The book "California Blue" by David Klass was about a high school junior named John Rodgers who has a passion for nature and in particular moths and butterflies. John ends up finding a new species of butterfly in the community logging forest in his hometown of Kiowa. This poses a problem for his logging community as it threatens to destroy their way and means of life. John ends up confiding in his teacher, Miss Merrill, whom he has a crush on and they decide to see what a local college professor has to say. In a town meeting the towns people become outraged and are not at all willing to cooperate with the professor. This is also when the town finds out John is the one who brought about this whole situation. John not only struggles with the town's outrage at the discovery but also has to deal with his dying father's constant disappointment and aggressiveness. His father (who has been a mill worker his whole life) and siblings have made their dad proud through their athletic achievements but John disappoints his dad with no athletic abilities besides track which his father chooses to deny it as a "sport". Eventually John runs away to escape the threats posed to him from his friends and community and finds comfort from his science teacher who convinces him to go back to his family.

I chose to read this book in hopes of discovering an appropriate "environmental issues" fiction book to eventually have my future middle/high school science class read. I think this book fit well with what I was looking for. The book gave great view points and feelings by the protagonist, John. The book outlined the logging communities' dynamics and lifestyles, the beauty of ancient forests that have been around for centuries, the diversity and need for preservation, and the struggles associated with acting on one's own beliefs. I think this book would really resonate with young readers and get them thinking about the pros and cons associated with acting to preserve endangered species. It would also connect to kids who feel disconnected from either their families or communities. It might encourage them to become part of things that are bigger than their selves and encourage them to stand up for what they believe. This book just gives an example of one of the many environmental issues in the world today. It would be a great starter for a lesson on environmental issues and a teacher could use this to organize a debate for the classroom.

I did have several problems with the book however. I'm not sure how I feel about the inappropriate relationship John has with his science teacher including dancing with her and staying at her place, the alcohol Miss Merrill offers him, and the group of John's friends that were smoking pot before the town meeting mentioned in the book. I felt it a bit troubling that his teacher took it so lightly and readily made him a rum and coke and let him sleep in her bed. However, I feel these inappropriate aspects are not enough to outweigh the benefits that can be gained for young adults reading this. As mentioned before there are so many topics and discussions that can be incorporated into a science class after and during reading this book. The book was not the most adventurous or excited but it was very well written and pleasurable to read. It had great descriptions of the forest and what it meant to John and Dr. Eggleson. Although a bit weighted towards to the environmental side of things it still showed how the other side felt and what they all had to deal with. So overall, I feel this book was a decent and enjoyable read that raised many environmental discussions in my mind.

This book takes place in a small town that is predominantly employed the logging business. John, the main character of the story stumbles upon many pupae of some unknown species of butterfly; he collects a sample and waits for it to hatch. Additionally, John’s father is also diagnosed with cancer. Throughout the book John struggles with multiple issues: his father’s cancer, self-confidence struggles, strained family relationships, a taboo-like crush, and one of the biggest issues of employment vs. conservation. The book is through the eyes and thoughts of John, which led me to feeling like I could connect easier to John even though I personally have not had the same issues he has had. Personally, I found the reading to be incredibly easy to understand, a fast read, and enticing to myself. I would recommend this book to others.

My purpose for reading this book was to determine possible applications of “California Blue” as a required reading for a high school science classroom. There are definitely ties into the environment; conservatism is one of the biggest issues of the book. As a future environmental science educator I really think I could tie this book into lesson plans. The Protagonist, John does a great job of expressing his concern in conservatism v employment; furthermore, the town forum provides an excellent example of learning about each side of a debate. I think a possible application of this book in the classroom could allow for an introduction to issues about the environment today. Additionally, when John goes about trying to identify the scientific method he goes off of specific characteristics, very similar to that of a dichotomous key. I could also see building some type of lesson around the use of a dichotomous key and relating it back to the Butterflies in the book.

As mentioned above I enjoyed the book. However, there are few areas that where concerning to me such as the inappropriate behavior between his teacher Miss Merrill and John, specifically towards the end of the book which is by far the most inappropriate – the beginning of the book is not so much inappropriate as more creepy to a possible extent. Additionally, there is use of Weed and underage drinking in the book. The drug use and underage drinking is one of the biggest concerns I would have about using this book in the classroom with high school students.

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