Read A F*cking Book GIVEAWAY: Win a Copy of “Blue Is The Warmest Color”

Okay, queermos. You’ll notice we at Autostraddle LOVE comics. From Hansen’s webcomic discovery to Mey’s Drawn to Comics column to interviewing Erika Moen. All in all, we heart graphic storytelling big time. And we know y’all do too! So we want to hook two commenters up with copies of Julie Maroh’s graphic novel, Blue is the Warmest Color.

I’ll be discussing this book super soon — don’t you want to read along with me? Don’t you want to post the best, most knowing and informed comments on that discussion, thus elevating a simple review into a symphony of literary criticism and audience participation? Because I want that. I want that for you and I want that for me.

This graphic novel has been making quite the buzz lately, as it’s been recently adapted into a movie (en français, “La Vie d’Adèle”) — a movie that’s totally now playing in select theatres after doing super well at Cannes (won the Palme d’Or), and you probs want to go see that, too. (Kate will be reviewing the film soon!) The story is about Adèle, “a passionate young woman who has a yearning she doesn’t quite understand until a chance encounter with the blue-haired Emma ignites a flame and brings her to life.” And let me tell you, I am REALLY PUMPED TO READ IT/SEE IT.

via Blue is the Warmest Color

Look at how gorgeous this art is! via Blue is the Warmest Color

So how do you win this thang? Simply leave a comment on this post by midnight on Halloween (that’s tomorrow, and also technically 12 am November 1st) and we’ll throw the number of comments into a random number picker. We’ll then email you (don’t worry, we can see your email, you don’t have to put that in the comment) to let you know if you’re one of the two lovely humans selected and get your mailing address. You can comment re: anything, but you’ll win bonus points in my heart if you link to a picture of yourself with blue hair.

Eeeeeeeeee! via The Daily Beast

Eeeeeeeeee! via The Daily Beast

On the off chance you don’t win, you can grab a copy of Blue Is The Warmest Color right here. And go see the movie!

Update: the winners of the books are Commenter #94, Theresa, and Commenter #161, Ariel! You’ll be seeing us in your inbox soon to get your deets! Congrats!

Giveaways are not open to employees of Autostraddle.com or their immediate family/kittens.

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

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A.E. Osworth

A.E. Osworth is part-time Faculty at The New School, where they teach undergraduates the art of digital storytelling. Their novel, We Are Watching Eliza Bright, about a game developer dealing with harassment (and narrated collectively by a fictional subreddit), is forthcoming from Grand Central Publishing (April 2021) and is available for pre-order now. They have an eight-year freelancing career and you can find their work on Autostraddle (where they used to be the Geekery Editor), Guernica, Quartz, Electric Lit, Paper Darts, Mashable, and drDoctor, among others.

A.E. has written 542 articles for us.

278 Comments

  2. Commenting! Because whilst I have heard not-so-positive things about the film, I’ve encountered naught but raving as regards the book.

  7. feeling really dumb for not seeing this at TIFF in September. also feeling like I really want to have blue hair now.

  12. Me, me! (And alas, the only photos of my blue hair are circa 1990 and in a scrapbook in my parents’ basement far, far away.)

  13. I do not have blue hair or a blue wig but when I went to see it there were two people at the theater with blue wigs, and I thought that was just marvelous.

    Dear lesbian jesus, would like to win book very much, plz n thx.

  16. Oh I’m still waiting for the movie to finally come to Portugal! Would be amazing if I could have the book to sweeten the waiting time a bit…

  21. So I’ve read the book AND seen the movie (my friend’s wife plays Emma’s ex girlfriend). To be honest the book’s story is better than the movie (there’s more to it), but despite all the bad press surrounding the movie, I loved it. Having an inside line on what went down on set makes it a bit more interesting, also troubling, but there’s no denying that Lea and Adele’s performances are nothing short of amazing, even if they weren’t so much acting as being pushed to the brink of emotional hysteria by the director Abdellatif Kechiche.

    • i agree, comparing storylines for movie vs book, book wins hands down, but the movie is still really good!

