Bleeding Violet

By Dia Reeves

Hanna is what you'd call mentally ill. She'd call it being totally crazy. After running away to Portero, Texas to find her estranged mother, Hanna thinks this new town can't be any crazier than she is. She's wrong. Portero is haunted with doors to dimensions of the dead, and protected by demon hunters called Mortmaine.

Hanna soon falls for a young Mortmaine named Wyatt, but when her mother is possessed by a murdering ghost, Hanna decides to do whatever it takes to save her, even if it means betraying the boy she loves. In the end no one will be left unscarred.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Release date: Jan 5, 2010
• ISBN: 9781416998662

Dia Reeves

Dia is a librarian currently living in Irving, Texas.

Book preview

Chapter One

The truck driver let me off on Lamartine, on the odd side of the street. I felt odd too, standing in the town where my mother lived. For the first seven years of my life, we hadn’t even lived on the same continent, and now she waited only a few houses away.

Unreal.

Why didn’t you have the truck driver let you off right in front of her house? Poppa’s voice echoed peevishly in my head, as if he were the one having to navigate alone in the dark.

I have to creep up on her, I whispered, unwilling to disturb the extreme quiet of midnight, otherwise my heart might explode.

What’s her house number?

1821, I told him, noting mailboxes of castles and pirate ships and the street numbers painted on them. I had to fish my penlight from my pack to see the numbers; streetlights were scarce, and the sky bulged with low, sooty clouds instead of helpful moonlight.

Portero sat in a part of East Texas right on the tip of the Piney Woods; wild tangles of ancient pine and oak twisted throughout the town. But here on Lamartine, the trees had been tamed, corralled behind ornamental fences and yoked with tire swings.

It’s pretty here, isn’t it?

Disturbingly pretty. said Poppa. Where are the slaughterhouses? The oil oozing from every pore of the land? Where’s the brimstone?

Don’t be so dramatic, Poppa. She’s not that bad. She can’t be.

No? His grim tone unnerved me as it always did when he spoke of my mother. Rosebushes and novelty mailboxes don’t explain her attitude. I never imagined she would live in such a place. She isn’t the type.

Maybe she’s changed.

Ha!

Then I’ll make her change, I said, passing a mailbox shaped like a chicken—1817.

How had I gotten so close?

A few short feet later, I was better than close—I was there: 1821.

My mother’s house huddled in the middle of a great expanse of lawn. None of the other houses nestled chummily near hers; even her garage was unattached. A lone tree decorated her lawn, a sweet gum, bare and ugly—nothing like her neighbors’ gracefully spreading shade trees. Her mailbox was strictly utilitarian, and the fence that circled her property was chin high and unfriendly.

Ah. said Poppa, vindicated. That’s more like it.

I ignored him and crept through the unfriendly gate and up the porch steps. The screen door wasn’t locked—didn’t even have a lock—so I let myself into the dark space and sat in the little garden chair to the left of the front door. I sat for a long time, catching my breath. I sat and I breathed. I breathed and I sat—

Stop stalling, Hanna.

My hands knotted over my stomach, over the swarm of butterflies warring within. I gazed at the dark length of the front door, consumed with what was on the other side of it. Do you think she’ll be happy to see me? I asked Poppa. Even a little?

Not if you go in with that attitude. Where’s your spine?

What if she doesn’t believe I’m her daughter?

You look exactly like her. How many times have I told you? Now, stop being silly and go introduce yourself.

Poppa always knew how to press my rational button. You’re right. I am being silly. I straightened my dress, hitched up my pack, marched to the front door, and raised my fist to—

NO. The force of the word rattled my brain. Don’t knock. It’s after midnight. You’ll wake her up, and she awakens badly.

How badly? I whispered, hand to my ringing skull.

As badly as you.

Uh-oh.

Nine times out of ten, I awoke on my own, naturally, even without an alarm clock, but if I was awoken before I was ready, things could get … interesting. And apparently, I’d gotten that trait from my mother.

Cool.

Just let yourself in. said Poppa, his advice rock solid as always. It’s practically your house anyway.

I crouched on the porch, the wood unkind to my bare knees, and folded back the welcome mat. A stubby bronze key glinted in the glow of my penlight.

A spare key.

Only in a small town, I whispered, snatching it up.

I unlocked the door and slipped inside.

A red metallic floor lamp with spotlights stuck all over it stood in the center of the room. One of the spotlights beamed coldly—as though my mother had known I was coming and had left the light on for me.

Aside from the red chrysanthemums in a translucent vase above the sham fireplace, and the red throw pillow gracing the single chair near the floor lamp, the entire living room was unrelievedly blue-white.

Modern, the same style Poppa had liked—

Still likes. he said.

—and so I immediately felt at home.

My hopes began to rise again.

I slipped the spare key into the pocket of my dress as I traveled down a short hallway, my French heels clicking musically against the blond wood floor. I put my ear to each of the three doors in the hall, until a slow, deep breathing sighed into my head from behind door number three.

My mother’s breath. Soothing and gentle, as if the air that puffed from her lungs was purer than other people’s.

I stood with my head to the door, trying to match my breath to hers, until my ear began to sting from the pressure.

I regarded the door thoughtfully. Fingered the brass knob.

No, I told you. Poppa was adamant. You need to entice her out of bed.

I know how to do that, I whispered, the idea coming to me all at once.

I stole into the kitchen and turned on the light near the swinging door. The kitchen, like the living room, was blue-white, with a single lipstick-red dining chair providing the only color, aside from me in my violet dress.

I dumped my purple bag by the red chair and went exploring, and after I learned where she kept the plates, the French bread, and the artisanal cheese, I decided to make grilled-cheese sandwiches. I took no especial pains to be quiet—I wanted her company. I’d traveled more than one hundred miles in three different crapmobiles and an eighteen-wheeler full of beer just to bask in her presence, but it wasn’t until I plated the food that she shoved through the kitchen door.

My grandma Annikki once told me that anyone who looked on the face of God would instantly fall over dead. Looking at my mother—for the first time ever—I wondered if it was because God was beautiful.

I had the same hourglass figure, the same hazel skin, the same turbulence of tight, skinny curls; but while my curls were a capricious brown, hers were shadow black.

Island-girl hair. Poppa whispered admiringly.

I averted my eyes and presented the sandwiches, like an offering. Do you want any?

She drifted toward me in a red sleep shirt and bare feet, seeming to bend the air around her. Her mouth was expressive, naturally rosy, and mean. Just like mine. Our lips turned down at the corners and made us look spoiled.

You broke into my house to fix a snack, she said, testing the words, her East Texas drawl stretching each syllable like warm taffy. I better be dreaming this up, little girl.

It’s no dream, Rosalee. I’m here. I’m your daughter.

Her hands clutched her sleep shirt, over her heart, otherwise she didn’t move. Her oil black eyes raked me in a discomfiting sweep.

My daughter’s in Finland, she said, the words heavy with disbelief.

Not anymore. Not for years. I’m here now. I reached out to touch her or hug her—any contact would have been staggering—but she stepped away from my questing hands, her mean mouth twisting as she spoke my name.

Hanna?

Yes.

God. She seemed to recognize me then, her gaze softening a little. You even have his eyes.

I know. I marveled over the similarities between us. Not much else, though.

Rosalee looked away from me, tugging at her hair as if she wanted to pull it out. How could he let you come here? Alone. In the middle of the night. Did he crack?

He died. Last year.

She let her hair fall forward, hiding from me, so if any grief or regret touched her face, I didn’t see it.

After a time, Rosalee stalked past me and stood before the picture window. If he died last year, she said, why come to me now? How’d you even know where to find me?

