The Indigo Notebook

When I finished this book, I got out my map to see where Zeeta and Layla had been, and where they should go next. This book made me want to travel--not that it made travel look easy and relaxing--far from it--but Zeeta and Layla's globetrotting adventures show us how much adventure is waiting out there for anyone who's brave enough to go after it. Zeeta is funny, smart, adaptable, and tough. I'll follow her anywhere.

The cover enticed me with its promise of discovering unfamiliar cultures, and it did not disappoint. I was hooked from page 1, when Zeeta grumpily tells of her hippie mother's yearning for a locale that is "more exotic, more dazzling, more spiritual than wherever we are." And so they go to Ecuador, where the dazzling, spiritual and exotic weave together with romance, remorse and danger. I'm excited to hear that the author is planning a series. I can't wait to hear more of Zeeta's adventures.

To quote from one of my favorite Rolling Stones songs--..."You can't always get what you want; But if you try sometimes you might find...You get what you need." Another well-known line captures another nuance--be careful what you wish for. These phrases encapsulate what's at the heart of one of the primary plot conflicts in "The Indigo Notebook." Zeeta is a girl who's been dragged all over the world by her flighty, hippie-like mother, Layla. If you're a person who values a traditional mother then the character of Layla may make you angry for her irresponsibility in thinking through what she exposes herself and her daughter to as well as her mystical poetry-spouting abilities that appear to be of somewhat marginal value to her long-suffering child. Layla is much more than a stereotype though. She is a woman with the courage to live out her convictions and to experience her life as a complex set of metaphysical--and physical--adventures. She doesn't take an easy route through her life and she does have some real flaws--one of them being that she is thoughtless about the effects her choices have on her daughter Zeeta. Zeeta craves her vision of normality. She has experienced this normality for short periods of time when she and her mother have visited her grandparents. She would like to put down roots and dreams about her mother getting involved with a regular guy who will instill a sense of security into their haphazard, moneyless existence. Zeeta gets her wish when her mother has a close brush with death. Her mother gets involved with a corporate type man that they met on the plane to Ecuador and he sets about organizing Layla and Zeeta's worlds. Zeeta finds that she has begun to miss the vitality and spontaneity of her mother's character. And then there's her complicated relationship with Wendell, a boy who is searching for his birth parents. He has his own life disenchantments to deal with. As always, Laura Resau has an exquisite ear for dialogue and an inner eye that makes it possible for her readers to experience all of the sights and smells of the country that her characters inhabit. I love all of Laura's books because after I finish one, I feel as though I've taken a bath in another culture and that I understand more than I did before. I highly recommend this book to adult and teen readers who want to understand more about the world--and about themselves.

Laura Resau uses beautiful language to tell the story Zeeta's experience in Ecquador, which is action-packed and full of surprises.

I loved this book! Reading it felt like I won a wild trip to Ecuador with the best company. Seeing the very responsible Zeeta, her free-spirited mother, and sweet, confused Wendell solve a mystery, survive danger, and grow in their understanding of one another was absolutely satisfying. I can hardly wait to read the next in the "Notebook" series.