  22. I saw the movie last night and had to take a walk through the deserted streets of lower-west Manhattan afterwards. Just me and my feelings, going for a stroll. Within the three-hour run time there was not one false moment. Amazing acting and intimate scenes — and I’m not just referring to the well-publicized sex. (It’s integral to the story and conveys the discovery, excitement, and need felt by the main character in her first real relationship.)

    I agree with the reviewer who wrote that “If you don’t see yourself in its depiction of intense emotion I both envy and pity you.” It’s an achingly real depiction of lust, loss, and longing.

  28. There once was a grrrl who loved books
    be they hard-copy, Kindle, or Nook.
    Since she wanted one free
    she left a comment with glee
    though she lacked the desired blue-haired looks.

  39. Alright, alright. I’ll finally sign up for an account because YOU BEST BELIEVE I HAD BLUE HAIR! (not to mention I really want to read this!)

    Prepare your eyes for a horrible webcam photo from years gone by…

  42. i was just talking to my followers on tumblr about this! i really really want to read the book, and i’ve been looking forward to the film!

  45. no blue hair to show here, but this is the first i’ve heard of the book and i’d love to win a copy. as someone who had a hard time understanding that “yearning” at first, i think it probably is an awesome story.

  46. Saw the movie yesterday and it was Ah-mazing. I highly recommend! Would love to read the book. Hit me!

  48. Want! I don’t have blue hair, but after coming home from A-Camp I immediately got a super-queermo sidecut. Does that count? :)

  52. OMG comics! Queers! Free comics about queers!

    I have not had blue hair, sadly, but did do a teal underlayer thing a few months back, and green streaks back in high school, which I’m convinced made me lose a Rotary Club scholarship competition (close minded conservative suburbanites…grrrrr….).

  53. I read a critique yesterday that convinced me I must read the book and see the film ASAP!!

    (Sorry, no blue hair here, booooo)

  54. I just finished the last book in my house, and, while reading World War Z for the seventh time is pretty okay to me, I think this book would be a great new something to read.
    Indeed.

  55. Yay! The movie version = date night with my wife this Friday, and I will need a copy of the book to compare it to.

    So glad Kate is doing the movie review!

  60. I follow someone on Tumblr who continuously posts about Lea Seydoux and the movie, and now Autostraddle… soooo I suppose I should see it! I also didn’t know it was based on a graphic novel, which increases my interest by about 50x.

  63. Man, I tried to buy the Kindle edition in French and Amazon won’t let me do it! Maybe a print edition is better anyway…

  65. The book and the film are different stories with a few similarities. The book has more of an emotional impact and I think the story is a lot better.

    I feel really uncomfortable about the film after learning about the verbal abuse that took place on the film set on the part of the director. It sounded like the director traumatized those women. There’s a reason that the acting was so ‘real’ — it’s because the actors were suffering in real life. The physical scenes, the crying — all of that was because the actors were in actual pain, whether physical or emotional. It sounds like a truly hostile work environment.

  72. I do not have blue hair, but once upon a time almost exactly a year ago I had pink hair and an obsession with photo filters, if that counts.

  76. I would so much rather read the comic than see the film, based on comments by the author of the comic and the actresses. Fingers, arms, eyes, and legs crossed that I win the book!

  79. When I heard they were sporting the longest sex scene in most movies, My first thought was that they were trying to one-up the “Elena Undone” kissing scene XD

  82. ahhh I’d love to have the graphic novel!

    I never had my hair painted, but in high school I toyed with the idea of painting it blue, and even had the trouble of (trying to) photoshop it.

    So I give you fake blue haired me from 7 years ago:

  83. Blue hair? That’s easy. Not only does my avatar include me with blue hair, but there’s also this:

    Accidental anime bedhead for the win!

  84. I’m skipping the movie because I don’t like when directors abuse their actors, but I’d love to read the graphic novel.

  85. I used to have purple hair, does that count? Although I can’t find any pictures right meow… huh.

  86. Saw the trailer and I just have to see this film. Soon. Yesterday. Book is even better.

    Oh, and for this I made my very first selfie. I hate selfies. Never know where to look. But the blue hair kind of takes away my awkwardness. Or at least part of it. Oh, right, link.