I sat in the red chair, clashing violently in my purple dress. I stole your postcard from Poppa’s desk when I was seven, the month before we moved to the States. I went into my pack for the postcard. It was soft, yellowed with the years. On one side was a photo of Fountain Square, somewhere here in Portero. On the back was my old address in Helsinki, and in the body of the card, the single word NO.

I showed it to her. What were you saying no to?

Rosalee glanced at the postcard but wouldn’t touch it. She settled herself against the window, her back to the lowering sky. I don’t remember what question he asked: to marry him, to visit y’all, to love y’all. Maybe all three. No to all three.

I put the postcard away. When Poppa and I moved to Dallas, the first thing I did was go to the public library and look up your name in the Portero phone book.

I’d gotten such a thrill seeing her name in stark black letters, Rosalee Price, an actual person—not a legend Poppa had made up to comfort me whenever I wondered aloud why other kids had mothers and I didn’t.

I memorized your address and phone number. For eight years I recited them to myself before I went to sleep, like a lullaby. I didn’t bother to contact you, though. Poppa had warned me what to expect if I tried. That’s why I just showed up on your doorstep—I didn’t want to give you a chance to say no.

She regarded me with a reptilian stillness, unmoved by my speech. Who’ve you been staying with since he died?

His sister. My aunt Ulla.

She know you’re here?

Even our feet are the same.

What?

I took off my purple high heels and showed her my skinny feet—the long toes and high arches. Exactly like hers.

I asked you about your aunt, said Rosalee, still unmoved.

I admired the sight of our naked feet, settled so closely together, golden against the icy sheen of the kitchen tile.

"I didn’t even know I looked like you. I figured I did. Poppa told me I did. I knew I didn’t look like anybody on Poppa’s side of the family. They’re all tall and blond and white as snow foxes. And here I am, tallish and brunette and brown as sugar. Just like you. My grandma Annikki used to say if I hadn’t been born with gray eyes, no one would have known for sure that I belonged to them. And I did belong to them, but I belong to you, too. I want to know about you."

That Sally Sunshine act won’t work on her. Poppa warned.

But it was working. As I spoke, Rosalee’s gaze remained focused on me, her unswerving interest startling but welcome in light of her antagonism.

Poppa told me some things. He’d tell me how beautiful you were, but in the same breath, he’d curse you and say you were dead on the inside. So I’ve always thought of you that way—an undead Cinderella, greenish and corpselike, but wearing a ball gown. Do you even have a ball gown? I could make one for you. I make all my own clothes. I made this dress. Isn’t it sweet? I stood so she could admire it. I always feel like Alice when I wear it. That would make this Wonderland, wouldn’t it? And you the White Rabbit—always out of reach.

Why do you have blood on your dress?

Her intense scrutiny made sense now. She hadn’t been interested in me, but in my bloodstains. I followed her gaze to the two dark smidges near my waist.

Sally Sunshine and her bloodstained dress. said Poppa, disappointed in me. I told you to change clothes, didn’t I?

I fell back into the red chair, the skirt of my dress flouncing about my knees, refusing to let Poppa’s negativity derail me.

What makes you think that’s blood? That could be anything. That could be ketchup.

That ain’t ketchup, Rosalee said. And this ain’t Wonderland. This is Portero—I know blood when I see it.

I nibbled my food silently.

"Whose blood is that?"

Tell her. Poppa encouraged. I guarantee she won’t care.

It’s Aunt Ulla’s blood, I said. I hit her on the head with a rolling pin.

I risked another glance into her face. Nothing.

Told you.

And? Rosalee prompted.

Did she want details?

Aunt Ulla’s blood spurted everywhere, onto my dress, into my eyes. I blinked hard in remembrance. It burned. I fingered the smidges at my waist. I thought I’d cleaned myself up, but apparently—

Hanna. Despite her apathy, Rosalee addressed me with an undue amount of care, as though I were a rabid dog she didn’t want to spook. Did you kill your aunt?

I ate the last bit of grilled cheese. I licked the grease from my fingers. Probably.

Chapter Two

It’s no use, I told Rosalee when she unearthed a cordless phone and asked for Aunt Ulla’s number. I poured myself a big tumbler of milk and resettled into the red chair. If telephoning the dead were possible, I’d be talking to Poppa right now.

We are talking. Poppa said, his voice a snug little bug in my ear. Who needs phones?

Rosalee, meanwhile, waited with the phone in her hand, as patient as an Easter Island statue that had stood a thousand years and was ready to stand a thousand more, if that’s what it took. So I recited Aunt Ulla’s number and watched her dial.

If she wanted to find out the hard way, so be it.

Rosalee’s finger froze in the act of dialing, and she studied me head to toe, her face taut. This aunt of yours … was she mean to you? Did she hurt you?

I nodded. She hurt my feelings.

Feelings? Rosalee finished dialing, her face relaxing back into its mask of indifference.

Emotional abuse is just as bad as physical abuse. Worse! You can heal broken bones; you can’t heal a broken mind. Not easily. But Rosalee wouldn’t hear it. She’s not going to answer.

I remember how Järvinens are, said Rosalee, disturbingly patient. None of y’all ever pick up within the first minute. ‘People who hang up quickly—’

‘Never want anything important,’ I finished. She knew us!

I made a baby with her. She couldn’t help but pick up a few things.

You’ll wanna talk to her, I guess, said Rosalee, waiting and waiting for my dead aunt to answer the phone.

I have nothing to say to her.

Well, she’ll have plenty to say to you, that’s for sure.

I shrugged and drank, smugness pouring into me along with the ice-cold milk as the wind manhandled the sweet gum on the lawn and sent its branches scraping along the house. The wind wasn’t manhandling me. My brief day of homelessness had ended with me sheltered and well fed, not by Child Protective Services or a pimp, but by my own mother. How many other runaways could make that claim?

Ulla? Rosalee stopped pacing and leaned against the counter. "This is Rosalee Price. Yeah, me."

I almost choked on my milk, my smugness evaporating into sour gas. She’s alive?

Rosalee put her hand over the phone. Sounds like it.

I slammed the glass to the table.

Rosalee slanted a dark look at me but spoke into the phone, "I know that. She just turned up on my doorstep."

I heard Aunt Ulla’s heated voice all the way from my chair. Rosalee had to hold the phone away from her ear.

When the screaming died down, Rosalee said, "How many stitches? Oh. Too bad. Well, what do you want me to do? Burst into flames? I said it was bad."

Louder, angrier yelling.

"Don’t yell at me. Yell at your niece when you pick her up. Well, you have to see her again. She’s your family. Don’t put that daughter shit on me! I never even seen her before today! Pause. What? Diagnosed as what?"

Panic sent me scurrying out of the kitchen, my pack slung over my shoulder. What was I doing sitting around like the battle was won? She knew about me now. Aunt Ulla was giving her a play-by-play of all my antics over the past year, including the incident from this morning. Rosalee would be more desperate than ever to send me away. I had to move quick and stake out a bit of earth for myself before Rosalee got off the phone.

I found a switch on the wall that lit the living room: one chair and one footstool, but no futon or foldout couch. No couches, period. Down a hallway to my left was a bathroom, a linen closet, an office the size of a closet, and finally Rosalee’s bedroom, which housed a twin-size bed.

I went back to the living room, worried. One chair in the kitchen, one chair in the living room, a twin bed in the bedroom. It wasn’t that Rosalee didn’t have room in her life for me; Rosalee didn’t have room for anybody.

