Blue Gold
Elizabeth
Stewart
Published by
Annick press
Copyright ©
2014
Review by Anthony Kendrick
Rarely if
ever do we think about where our cell phones come from. All we know is that
they cost us hundreds of dollars and that we have to have a new one every year
so that we can take amazing selfies, communicate on the newest social app, and
text our friends 50 times a day rather than just talking to them like human
beings. In "Blue Gold" Elizabeth Stewart tells a socially conscious story that will make
you think just a little more the next time you pick up your cell phone.
“Blue Gold”
is the story of three girls who live in three very different worlds. Each girl’s
story is told concurrently, and what we find is that what connects them
together is a simple mineral, commonly known as Blue Gold, that in one form or
another causes more pain and suffering than it is truly worth.
Fiona lives
in Vancouver, Canada. After a party where she has gotten a little inebriated,
Fiona goes home and waits for her boyfriend to text her. When he does she takes
a selfie that she quickly regrets, especially after she realizes that she has
lost her cell phone.
Sylvie and
her family live in a Tanzanian refugee camp after having fled from their home
in the Congo where there is ongoing fighting over Columbite-Tantalite Ore. She
longs to leave the camp which is almost as dangerous as her homeland, but a
local warlord has a different idea for Sylvie’s future and if she doesn’t agree
her family and many others may die.
Laiping
moves from rural China to the city of Shenzhen in order to find work at the factories
that produce cell phones and other high powered technologies. Her cousin, who
already works in Shenzhen, made her lifestyle seem very youthful and glamorous,
but Laiping finds out quickly that the life of a factory worker is lonely and
difficult. The working conditions and treatment of employees are often unfair
and she learns that she can’t trust anyone.
“Blue Gold”
is a book that all teenagers should read. Because of technology we live in a
very global world, however so many people still have a narrow world view, and
an extreme lack of understanding, or interest, in what life is like in other
countries. In addition many students are being given the reigns of a powerful
technology, but not being given enough training on how to use it safely. “Blue
Gold” is a work of fiction only in that the named characters don’t exist,
however the situations presented are very real. I appreciate though, that the
author wasn’t writing this as a statement against cell phone use and
production. She recognizes that the problems that she presents in this book are
much more complex than that. She has, however, effectively told a great story
that should make the reader think. Among the things that teens might ask themselves
is: How can I become a more responsible consumer? And How can I be a wiser user
of technology?
As for the
writing itself, the three main characters were very captivating. Through the
majority of the book I was wondering how or if these three stories would
connect. Though I would have liked a little more in this vein, I was very happy
that Stewart found a way to make personal connections, almost like playing six
degrees of separation, with her three protagonists. While these three stories
would have been profoundly good standing alone next to each other, those connections
made this novel a bit more cohesive which made the reading all the more
satisfying at the end. This is a great socially conscious book that I highly recommend
for students in 8th grade and up.