    Blue and red. But blue beats red. Always <3

  87. I had blue-ish hair forever ago, but it faded super fast because curly hair is butts when it comes to dyeing. Anyway, I’m super into graphic novels and queer stuff so a graphic novel with queer stuff is so far up my alley it’s crazy.

  90. Yes, please.

    I’ve never had blue hair, although hairdressers have advised me to go blue-black (my hair is already pretty black).

  93. I had blue for a bit, but can’t find a good picture of it. My avatar has my green streaks, though!

  97. I saw the film last night (for International Meet Up Week in NYC) and cannot stop thinking about it! The intimacy of the film went far beyond the sex scenes. And it was just so real and raw! I felt like I had LIVED the whole relationship.

    I would love to read the graphic novel and get even more out of the story.

  100. I love the drawings. Would love to see the film. And see just how ‘graphic’ and controversial the sex scenes are. Would love to read the graphic novel too.

  101. I LOVE comics! I totally want this! And now that you’ve given me the idea, I think I want to dye my hair blue too! lol

  103. Really looking forward to this movie. Just hope it doesn’t have some ridiculous, tragic ending. Didn’t even know it was a graphic novel, but I’d love to read that, too. <3

  105. I’m looking forward to when I can see the movie (probably not for a while), but I would REALLY love to read the book! Sadly, I’ve never had blue hair, but who knows what the future may hold?

  107. Oh I really hope I can win this because I tried to see Blue is the Gayest Color on Saturday but they were having a problem with the lenses and couldn’t pick one that wouldn’t cut off the subtitles, so I sat in the theatre for an hour watching the same three minutes over and over again, trying to use my one year of French to determine what they were saying, while the guys in the booth fiddled with the projector.

    I never got to see the movie. So I am seriously lacking in blue haired lesbians right now.

  108. I read about the movie but I didn’t know that it was based off a book. So this is really cool. I’ve been wanting to start reading(books) again. So winning these books would be a nice way to kick that off. I have a little fear that if I win it will go into my spam and I’ll never find it.

  111. I dyed my hair blue when i was 18… Which shocked my family at my grandmother’s funeral, and made me feel like a badass.
    But that was 11 years ago and i have no pictures to show for it :-/ sorry ali.

  119. I had blue streaks in my hair as one of the witches in Macbeth, but my aversion to cameras means I have zero photographic evidence. Alas.
    I’m dying to see the movie, but it doesn’t seem to be coming near the crushing heteronormativity of Jacksonville, FL. Thanks, patriarchy. Reading the graphic novel would add a very welcome dose of queer to my daily life. Also, Autostraddle kicks ass. Thanks for creating a corner of the Internet for us to be aggressively ourselves.

  124. No blue hair here. However, I heard a review on NPR of the movie and that made me want to read the graphic novel.

  127. I’ve been dogging my library to get this for a while! If I weren’t a starving student, I’d buy it myself.

  135. My blue hairdye is blueberry scented. I wore it to camp (repping team blue!) but it showed up as purple due to the red hair underneath.

  137. Went allll the way to midtown today to see the movie, but then realized it was 20 dollars and had to give up.
    A free book would fix everything!

  139. YES. Can’t throw down $20 for the ticket in Midtown, but I’ll find a way to read it/see it eventually.

  140. I’ve been contemplating buying the graphic novel for a while now, but just haven’t had the chance. The film is going to be showing where I live sometime next month. I’m definitely planning on going to see it.

    I wish I had blue hair. I’ve actually been thinking quite a bit recently about dyeing my hair blue.

    I’ve wanted blue hair since I was a kid, but my mom would never let me dye it. I originally wanted rainbow hair, but I figured if I chose just one color, I would have a better chance of actually getting to dye it. So of course I chose blue, since it’s my favorite color.

    Next time I get a haircut though, I am dyeing my hair blue.

  145. I wish I could send this to my teenage self. I recently read the graphic novel in spanish and would love to add the english translation to my collection.