Opposite the front door was a staircase. I went up expecting more of the same antisocial layout, but on opening the single door at the top of the stairs, I discovered a large, empty attic space shaped like the top half of a stop sign. The walls were white and the same blond wood from downstairs covered the floor. A large window with brass-handled casements overlooked the dark, dreaming street.

Such good bones this room had. Such potential. It even had its own bathroom with a shower, sink, and toilet so white I doubted they’d ever been used.

A guest room. Empty because Rosalee clearly didn’t want any guests. Luckily, I wasn’t a guest.

I was family.

I set my bag on the floor and unpacked: seven purple dresses, purple underclothes, my purple purse, the big wooden swan Poppa had carved for me, and my cell phone. Since the room had no closet, I placed everything on the built-in shelves along the wall opposite the door, including my pills, which took up almost all the top shelf. I put the few toiletries I’d packed into the medicine cabinet. And that was it.

I was home.

We’re both home. Poppa agreed, satisfied. He had been waiting to reunite with Rosalee even longer than I had.

I went downstairs and paused for a bit outside the kitchen door. When I heard nothing but Rosalee’s sporadic murmurings, I continued down the hall to the linen closet and commandeered several thick blankets and one purple bath towel.

The purple I took as an omen—a good one.

I hadn’t packed any nightgowns, so after I undressed and washed up, I wrapped myself in the towel and combed out my hair, which was always a chore. Island-girl hair did not like to be combed.

What’re you doing?

Rosalee stood in the doorway of the attic room, staring at my belongings on the shelf and at her blankets on the floor.

Staring in horror.

I untangled the comb from my hair and knelt next to the pile of blankets. I’m nesting.

Like hell you are! You can’t stay here!

Aunt Ulla had poisoned her mind against me.

Yes, I can. I unfolded the blankets and piled them atop one another. What you mean to say is, you don’t want me here.

That’s right! I don’t!

I sang, "You can’t always get what you want."

Rosalee stared at me as though she’d never seen anything like me before. Are you even gone ask how your aunt’s doing? Least you could do after what you did to her.

You said she’s alive. I tested the softness of the pallet and found it lacking. I added two more blankets. What else do I need to know?

"It took eleven stitches to put her head back together. She only just got home from the hospital. You’re lucky she didn’t call the cops. You’re lucky she didn’t die."

When I didn’t say anything, Rosalee knelt across from me, keeping the pallet between us. A shiny red bracelet encircled her left wrist, a bracelet with an old-fashioned silver key as long as my pinky dangling from it. I wondered what she’d do if I touched her hand, touched her anywhere, to see what it felt like.

Why’d you hit her? Rosalee asked.

"Didn’t she tell you?"

You tell me.

I stopped fiddling with the blankets. "She wanted to send me back to the psych ward so they could lock me away forever, and I told her I didn’t want to be locked away forever, but she wouldn’t listen. So I had to show her."

I illustrated just how I’d shown Aunt Ulla by miming a heavy blow to Rosalee’s head. Then, unable to resist, I brushed my fingertips across the soft silk of Rosalee’s cheek. She felt feverish. Familiar. My fingers knew her. But I wouldn’t do to you what I did to her. Forget about what she told you. You don’t have to be afraid of me.

Rosalee smacked my hand away as though it were a fly, the key attached to her bracelet jingling angrily. Even if you were Hannibal Lecter himself, she said, rising to her feet with careless grace, "around here you’re nothing special. You’re the one who should be afraid. She began to pace. You know your aunt’s packing up your stuff as we speak? Says she’s either gone ship it all here or to the state hospital."

Tell her to ship it here.

"Only thing’s getting shipped is you. Her footsteps echoed in the empty room, exaggerating the distance between us. You think I aim to be responsible for what would happen to you if you stay in this town?"

You haven’t been responsible for me for sixteen years, I said. Why should it bother you now? It doesn’t bother me.

I’ll drive you to Dallas myself if I have to, she muttered to herself, ignoring me.

And then what? You come back here and live your life of solitary splendor? To hell with that. I don’t care if you don’t want me—I need a mother more than you need solitude.

Rosalee stopped pacing and looked down at me, tight-lipped. "What I need is to not have to chase after a bipolar-disordered kid."

If she thought that name-calling would put me in my place, she was sadly mistaken. I prefer manic-depressive, I told her, if it’s all the same to you. It’s much more explicit, don’t you think? More honest? But really, you can call me whatever you like as long as I get to stay.

"I don’t know anything about normal kids, let alone …" Rosalee waved her hand at me and all my disordered glory.

There’s nothing to know, I told her. All I have to do is take some pills and everything is jolly.

"Your definition of ‘jolly’ includes assault and battery? You put your aunt in the hospital!"

I haven’t taken my pills in a while, I conceded.

Rosalee stomped to the shelf and snatched up a random handful of pill bottles. So take ’em now.

She took up her Easter Island stance, so I got up and got the right bottles from the shelf—lithium and Seroquel.

What’re all these other ones for? Rosalee asked, examining the bottles she’d picked up.

Different things: depression, insomnia, anxiety, hyperactivity, blah, blah, blah. I held up the lithium. This one evens me out. And this one—I held up the Seroquel—makes the hallucinations go away.

"You hallucinate?"

Having her undivided attention was making me giddy. That’s why my latest shrink decided I was manic-depressive. He said it was either that or schizophrenia, and I’m way too charming and rational to be a schizophrene. His words, not mine.

I washed down the pills with water, which I drank straight from the tap in the bathroom. When I came out, I said, Is that better? Are you happy? Can I stay now?

No!

So much for giddiness. No it’s not better, no you’re not happy, or no I can’t stay?

All of the above.

I picked up Swan from the shelf and cuddled her. She was cold and heavy and made of wood, but a girl like me had to take comfort wherever she could get it.

Why do you want me to leave? I said. "I’ll be eighteen in two years. All the hard work of raising me has been done. I’m old enough to see to my own needs. You don’t have to do anything. What’s the big deal?"

Rosalee had hidden her arms behind her back so I wouldn’t get the idea that I could cuddle with

Reviews for Bleeding Violet

[whatsmacksaid · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Three and a half stars. It broke down a little toward the end, but I really, genuinely loved it.

[bookscantgetenough · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I thought this was about a girl with a mental problem, but later in the book it evolves into something unexpected. I would have never thought that what she imagines is actually real. Her mom is a weird character for example her mom treated her coldly until she proved that she could take care of her self, then she treated her like she might be related to her not some stranger that looks like her and lives with her.

[heather_brock-1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I read this book purely for the "shock" value and was left vastly disappointed. Dia Reeves tried way too hard and this was a terribly written story. I understand that the main character is supposed to a 16 year old bipolar girl but give the girl some intelligence. Half the time I thought the girl was 5 years old based on her actions and internal thoughts. You missed the mark on this one Dia. Cut your losses and move onto something else, like knitting. That sounds fun, right?

[rosa.mill · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was not what I expected at all. I had read a lot of reviews about it on some blogs I followed and it sounded so interesting but I was totally caught off guard, in a good way.

Hanna's father passed away and she has been living with an aunt. After a big blow out with her aunt, Hanna hitchhikes to Portero, Texas where Rosalee, the mother who abandonned her lives. When Hanna arrives in Portero she finds a hostile town riddled with monster where outsiders are unwelcome. Hanna strikes a bargain with Rosalee, if she can fit in, she can stay.

This book is exactly the kind of character driven work I like Hanna is an interesting protagonist to say the least. She's diagnosed as a manic depressive and she does have some bouts of depression in the book, I found myself wondering if her hallucinations were really hallucinations or a manifestation of her relation to Rosalee and the town of Portero. Especially since these hallucinations allowed her to do things many of the locals couldn't even do. I also loved that Hanna was half white, half black and she owned it. It wasn't a major issue but it was acknowledged and refered to when appropriate. She was also dating a hispanic local, and while Hanna was not loved by his family, her race had nothing to do with it.

