Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves ARC Review

So you guys remember how I am freaking obsessed with ARC copies? How I like knowing stuff before everyone else? You want to know what is better than an ARC copy?
An ARC with a story behind it.
While sending out emails to different publishers and authors about ARCs, I came upon Dia's book and immediately sent out an email to her.... requesting someone else's book. I was so embarrassed and immediately sent her an email explaining my add and complete lack of organization. Sorry about that Dia!!!


When I did get her book, I opened the envelope and stared at the sexy, beautiful and extremely purple cover.

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves, 1/5/10, Simon and Schuster

Love can be a dangerous thing. Hanna simply wants to be loved. With a head
plagued by hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet
stuffed with frilly violet dresses, Hanna's tired of being the outcast, the
weird girl, the freak. So she runs away to Portero, Texas, in search of a new
home. But Portero is a stranger town than Hanna expects. As she tries to make a
place for herself, she discovers the dark secrets that would terrify any normal
soul. Good thing for Hanna, she's far from normal. As this crazy girl meets an
even crazier town, only two things are certain: Anything can happen and no one
is safe.

From page one, I was fascinated by the beautiful and unique writing style, the strong sense of character, both from the main character, Hanna and her mother Rosalee. Add to it Hanna's hallucinations, a product of her maniac depression, and the strange town of Portero, Texas, and I could not put the book down.
People say that the difference between writing fantasy and writing real-life fiction can be defined by two questions. When an author chooses to write fantasy, the question the characters are trying to answer is what am I?
When writing fiction, they ask who am I?

"'I'm Finnish. And American. And white and black. And neither thing
excludes the other, regardless of what you've been taught to believe
(100).'"

While reading Dia's book, I found that both of these questions played a significant role as Hanna tries to cope with her mental instability, finding a place within this strange town, race, and unresolved family problems while also learning about the monsters that reside in Portero and how to become one of the Porterenes who have learned to live with and destroy them.

"'Because I'm biracial. People look at me and can't figure me out, so they
ask, 'What are you?' Like I', a whole other species. But you... are you
another species (97)?'"

Another thing I absolutely loved about BLEEDING VIOLET is that Hanna is a very strong character, and although she does have a tendency to vomit when under stress, she doesn't underestimate herself. As she says herself, she doesn't need a boy to take care of her, a fact which I don't think many teenage girls grasp. That being said, she does make mistakes, like any teenager. She isn't perfect by any definition, but she knows who she is and learns to deal with the consequences of her actions.
The subtle and gentle blend of the two questions is what makes BLEEDING VIOLET a unique and incredibly beautiful masterpiece. Although the book was a little gory for my taste, it had a perfect blend of romance, self-discovery, fantasy, and southern atmosphere, making it a book that is not to be missed. I loved it.
BLEEDING VIOLET is on sale January 5th, 2010. You can learn more about Dia Reeves by going to her website or following her on twitter.
Thank you Dia for the great read (and being cool with the whole I-emailed-you-about-someone-else's-book thing).
More to come,
OfficiallyMRS