  150. I’ve had this book in my Amazon wishlist for ages while I try to save a little spare cash. I really need to see the film too. I wish all art ever was free.

  154. Seeing the movie tonight with one of my A-Camp cabin mates. So excited!!

    Also, I briefly had blue hair during my sixth grade spring break. Unfortunately, there is no photographic proof. :(

  157. I love graphic novels so MUCH! Discovering new ones makes me really happy. I want to read it so bad.

  158. Enter meeeee! I saw a couple of pages of this excerpted in Diva, and oh my goodness I want to read the whole thing.

    Shitty webcam photo of blue hair:

    That’s from last time I dyed it blue, but I re-dyed it yesterday so its blue again. Blue hair feels more natural than my natural hair colour by this point.

  159. This is me with blue hair though the years…

    As an angsty 16 year old:

    About 2 years ago, while I was living at a Katimavik house and couldn’t afford to redye my formerly royal blue locks:

    Last year just before I shaved my head:

    Right now!

  164. I had blue hair in seventh grade? I may have been trying to impress a dark and mysterious eighth grade girl who i just REALLY WANTED TO GET TO KNOW.

  165. All of the queer forces in my life are aligning. Yesterday, I saw an article about this in Diva, then Tegan and Sara tweeted about it and now AS are giving away copies. Clearly this is a story I need in my life!

  166. ~*comment*~
    I didn’t know the film was based on a novel, let alone a graphic one. Excited to read it.
    *bounces* I had blue and pink tips at one point!

  170. Yes – definitely commenting :) Also…if anyone in the Boston area wants to see this, we should definitely do that.

  177. How lovely! I actually didn’t know it was a graphic novel until I saw this post. Oops. I am absolutely adding it to my to-read pile.

  179. I’ve been loving my blue hair for 2 years now (with a small break for purple last winter) can’t wait to read this book!

  181. Oooh! I could use another book to keep my other comics company. I’m sure it would fit in well with Batwoman and Dykes To Watch Out For.

  183. Queer related graphic novels are my life.

    I can’t wait to read this, add it to my collection, and share it with the GSA my partner co-leads at the high school they work at. YES PLEASE!!!

  185. In lieu of a photo of myself with blue hair (which I do not have, unfortunately), I’m submitting this photo of Katy Perry for your consideration:

  186. If I tried to fit one more book onto my bookshelf it would explode, and I’d be bathed in a beautiful eruption of pages and knowledge and queerness. This is a thing that needs to happen.

  192. I don’t know how good I’ll look with blue hair, but I will certainly try if I win this book. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKS.
    Eh, either way I will read THIS fxckin book.

  193. I’m in!

    I’m kind of bummed that I don’t have any pictures of me back when I had blue hair. But I can’t stand pictures of myself. Or looking in the mirror. My body hatred is slightly dampened when I don’t actually look at it.

    But I miss my blue hair. That was the one thing I ever liked about myself.

  196. When I was a kid I always wanted blue hair but could never get it. Maybe I’ll embrace the freedom of adulthood by going for it.

  201. Oh, how I wish I had blue hair. I tried once, but it didn’t stick for more than a day.
    Also, I want this book. I’ll be buying it if I don’t win.
    Also, I want to see this movie.

  202. I’m slacking on working on my graphic novel final by reading AS. Super excited to read this but would be even nicer to win it.

  211. Alas, I do not have blue hair to show off, however I had the amazing opportunity to see the movie at a private screening for Sundance and it was phenomenal. I really wish I had known about the book before the film came out, but now I really want to read this great story.

  213. I waited so long for the English version to come out and it’s been at the top of my Christmas list since its release. I’m so excited it’s revolting.

  216. I always fantasized with having my hair blue, but I have been too much of a good catholic girl my whole life… Now it would be just too much: I am one of the few white people of the village I live in; I already stand out waaaaaaaay more than I would like to.

  217. I just came across another graphic novel with a lesbian story line called Dora, but I won’t let myself go back and buy it until I’ve finished the novel I just bought (TransAtlantic, highly recommended though not gay :P). Anyone read it?