The town of Portero was a character into and of itself. It was ominous and hostile and sometimes it was just plain weird. A lot of the time it felt like the town was it's own entity.

The whole book is strange and weird. It's also very violent and graphic, so if that kind of thing bothers you it's best to steer clear. Normally this isn't the kind of thing I comment on but with all the other strangeness in the book it just felt like it was worth mentioning.

[bookspot · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you loved Harry Potter, you'll love Bleeding Violet. If you only kind of liked Harry Potter, you'll love Bleeding Violet. If you've been looking for something a little more Jack and Coke to Harry Potter's Cherry Coke, then you'll love Bleeding Violet because it's it.

It might even be more absinthe and Coke to Harry Potter's Cherry Coke. (And no, it is not good to use alcoholic drinks in comparing YA books, but I couldn't think of anything more apt.)

After her father dies, 16-year-old Hanna Jarvinen has to live with her aunt. When her aunt tries to send her to a mental institution, though, Hanna hits her over the head with a rolling pin and flees to Portero, Texas to her mother's. Her mother whom she's never met. Hanna's mother definitely doesn't want her to stay, but Hanna wiles her way into a deal that has her staying-at least for a little while . . . staying in a town that may be even weirder than her.

Portero is a town where everyone wears black, fears monsters called 'lures' and has to be protected by the Mortmaine. The strangeness starts on Hanna's first day of high school and only grows from there.

Wearing only purple and still speaking some Finnish, Hanna almost fits in in Portero in a strange way. She's still in constant danger, though. Good thing her new crush Wyatt's a member of the Mortmaine.


Bleeding Violet is a like a perfect young adult fantasy book. It's not children's level but it's not full of sex and explicitness either (though there is actually some). The way that Peeps is a great young adult book that's actually for young adults, Bleeding Violet is a paranormal, horror book actually for young adults and not twelve-year-olds and not thirty-year-olds (though also not not for the latter ...or some of the former, I suppose).

The plot is really well developed because the monster-yness all makes sense and follows so that none of it seems to come out of nowhere (or when it does it's on purpose). The characters are also amazing, amazing. Having a bipolar main characters who is sometimes on medication and sometimes not and in a town like Portero makes for one seriously awesome book. Not in an insensitive way, either. Hanna's not bipolar so that it can be 'ooh, look, she's crazy'...but it makes the story all that it can be with the insanity of the town and the insanity of her mind and the way that you don't always know which is which.

I should probably also mention that Hanna's biracial...though I don't really know why...other than it's interesting having her have her black mother in Texas and her Finnish father who raised her.

Can't wait for more from Dia Reeves (I'm serious--I kept checking on her site to see when she'd have a new book!).

[kittyjay · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

After reading this book, I was at a loss for what to think, a sentiment I see echoed in the reviews here. So, let's start at the beginning.

I went through a young-adult-literature-featuring-mental-illness kick and this book came to me via a list, along with others such as "Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets" (which I read and reviewed elsewhere) and "The Unquiet" (again, reviewed elsewhere). Those are pretty straightforward, while the second has some supernatural overtones, but I went into this one expecting a fairly straightforward, realistic plot about a girl diagnosed with bipolar disorder going into a small East Texas town to find her mother.

This was definitely not the case.

The main character, Hanna, may have a mental illness, but that is hardly the most salient point of the plot. The small town she finds her mother in, Portero, is actually a Hellmouth-meets-Nightvale place where the locals take it for granted that monsters exist and regularly kill people who live there.

Hanna, desperate to win her seemingly uncaring mother's approval, teams up with one of the town's hunters - the Mortmaine - to hunt the creatures in order to prove that she can hack it in this place. Of course the hunter she joins, a boy named Wyatt, and she become involved, because this is young adult and standards must be upheld.

The first thing I'll note is that this book is definitely one of the most riotous, unique mishmashes of ideas I've ever read. It's very reminiscent of Nightvale, on the one hand, as everyone acts blase towards things that would send normal people screaming away in horror (in fact, the local hot spot is referred to as "the dark park", which I kept misreading as "the dog park"), but definitely stands on its own. It reminded me of Beetlejuice, where the first time you watched it, you thought, "How did someone come up with all this?". It definitely is imaginative, I'll give it that.

However, the book is almost too riotous in a way - it's as if the author had so many ideas that she crammed them all into one book and barely explained any before flitting off to the next. The reader constantly is playing catch-up and wondering what is real and what isn't, and occasionally is caught wrong-footed. For instance, Hanna's father appeared as a hallucination to her, but when she came to Portero, she found that he was real. Later in the book he encourages her to commit suicide to be with him, and I thought, "Aha! It's actually some ghost or something trying to trick her!" but no, apparently that's what her real father would say. That's... disquieting.

Still, many books like to play that way, speeding along so fast that the reader is breathless by the end of it, and sometimes it works. It would have worked for this book, except for one thing. The characters are awful.

Not in the sense that they aren't developed - they are. Wyatt is by turns charming and a typical teenage boy; Rosalee, the mother, is perfectly portrayed as a woman who was treated like a prisoner growing up by her father and now craves independence; and others are given just the right shadings to believe that this is an entire town, not just one or two characters.

They're just morally awful.

Rosalee is proud of her numerous love affairs, including sleeping with married men, and Hanna is a (literal) manic pixie dream girl with an added dose that she apparently uses people for sex quite casually. She mentions deciding to sleep with her entire high school class alphabetically before growing bored, which wins her mother's approval. I'm all for sex-positive YA literature, but this was a bit excessive.

Another character, Wyatt's mother, mentions that she has a grudge against Rosalee, so hurting Hanna would work just as well - even though at this point, she barely knows Hanna. I have to question any adult who thinks it's fine to hurt a child to get back at a mother. I think we were meant to handwave this, "Oh, everyone's like this in Portero!", but even fantasy/science-fiction has to rely on some things that are familiar. There seems to be no internal logical here. Things have to obey some sense of order, otherwise it's just chaos, which is how this book ultimately felt. Chaotic.

(There's another, better example of this, but it does contain spoilers, so I'm placing it at the bottom.*)

As far as the portrayal of mental illness, as I said, this book is ultimately not about that. It's almost a side-note, an excuse for Hanna's behavior to lead her deeper into the plot. Even saying that, however, I will warn you that it's not very accurate or flattering. Bipolar disorder takes many forms, but Hanna's would be a very unique case indeed. I'll shorthand this rather than delving too deeply, but some general problems:

1. Hanna has no defined ups and downs, which is the namesake of "manic-depressive". She seems to be only manic, which can sometimes happen, but is very rare.

2. It's a common theme that "mentally ill people are dangerous!" that advocates are constantly battling, citing multiple statistics that show mentally ill people are more commonly the *victims* of crimes rather than the perpetrators. Hanna, however, bashes two people over the head and nearly kills them - and shows no remorse over the first - because of what amounts to a tantrum, not a psychotic break or manic phase, and professes that she wants to burn down a building to please her mother. She's more of a sociopath, honestly, and, pardon my language, a bitch. She's a spoiled brat, is what is boils down to, and a dangerous one.

3. Bipolar disorder often has "normal" times in between manic and depressive states. A person who has rapid-cycling bipolar disorder would experience four or more states during an entire year. Mania rarely lasts more than 2-4 weeks at a time, while depression can often persist for months. There's also ultra-rapid-cycling bipolar disorder, but again, this is very rare. This still leaves quite a bit of time when Hanna should have been acting less... crazy. Particularly if she's on her medication, which she states she is.

