In the new Republic of Texas, guns are compulsory and nothing is forgiven. Blue Running is a gripping coming-of-age thriller for fans of Station Eleven and Thelma and Louise.
Fourteen-year-old Bluebonnet Andrews is on the run across the Republic of Texas. An accident with a gun killed her best friend but everyone in the town of Blessing thinks it was murder. Even her father – the town’s drunken deputy – believes she did it. Now, she has no choice but to run. In Texas, murder is punishable by death.
There’s no one to help her. Her father is incapable and her mother left the state on the last flight to America before the secession. Blue doesn’t know where she is but she’s determined to track her down. First she has to get across the lawless Republic and over the wall that keeps everyone in.
On the road she meets Jet, a pregnant young woman of Latin American heritage. Jet is secretive about her past but she’s just as determined as Blue to get out of Texas before she’s caught and arrested. Together, the two form an unlikely kinship as they make their way past marauding motorcycle gangs, the ever watchful Texas Rangers, and armed strangers intent on abducting them – or worse. When Blue and Jet finally reach the wall, will they be able to cross the border, or will they be shot down in cold blood like the thousands who have gone before them?
Some things are worth dying for.
Blue Running pulls no punches. A fast-paced, page-turning, chilling book which looks unflinchingly at what the future could hold.
A novel for both adults and young adults, Blue Running is gripping and addictive from the first page. Readers will cheer for Blue and Jet in their pell-mell rush for freedom.
My thoughts: in the dystopian Texas Republic guns rule everything, even children are armed. Blue is involved in a horrifying accident and framed as a killer. She leaves to save her own life. Jet is also on the run, but because her uncle is an abusive, rapist gangster and she needs to save her own life too.
As they travel across the vast state to the border wall and freedom, their newly forged bond keeps them together and safe in the face of threats of violence and the Ranger in pursuit of them.
A powerful and moving story about friendship, found family and why we have to continue to stand against this sort of terrible future.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 
Blue Running – Wow!! This book is amazing. I couldn’t put it down. Read it in one long sitting. A thrilling journey of two young strong females trying to escape the lawless independent Republic of Texas in an alternate timeline where Texas has seceded from the United States. This Republic has lawless gangs reeking havoc and citizens are required to carry guns to protect themselves. Bluebonnet Andrews through unexpected circumstances has to escape the Republic and this journey through the lawless gangs, dishonest authorities, evil citizens and more. A captivating story.
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