  218. i very rarely read comics (despite the geek cred), but thank you for making me aware – because from these photies, i love the artwork so much! i might just get the book for teh pretty.

  219. I don’t have blue hair but have accidentally said ‘blue hair, brown eyes’ when describing myself before.

  220. Pshyeah, free books are awesome. I used to have blue hair, among many other colours. I just finished reading a book featuring a badass heroine with blue hair (check out Daughter of Smoke and Bone if you haven’t already). I’m also re-dying a friend’s hair blue this Sunday.

    …aaaaaaand somehow I can’t figure out how to post the picture of my old dyejob. Failing :/

  227. This giveaway is eerily relevant to my life right now. Currently falling for a girl (for the first time!). Her name is Emma! She doesn’t have blue hair, but she has the bluest eyes. Think I’m gonna have to read this book either way :)

  228. I would love to read this. My first hair coloring experiment was turquoise blue. Even my mom liked it. ;)

  231. Please, I need to read some love-thing right now, I’ve been dumped. If you want to see me in blue hair, you’re gonna have to wait several weeks ’till I get some cash.

  235. I want to read this book so badly and I want to dye my hair again! I haven’t read any queer literature in so long because my ereader broke, sad days.

  236. I HAD BLUE HAIR ONCE but I don’t think there are any good pics because it washed out really fast. Stupid hair.

    anyway I am going to see the movie and I would like this book.

  237. I’m going to see the movie this weekend with a friend. Very excited (and very curious for the book)!

  238. I’m really curious about the book, since the movie was odd (the machism in the role division between Adele and Emma!)

  241. Can’t wait to see it (hopefully by giveaway Autostraddle copy)! read so many incredible things about this film. And I’m beginning a serious hard copy collection of queer girl films to keep me company in heteronormative Delhi that this would be a serious contribution to.

  246. this book looks gorgeous! the world needs more beautiful lesbian comics. (and so does my personal collection, Bwahaha!)

  247. I’ve just done a bit of crazy mental calculation and yes! I think it’s still before midnight in the USA! All the parts of the USA. (because you guys have several time zones don’t you?)

    I don’t have blue hair, sadly. I’ve had a long and emotional relationship with the fact that I don’t have blue hair which I desperately wanted as a teenager. My hair is very, very dark and weirdly dye resistant. Even when I tried to get professional help with this my hairdresser’s response was ‘Eh.. maybe you could put a hint of red in it? The amount of bleach we’d need to turn it blue will actually turn you bald, sorry’. I still, many years later, have the bottle of blue dye in my bedroom (it probably would do worse than turn me bald after all these years actually). My dad went grey early (around the age I currently am) so I’m waiting for the grey (light and therefore dyable) hairs to appear in force and then, finally then, I will have the blue hair.

    I did base my hair cut on a comic book character though, Tatsuki Arisawa from Bleach. Decided the minute I first stumbled across the book at 14, though I was in first year of college before I had the courage (and money) to get it all cut off.

    The final part of my boring-non-blue-haired pitch for this book is that if you send it my way I hereby pledge to review it for the main queer ladies blog here in Ireland (Gaelick), as though we are all members of the same strange but wonderful transatlantic blog based queer book club. Just a thought!

  254. We are all lovely humans, but I wanna be one of THE lovely humans! Either way this is exciting and I wanna read.

  258. Hello! After reading this site for a few years now I finally made an account! I cannot wait to see this movie.

  259. It’s 2215 where I am, so here’s hoping it is still before midnight on hallows eve, where you are! :)

  265. This a such a great motivator. I heard a little about the movie on NPR. Too busy to follow up. Then I see this on Autostraddle with two illustrations from the book. So very eye catching! And add the midnight Halloween deadline. It made me finally register and create a login, and will make me try to find a place to watch the movie this weekend. And hoping to read the lovely book too…. :)

  268. Yes yes yes yes, please please please! The movie was lovely, I didn’t find the sex scene unrealistic, and YO, Lea Seydoux is ridiculously gorgeous. I could die. I’d love to read the book as an actual book, as well, so if I win, I will love all y’all foreva.

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