4. Her medication, apparently, does absolutely nothing. She supposedly takes lithium, seroquel, and a host of antipsychotics and antidepressants to stabilize her, but apparently these are placebos: she certainly isn't stable and also, happily, suffers no side effects from these, including the lithium. Oh, happy days for Hanna!

5. The portrayal of suicide was somewhat problematic, to say the least. Hanna attempts to commit suicide basically to get back at her mom, which leads the entire thing looking like a spoiled brat's call for attention rather than a cry for help, which is a perception that, again, advocates are constantly fighting against. Suicide is treated rather lightly in this book.


I could go on, but suffice to say that this is not an accurate portrayal of mental illness - though I will add the caveat, again, that I don't believe it is meant to be. I think the author meant it more as "flavor", but it baffles me why people would include this in young adult mental illness books, which are generally sought out by kids who are actually dealing with mental illness and need advice, or comfort, or someone to relate to. The only ones who can relate to Hannah, I feel, are probably people who like to torture small animals behind the woodshed.


I'll wrap this up as it's getting to be far too long, but a few additional points. One of the things that interested me was the setting in East Texas, because my family is from there and still lives there today - this book has absolutely nothing that makes you believe it's set there. The closest the author gets to justifying this setting is by having all of her characters say "gone" instead of "going to". In an East Texas accent, "going to" sounds much like "gonna" if you dropped off the "a" at the end, which is likely what she was going for, but given this was the only instance of dialect attempted, it was far more likely to read this as the usual sort of "gone". I would suggest that you ignore it as best you can. If the author had attempted to mimic the East Texas accent throughout, rather than that one word, it might have been at least understandable, if not grating, but as it stands, it's just rather baffling.


All in all, this book felt too chaotic to assign a simple liked/disliked label to it. The best you can do is brace yourself for a hurricane and charge in.


* Hanna escapes from a suicide door via a secret, hidden doorway that she finds inside, and everyone professes great surprise as no one has ever escaped from a suicide door before! This is odd, because the people in Portero are clearly aware of the hidden doors, and it's established the Mortmaine can use them. Now, the main villain, Runyon, was a Mortmaine who was punished by the Mayor - so presumably others have been as well. So you're saying that no Mortmaine, or anyone like Hanna who is able to see the doors, was able to escape a suicide door? That seems convenient.

[reading_fox · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Not really my thing. Weird blend of supposed to be horror, but without any tension it's just gore, and contemporary fantasy, but given the heroine's a manic depressive you've no idea how much if any of it is real, and how much just in her head.the premise seems to be that Hanna goes to find her mother who abandoned her and her father when she was very young. Rosalee the mother lives in a strange american small town where all sorts of wierd beings continually escape from the Dungeon Dimensions, and run rampage through the town. But nobody leaves, even though they could. Hanna stays because she finds it nice to be somewhere where she's not the wierdest thing around. Her mum doesn't actually wnat her to be there, and most of the book is about Hanna trying to get into her good graces and be accepted for who she is, by both her mum, and the local cute kid. While things ravage the town around them. Casting the heroine as a person with a mental illness is a brave move. But it has to be handled intelligently and sympathetically, and this isn't. It just seems ot be an excuse to throw more unexplained wierdness there, which hardly does anything for the goal of normalising mental illness. If that wasn't the point of the book, then nothing else seemd to strike as making it in any way worht reading.

[maureene87 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

There were some things I really liked about this book, and Hanna was certainly a fascinating narrator. But there were also things that bothered me–the romance really didn’t work for me, for instance. And I’m afraid that in the end the things that bothered me outweighed the things that didn’t. As with Invisible Things, this book has gotten lots of good reviews from others, so do keep that in mind if you were planning to read it.

[andreablythe · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hanna runs away from her aunt to find her mom in the small town of Portero, Texas. There she hopes to receive the love and affection she lost when her father died, but is met by anger and hostility from her mother. In addition, she finds herself in the strangest and deadliest towns, one in which everyone wears black and nobody balks at death, because in a town full of hidden doors to other realms that might release monsters at any minute, death is no big deal.Hanna is an interesting character, who wears nothing but purple (in honor of her father). Troubled with a disorder that causes her to hallucinate, she takes in the strangeness far better than most outsiders. She's also desperate for love and will almost anything to get her mother to accept and love her. She tries to gain acceptance from the few friends she makes in Portero, but nothing compares to her aching need for her mother's affection. I'm struck again (having also read the sequel, Slice of Cherry) with how interesting a town Portero is, where it seems anything can happen. The monsters that appear are frightening and unique -- not a one of them a standard vampire or werewolf. It puts a fun spin on things with plenty of blood and gore.

[kelseyh45 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Hanna is a girl who has psychiatric problems - those having to do with the utterly insane. Hallucinations are at the top of her list and after her aunt threatens to send her to another psychiatric ward, Hanna finds herself in a sticky situation after hitting her aunt over the head with a rolling pin. Unsure of whether or not she's dead, she goes to stay with her mother who has had nothing to do with her her whole life. The new town is an unloving and unusual one just like her mother before she finds herself fitting in among a world where monsters are real and everyone is just as crazy as the next. If anything is certain, it's that Hanna fits in perfectly and this town is full of surprises. I guess I should start on the good things, seeing as how that list will be over quick. The only reason I gave the book two stars was based on the sole fact that the author was able to keep up the weirdness that is both Hanna and the town throughout the novel. Now that the good part is over, here are the things I had problems with. Although the beginning of the story moves along fairly quickly much to my liking, it quickly starts to take a dive. The relationships don't seem real to me and the plot itself isn't described well enough to make me feel like I truly knew what was going on. Not only so but there were so many unnecessary parts that I didn't think needed to be put in. I've never been bothered by cussing or sexual references, but the fact that the main characters are around 16-17 and they jumped right into having sex before they even knew each other irked me. There is one scene that I thought was too graphic if only because it was very unnecessary. Maybe it was the author's way of keeping the weirdness of the town intact, but it definitely wasn't the way I would've gone about it had I written the book. All in all, I wouldn't have bought the book.

[tristan_bruce_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is strange. That is the one and only way I know how to describe it. The lead character Hannah is manic depressive and suffers from hallucinations. Her father dies and she finds the mother she never knew in a town full of crazy people. I'm not even sure what the actual story was even about, I don't know why a lot of the things that happened did. I guess the reason the book gets 3 stars is because how could I get bored when reading from the perspective of a a manic depressive who suffers hallucinations, it was intriguing to say the least. Besides that I'm confused. I'd say use your own discretion on this one, if it sounds good to you read it, if not don't. 3 out of 5.

[jumpintobooks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My first impression of this book and the main character, Hanna, blew me away. And I'm not talking about the "Wow, this book is amazing" kind of way either. More or less the "Wow, this girl is crazy, what will she do next" kind of way.When my step-daughter's friend first told me of this book, I was told that it was about a girl running away fro home and encounters ghosts and the like, which had me intrigued. But when I started to read this truely strange book I began to realize that she was wrong and I began to wonder what would happen next to this manic-depressed girl named Hanna. She alone, with the help of her new boyfriend, Wyatt, urged me to continue reading this oddly fascinating book by Dia Reeves.Nothing is as it seems in Portero, TX. Not only do you have Hanna trying to live with a mother she never knew and who never wanted her, she starts realizing things are just as odd and out there as she is. You've got these strange monsters that lure you to the windows only to suck out your life and turn you to glass, giants leeches that fly, possessions and the ones who are supposed to stop it all from happening, the Mortmaine. You'll just have to read this for yourselves on what happens to everyone, no spoilers here, lol.I gave this book 3.5 out of 5 stars because of the strangeness of this first book by Dia Reeves. The writing was amazing, and the story was addictive (I read the book in 3 days, lol). But the overall feel of it left me wondering why these things were in Portero, TX and how they got there, and there was no explanation as to how they just were there in the first place. I think that if I got a better understanding as to how these "things" came to this town, and no other town, then my rating would have been higher. But this was a great book, and I think that anyone who likes strange and out of the ordinary things, you will love this book.Make sure you check out her next novel, Slice of Cherry.

