BLUE SPARK SISTERS

Author: Chrissie Glazebrook
Published By: Arrow Books 2003, United Kingdom
The reason I picked up this book from the shelf in the library after picking up a few other classics was because it seemed like a chick lit by reading the storyline of the back flap and would hence do good for light reading (read: reading done without having to consult the dictionary, so unlike the reading of a classic, where at least 5 words per sentence have to be looked up in a dictionary!).But as I delved deeper into the novel, I realized the true meaning of the phrase ‘Never judge a book by its cover’ (or in this case, by the mini-review on its back flap!).Yes, a female reader can relate to the protagonist more than the male reader, but its not a total chick lit like, say, Princess Diaries, which only a girl can relate to, since it is all about the feelings of Mia Thermopolis….but, coming back to this book, it can be read by male and female readers alike.
Now, coming to the plot of the novel. The story starts when 16 year old, perpetually-yellow latex miniskirt-and black-shirt and tights clad Rowena Vincent escapes from her Newcastle home to Dublin, Ireland, in order to search for her father, who deserted her. The catch (or one of the initial catches??) in the seemingly simple story? She has a photograph of three men, among whom one is her dad, and she doesn’t know which one he is!! To top it all, she suffers from some sort of a personality disorder( or was it an overdose of Vodka??) which makes her stutter, or talk nonsensically, or occasionally, totally puke out at, well, lets say, not the best of times or occasions. She is escorted all the way to Dublin by Herald ‘Hefty’O’Hara (who lives up to his name of Hefty!),believed to be this huge ‘ Big Man’ of Newcastle in every sense of the phrase. He totally takes good care of her, giving her free accommodation and stuff ,and thus helps her find a friend in the waitress of the Hotel, Teresa‘ Texy’ Maguire. But she, who thinks that Hefty is in this huge flesh trade gang, flees from him too, this time accompanied by Texy, who becomes her best friend to Ballyloony, somewhere in rural Ireland. She befriends the barman of the hotel, Matty, who has the hots for Texy and another local ‘Ballyloonite’ as he may be called, Joe.She and Texy visit Hefty’s aunt on Hefty’s insistence (much to Rowena’s reluctance) and Texy’s grandpa, Bobbo, who sees to have taken a liking for Rowena and they also visit a nunvent, where Rowena has one of her PD fits again, and claims to see her father within the clouds in the sky!!!!
However one day, stumbling upon the fact that there was no money with either her or Texy, Rowena decides to go job-hunting. Upon contemplation (read: drooling on the bed with some vodka in her head!) she decides to go to the Nunvent, where, despite her attire, she is accepted. She starts working for Enda in the Cleanliness Deptt. of the Nunvent. The nuns began to look upon her as a reincarnation of St.Vincenza of Verona ,due to their seemingly striking point of view,not to mention the above PD fits of seeing her father( which the nuns mistake as to seeing their father,Jesus Christ!),and some other incidents,which some how make Rowena’s antics get divine interpretations from one and all.Now comes the real twist of it all:She is to act as St.Vicenza at the bicentenary( pronounced as bison teenery by Rowena throughout!!) of St.Vicenza,which coincides on Rowena’s birthday…and the saint was supposedly stoned to death!!With all these freakish events going around in her life,how will she find her dad????Will she even remain alive at the end of it all???And why are the nuns called ‘ The Blue Spark Sisters’??
This book is funny,upto the extent of hysterisis at some points.The style of writing is extremely informal,somewhat like that of writing a personal diary.Rowena possesses all the ingredients of a funny heroine-confusion,delirium and the ( not so)occasional display of madness and hatred for all things ‘ girly’ , something, I am sure which all girls have faced in their teens ( and in some cases,pre teens!) …all in all,which makes her a very lovable heroine……and also the fact that she finds her Mr.Perfect in Joe, a guy who has one blue eye and the one brown one on a partly scarred face shatters our image of the ideal guy having these huge biceps and looks to kill for….it shows that even Rowena, for all her foolhardiness, has her heart in the right place, and chooses a guy who has a heart, instead of a heartless, insensitive hunk!! The story ends with Rowena having found her true home and family----in the most (un)likeliest of places!!