue_ transformed this question to a reality for me. An excellent novel, not just for the young.