[pinkindle_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Don't let the gorgeous cover fool you; this book is bizarre!" 'Did you kill your aunt?'I ate the last bit of grilled cheese. I licked the grease from my fingers. 'Probably.' "And that is how Hanna meets her mother! Well, that's certainly a great way to draw me in! From that point things just get weird. On Hanna's first day at Portero High, she notices two peculiarities: everyone wears black (to blend in), and they all have earplugs (to keep out the calls of hungry things). Of course Hanna is supplied with earplugs by a teacher, but she only wears purple, so she sticks out like a sore thumb. Then there's the glass statues that students group around and mourn, and the mass amount of missing person reports. Portero, Texas certainly is not what Hannah was expecting.Hanna isn't exactly normal either, aside from her strict purple dress-code. She's on enough medication to run her own pharmacy and talks to ghosts. She's a super quirky character and I liked her immediately. Sure she's a bit strange, but she knows who she is and isn't afraid to be herself. I also liked how she displayed some vulnerability towards her cold-hearted mother. I just wished there was more focus on her mental illness, other than her mother telling her to take her pills.I really enjoyed this book, even though some of the weirdness was verging on cheesy and ridiculous. Some of the monsters seemed to have climbed out of a Syfy Channel movie, but I'm not complaining! I like odd, and if you do too, go pick this up!

[greatimaginations · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Bleeding Violet was a very strange book. But it was also a fantastic book! I don't have a lot to say about this one, it was just a very demented read. It was gory, bloody, and very suspenseful. A lot of the plot events that occurred, sometimes didn't even have a reason for occurring. Some of it didn't even make a whole lot of sense. At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. I think it took me about 80 pages for me to decide I was going to finish it. I am glad I made that decision. This was one of those books where you couldn't really trust the narrator. Because Hanna was nuts. Or at least she used to be. But is she still? She comes to the town of Portero to find her mother. And her mother is nuts too. And all of the hallucinations that Hanna was suffering from come to life. And then suddenly they aren't hallucinations anymore. Because there are some strange things that go on in this town. There are monsters and ghosts, and what I couldn't figure out is, if this is such a dangerous and crazy town to live in, then why don't people just leave? That question was never answered by the way. It was a good book, it just wasn't mind-blowing. It was definitely different. In a genre where plots are getting tired, and there really isn't a lot of uniqueness left, the author managed to find some. She's got another book, and I intend to read it at some point. I think she's a great author, I just wish I understood her motivations for writing so strangely.

[mardel_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

First of all - let's do some homage to the cover. Yep. Even though this pose is one of the seemingly standard poses of quite of few of the YA books that have come out in the last year, there are a couple things that make it stand out. First of all - the cover model. The character is bi-racial, and hallelujiah! This girl looks at least biracial herself. Second - the color purple with all the fabric and swirling around...the purple has a special significance for Hanna, and she makes her own clothes. All in purple or various shades of purple. So even though many other books have the same fabricky feel to the cover, and pretty much the same pose.....This stands out. Great job on matching a cover to the actual story. Love It.Now the story. Young adult reads aren't usually my first pick...there's a huge gap between my age and the character ages....and some of the young adult books I've skimmed have been ....well, way too young adult for me. Which is fine, they really aren't marketed to 50 year old women, after all. That said, there are a few young adult series that I do read, just because they are so kick-ass. Bleeding Violet is such a well written book with such a crazed - seriously crazed - character that once I opened it, my interest was caught until I finished reading it. Basically, Hanna is a teen, whose father has died. She's been living with her aunt, but has had a bit of trouble (bloody and violent trouble) and chose to leave abruptly, making her way to the small town down south where her mother lives. Her mother hasn't been part of the family for a very long time, and has not been in touch with Hanna. So Hanna has been absolutely CRAVING her mother's love and goes in search of it. She's going to make her mother love her no matter what.....whether her mom wants to or not. She will do ANYthing to get her mother's love.It's important to know here that Hanna isn't your run of the mill teen. She has some major mental illness going on - the type that causes her to have hallucinations, visual and auditory. It seems she's barely controlled with medication and rarely takes it as prescribed. Along with hallucinations, Hanna's brain and consciense works on a whole different level than "normal" people's consciences. Not surprisingly, there is no real empathy or understanding of other people's feelings, right or wrong. There is just what Hanna needs and wants. Mostly. I have to hand it to the author for letting this shine through without explaining it to death - it's revealed with Hanna's thoughts and actions. In the first few chapters, Hanna has some hallucinations and of course doesn't bat an eye - she's used to seeing and hearing things that others don't. But slowly, as the novel progresses, she and the reader begins to realize that it's not all in her head. I think at this point Hanna begins to feel "at home" or as at home as she'll ever feel anywhere. Her mother is a cold, cold character - making it clear to Hanna that she doesn't want to deal with her, has no time for her. But Hanna is so compelled to make this work, that she basically overrides her mother's rejections, and continuously tries to please her mother, to make her accept her. Her mother continues to reject her...there's much more going on, but you have to read it to appreciate it all.Hanna also meets a boy that she becomes interested in, even though at first he's pretty rude to her. The attempts at winning her mother's love and acceptance as well as dealing with this boy that she's decided she will have make an interesting if bloodthirsty tale. If you are squeamish at all, you might have a bit of trouble with this novel. The further you go into the story, the more complex it becomes, the more crazed and twisted the actions of not only Hanna, but her mother, her boyfriend and the town leaders - who also do some pretty radical things.All in all, this book was pretty amazing. From the inner dialogue or narration of Hanna (it's first person), to the strange happenings in town (hallucinations? Magic? Evil? All of the above?) there is plenty of adventure, bloodspillage, creepiness, and mental anguish. There is also the father....who Hanna converses with on a regular basis - even though he's dead. I can say that this is the most twisted and strange novel that I've ever read. I enjoyed the fact that the main character was really afflicted with a mental illness and never shied away from it. The author never sugar coated the thoughts or actions of Hanna or the other not-so-wonderful personalities and the story remained interesting and compelling throughout. I believe that Dia Reeves did an amazing job of portraying a young woman's mentally challenged brain, suffering from hallucinations and later reveling in her situation and using the mental illness -mixing it into the magic and mayhem of the plot. The narrative flowed, the dialogue was good and the whole thing mixed into a wonderfully horrifying and creepy story of love, mental illness, magic, evil and acceptance. Wow.Bleeding Violet has been out for quite a while, over a year. I recently was able to buy a paperback version. Ms Reeves has released another book titled Slice of Cherry, which promises to be even more disturbing than Bleeding Violet. With her writing skills, you can be sure it's going to be disturbing and yet a compellingly creepy read.

[sithereandread · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

BLEEDING VIOLET, by Dia Reeves, is a graphic and horrifying book about a town in Texas and a girl who stands on her own to fit in. The town of Portero (Spanish to English translation= Doorman), houses people who are not afraid of the unknown creatures of other worlds. There are doorways in this town that open to unimaginable terrors.Hanna is special girl. She has multiple ailments of the brain that no doctor can correctly diagnose. She is prescribed different pills for her symptoms, such as hallucinations. She moves to Portero to live with her estranged mother after her father passes away. Hanna's mixed up head makes her fit in better because she is not surprised by things that are beyond normal. I really got a kick out of Hanna. This book was strange in itself, so it needed a strong (and strange) character to make it believable. It took a few chapters for me to get the hang of her mentality but she definitely has a place in my heart now. Hanna and Wyatt made for a different kind of couple. In a way they were two halves of a whole. It was sweet that he accepted her so quickly after seeing how she reacted to the abnormal events in the town.Reeves is definitely a mastermind of creativity. The 'creatures' that Hanna and Wyatt came up against stretched my imagination to the limit. I loved how they became a dynamic duo in battling against those not from our world. Reeves put a lot into one book but she did it so perfectly when incorporating a killer plot into the mix. This is definitely a great book to explore waaay outside a typical YA comfort zone.

[savvyescapades · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved the tone of the book— Dia Reeves does the crazy well. Actually, she does it so well that I had problems identifying when Hanna was devolving into her bi-polarism and when weird stuff was actually going down (but that’s kind of the point). I can see why some people might be a little put off by the tone though; the narrator and other characters are fairly sociopathic, especially with regards to killing people in order to get what they want. It was a flavor that I wouldn’t want everyday, but in small doses the Black Humor was delightful. Along that line I will add that I can already foresee reviewers taking issue with how the main character and her mother seem to continually use sex as a manipulator. I thought it worked ok as a character point/flaw, and I thought the flawed aspect of that M.O. Was fairly apparent. So don’t freak out. Reeves also built the world well, and had plot elements that were surprising, but not unexpected. She wasn’t afraid to really put her characters through hell and let them sort things out.One issue, though: Hanna’s mixed race status. I’m not sure it added anything to the book. I thought having a character who has grown up is Finland move to the South (where she will inevitably be flatly identified as just “black”) was an interesting character trait, to employ, but I’m not sure it really went anywhere. Every now and then she’d throw out something Finnish (like blood pancakes), but I didn’t see a whole lot of cultural tension. I can see why having Hanna be half black, half white is kind of a metaphorical extension of her bipolarism, but I just wasn’t convinced by the narrative’s execution that the bicultural aspect was important.

[shra8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Bleeding Violet book reviewBleeding Violet takes place in Petro. A small town where paranormal things happen most of the time. Like random doors popping out of nowhere. You can walk though them but sometimes you can’t see them. Once you walked though you’ll be somewhere else in Petro. Hanna has just moved into Petro with her mom and she has no idea what to expect, her mom says bad things happen here and if Hanna can survive 2 weeks she`ll let her stay. Hanna meets Wyatt who is her new boyfriend and helps her but is amazed by Hanna’s mom but you’ll find out why later. During her times in Petro Hanna runs into paranormal animals, doors and demons. Will she survive? Maybe but there’s one my problem she’s psycho. Read this book to uncover the secrets and find the truth.

[monkeypats · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This book was crazy, and not in the fun, cute, Alice in Wonderland way. The main character was a psychopath and most of the book I spent wondering what was actually happening and what was in her delusional mind. It wasn't until close to the end that I realized most of this was actually supposed to be happening. I love fantasy books, but this went way too far for me. Additionally, I wouldn't recommend it for young adults due to the sexual content (the main character uses sex as a weapon, or for just any reason whatsoever). I really really really do not recommend this book, but then again, that's just my opinion.

[theanalogdivide · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was crazy in the best way. It's not something I read typically - the description had an air of the dreaded urban fantasy to it - but once my jaw dropped after reading the first chapter, I was in for the duration.

[krista23 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow! I DEVOURED this book. I found it completely unique, intriguing and imaginative. I would read this book again any day. Multi-dimensions, ghosts, monsters, wishes, the list goes on. This book can be considered kind of a dark story, but that is right up my alley! I only recommend this book to Mature Teens, there is some sexual content

[larissabookgirl_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Hanna ran away from home. To her it wasn't much of a home, being raised by a woman who dislikes you isn't at all where you'd like to live, unless of cause that woman was your mother. Then you might put up with almost anything, and hope she was willing to do the same. But Hanna had never before met her mother and to ask a total stranger for love and acceptance was not going to be easy.Living with bipolar-disorder and hallucinations, Hanna is long used to standing out. But in the small town of Portero, all the craziness in her head has found form in the real world. In this little town her strangeness is nothing compared to the locals and what she founds is a town crazier then she is and, finally, a place where she can call home.Bleeding Violet is the story of a maladjusted teen that, after dishing out one too many blows to the head, has to deal with the consequences of her actions, as hurtful as it may be to herself and those around her. Dysfunctional families, acts of redemption, and a whole lot of monsters come together wacky little tale that is somewhat disturbing and just a little freaky, but also falls a little flat.

[hrose2931 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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 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 Goodreads)Huh. That was my first reaction when I finished Bleeding Violet. The book was manic, much like the main character Hanna was. But when I thought about it, the whole town was manic. They lived normal lives with monsters around and people disappearing all the time. I'd move as far from there as I possibly could, but people stayed. People even moved to the town to live there!Hanna's father died and she is living with her Aunt Ulla who wants to send her to a mental ward every time Hanna does something the least bit out of the ordinary. She has bipolar disorder but "I prefer manic-depressive"..."It's much more explicit, don't you think? More honest?" she tells her mother, Rosalee. Hanna takes her pills on and off sporadically, which doesn't work. I have a problem with this because I have bipolar disorder and portraying it as simple as taking a pill for a couple of days and then not taking them, really simplifies the disease. (Off soapbox) But the book is not about being having manic depressive disorder. The whole town is manic depressive. I didn't see anything happy there and everything was manic. I kept thinking at the end that maybe this all took place in Hanna's mind, but there was no indication that it did.After Aunt Ulla threatens to lock her away forever, Hanna runs away to her mother who she's never met. Her mother isn't accepting of her and neither are the kids at school because she's a transy, someone who just moved there and hadn't seen anything real. She has to prove herself to both her mother and the kids at school so she can stay. The kids prove easier than her mother.Despite her altering manic and depressive moods, Hanna is surprisingly lucid as to what to do if you can call talking to her dead father's ghost she can see, a carved wooden swan, and a silver swan lucid. She talks to all these things to help her make decisions, save her life, and almost talk her into death.Hanna's impulsiveness gets her into trouble more than once and the last time is the worst yet best. It proves to be the one thing that determines whether she can stay with her mother or sent back to Aunt Ulla.It is truly one of the most bizarre books I've ever read and when I read it again, I'm sure I'll see something new in it and have a different perspective.This is definitely for an older crowd. Suicide and sex are prevalent throughout the book as well as death. They are treated lightly instead of with the attention they deserve. But for the town of Portero, death is such an everyday occurrence, they are desensitized to it. Maybe the author is trying to make a statement there. Or maybe she isn't trying to make any statement at all.

[roguelibrarian · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Plot: Hanna has been diagnosed with many different things over the years; at the moment she’s manic-depressive. She’s fine most of the time but when she doesn’t take her meds she sometimes does bad things: like hitting her aunt in the head with a rolling pin. She runs away to the small town of Portero where her mother lives. But she isn’t welcomed with opened arms and Portero is even stranger than her hallucinations. Here she can see, not only hear, her dead father and the inhabitants have grown used to monster attacks. Hanna is desperate to prove to her mother that she can fit in and survive.This was a truly unique urban fantasy. I wasn’t sure it was an urban fantasy before I started reading it; I picked it up mainly on the recommendation of Cindy Pon (author of Silver Phoenix) because I was looking for some good ya staring women of color. In a market flooded with urban fantasy, finding one that approaches the subject in a new way is a treat. Hanna’s mental disorder frames the narrative in an interesting way for one; at times it is hard to tell what is her delusion and what is simply fantastical. The characters are also very complex and interesting; ultimately the monsters simply exist to move forward the human drama of the piece. Ultimately it is a book about duty, loyalty, family and love and the different ways people understand and live these things.There is romance too but it is not the same tired “fated love” story that I’ve read so often. Hanna’s love affair with Wyatt is bumpy to say the least, in part because both of them have other priorities. Ultimately, the main relationship in this book is the one between Hanna and her mother Rosalee; it is Rosalee’s love she is trying to win and Rosalee’s life she would sacrifice anything (even her relationship with Wyatt) to save.

[nafiza_18 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have read a lot of books in the YA-Fantasy genre and I have met, in my readings, countless protagonists. Some of them memorable and others, not so much. I can sincerely say that until this point, until Bleeding Violet, I hadn’t met anyone as unconventional and as interesting as Hanna. She transcends stereotypes and expectations of what heroines should be and is not afraid to be her own individual self. Many people will have trouble with her character because in Hanna’s world, morality is gray (or perhaps, more appropriately, purple) and she does what she wants to, damn the consequences. Dia Reeves takes us on a wild purple ride in Bleeding Violet. She takes all the set down, trusted and oft-traveled paths in fantasy storytelling and turns them upside down. The dialogue is biting and crisp and the plot has more twists and turns than Lombard Street. I was aware that I was reading from the viewpoint of someone who is not actually sane in the expected sense of the word but Reeves does not use insanity as a viable excuse for Hanna’s individuality. In fact, she makes no excuses for it and is entirely unashamed of it. Reeves shows us Hanna through her skewed logic and at the same time, inserts a raw vulnerability in her by revealing her longing for a mother. Her mother. And when this desire for a response to her need of maternal love and acceptance leads her down a road she would not (perhaps) otherwise travel, my heart twinges. Because who can’t remember doing stupid things just because you want to be accepted, because you want approval? I hope that this is the first of the series because, whether people agree with me or not, Hanna is a far more interesting, far more vibrant heroine that Bella can ever hope to be. So for the originality, both in characterization and plot, and the sheer insanity of it all, I give it five stars.

[callmecayce · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I don't remember why I checked this book out. I can't even remember reading the inside cover. It's a strange novel about a teen who is, well, crazy and ends up in a town that seems to be even crazier than she is. It's clever, at times funny, but mostly odd. If you like teen urban fantasy novels, this might be something you'll like. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either.

[malbebe · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Bleeding Violet is unlike any book you will ever read in your life. This is an extremely crazy book. I'm glad I don't live in Portero, TX!!! I would fear for my life. This book had me reading non-stop from the get go. This unique book will have you captivated, even if you disagree with the character's behavior. Dia Reeves has a wild imagination that she put to the test in Bleeding Violet. I highly recommend this book for fans of paranormal/thrillers/fantasy. I will be looking forward to this debut Author's next book.

[girlonamission · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved main character Hanna in this book despite how nuts she was. From Page one all she wanted was to be loved by her mom. Hanna shows up on her mom's doorstep out of nowhere demanding to be loved and won't leave until she feels it. This town Portero that her mom lives in is full of all types of monsters, ghosts, creatures...pretty much anything you could make up in your head that could hurt you was in this town. I felt like I was watching an episode of Supernatural lol. I never knew what kind of creature would just appear on the next page. I would just love to see a movie for this just to see if all the monsters are how I imagined. This author has such a great imagination that really makes the book different from so many others. I mean how often do you see a biracial main character?? Almost never and I love that that was not the focus of the book but just a minor detail about the character. The best way to describe Hanna is that she's just pretty damn ballsy like her mom. She doesn't care what people think of her, and she's not afraid of didly squat. I love it!Throughout the 2nd half of the book Hanna is trying all kinds of schemes to save her mom from an evil spirit that somehow makes her mom much nicer to her. Unfortunately people get hurt in the process. Alot of other reviews I've caught wind of have described it as "weird". Maybe I'm weird lol but I would like to call it original. There was a little bit of everything here. There were monsters on every page to look out for, romance, mommy- daughter issues, magic, and ghosts. There was something for everyone is this book. Please get out and get this book if you haven't already. It's a little thick but it's filled with actual plot unlike some books that drag out every moment just to make the book longer (I hate that).

[titania86_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hanna Jarvinen is crazy. According to doctors, she is bipolar, but she prefers the term manic depressive. She hallucinates pretty regularly and talks to her dead father daily. She also dresses all in purple in his memory. She decides to go to Portero, Texas to find the mother she has never met. Her mother is less than enthusiastic to see her long lost daughter and states that if Hanna can't fit in, she has to go back to live with her aunt. (Never mind that Hanna knocked her aunt unconscious and wouldn't be welcome even if she came back.) Portero is a lot more weird than Hanna ever suspected. On the first day, she just figures she's hallucinating, but it seems that other people see the visions as well. It turns out that the town is the site of interdimensional travel and large, scary monsters traipsing through all the time. Will she survive this crazy town and be accepted by the community to get through to her mother?I have never seen a young adult book quite like this one. I think the closest to it would be Going Bovine by Libba Bray. I heard about this book from other blogger's reviews and just checked it out at the library on a whim (and because I love the cover). I had no idea what I was getting into. The bizarre town is used to random monster attacks. Everyone wears dark colors as to not attract attention from dangerous creatures. Needless to say, purple clad Hanna was a surprise, but not expected to last long. She was as surprising to me as she was to the townspeople. She is so strange, but full of life. She takes all the weirdness in stride and rises above people's doubts and criticisms. Her thought processes are fascinating and make her one of the most interesting protagonists I have ever read. Hanna is my favorite character in the novel. Her character development goes beyond her mental disorder. Her different layers are revealed as the novel goes on and I couldn't help but be emotionally invested in her and her journey.The narrative features many scenes that would be considered by many to be not appropriate in a book geared towards teens. I loved every single page of this book. The writing really sucked me into the story and held my interest throughout. Personally, I had no problem with the violence, drug use, or scenes of sexuality. All of the reviews I have read that are negative condemn Dia Reeves for not providing a good role model or a good message. I completely disagree. I think those people are more interested in censoring anything that they don't agree with than looking for an interesting story that might speak to them. They seem to focus on individual scenes and not the overarching themes and messages. Hanna is an independent and assertive girl who solved her problems through her own wit, negotiation, and intelligence. There are some very disturbing scenes in the novel, but they aren't gratuitous or put there just for shock value. On the other hand, there are also some very touching, emotional scenes.Bleeding Violet has easily made it into the ranks of my favorite books. I would recommend this to people who aren't squeamish and are looking for a wild ride.

[dasuzuki · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

So I think this is one of the books you will love or just find disturbing. The entire time I read it I didn't really know what to think. It was like reading some sort of demented Alice in Wonderland story. Hanna struck me as being a psychopath and although parts of her life make you want to feel sorry for her most of me wanted to just avoid her if at all possible. All the characters were interesting and also a little demented so they also leave you with a disconcerted feeling as does Hanna's romance with Wyatt. Honestly it's hard to write this because I can't say it was a bad book but definitely not something to my tastes. If you are looking for something different from your typical vampire/werewolf story this is certainly one option.