Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
The trope doesn't mean Ladette, it means "character tells a woman she's not like other girls"
Deleted line(s) 72 (click to see context) :
* NotLikeOtherGirls: Nicki Valentine swears, fights, drinks, and plays poker. She’s mechanically inclined and works to repair her parents’ dishwasher. As a child, she fearlessly handles a snake and remains unperturbed when a spider crawls on her. She dresses in jeans and t-shirts, tennis shoes or boots, and wears a leather jacket. In fact, when she goes on her date with Andy Fosse, she has to borrow a nice dress from her co-worker, Sheila, and re-acquaint herself with walking in heels.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Dewicked trope
Changed line(s) 33 (click to see context) from:
* CombatPragmatist: Finding herself outnumbered and facing-off against men, Nicki has no scruples against using any and every tactic at her disposal in a fight, especially [[WeaponOfChoice her straight razor]].
to:
* CombatPragmatist: Finding herself outnumbered and facing-off against men, Nicki has no scruples against using any and every tactic at her disposal in a fight, especially [[WeaponOfChoice her straight razor]].razor.
Changed line(s) 77,78 (click to see context) from:
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Bobby James’ mayoral campaign posters are all over town.
* WeaponOfChoice: Nicki’s late grandfather’s ivory handled straight razor.
* WeaponOfChoice: Nicki’s late grandfather’s ivory handled straight razor.
to:
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Bobby James’ mayoral campaign posters are all over town.
* WeaponOfChoice: Nicki’s late grandfather’s ivory handled straight razor.town.
* WeaponOfChoice: Nicki’s late grandfather’s ivory handled straight razor.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 35,40 (click to see context) from:
* CompleteMonster:
** Averted for Bette Valentine, Nicki’s mother. Though she is relentlessly cruel to her daughter, Bette does help Nicki in her most desperate time of need. Ultimately, Nicki understands that her mother is [[MisplacedRetribution acting]] out of anger, hurt, and betrayal.
** Ellis Rey. Although at first he seems to be merely an insufferable jerkass, he reveals himself as an utter sociopath [[spoiler: after trapping Nicki inside his house where he plans to feature her as the nonconsensual center of an impromptu gangbang video]].
** Bobby James Sounder. Affluent and over-privileged, Bobby James uses his looks, charm, and social clout and connections to [[ItsAllAboutMe do and get whatever he wants]] with no apparent consequences. Nicki hears at least one story of a former girlfriend he treated abysmally, and, later, finds out he nearly came to blows with a man whose girlfriend he’s after.
** Quinn’s mother turns out to be a pretty nasty piece of work offscreen.
* [[spoiler:BrotherSisterIncest: Nicki and Quinn are related through their father.]]
** Averted for Bette Valentine, Nicki’s mother. Though she is relentlessly cruel to her daughter, Bette does help Nicki in her most desperate time of need. Ultimately, Nicki understands that her mother is [[MisplacedRetribution acting]] out of anger, hurt, and betrayal.
** Ellis Rey. Although at first he seems to be merely an insufferable jerkass, he reveals himself as an utter sociopath [[spoiler: after trapping Nicki inside his house where he plans to feature her as the nonconsensual center of an impromptu gangbang video]].
** Bobby James Sounder. Affluent and over-privileged, Bobby James uses his looks, charm, and social clout and connections to [[ItsAllAboutMe do and get whatever he wants]] with no apparent consequences. Nicki hears at least one story of a former girlfriend he treated abysmally, and, later, finds out he nearly came to blows with a man whose girlfriend he’s after.
** Quinn’s mother turns out to be a pretty nasty piece of work offscreen.
* [[spoiler:BrotherSisterIncest: Nicki and Quinn are related through their father.]]
to:
* CompleteMonster:
** Averted for Bette Valentine, Nicki’s mother. Though she is relentlessly cruel to her daughter, Bette does help Nicki in her most desperate time of need. Ultimately, Nicki understands that her mother is [[MisplacedRetribution acting]] out of anger, hurt, and betrayal.
** Ellis Rey. Although at first he seems to be merely an insufferable jerkass, he reveals himself as an utter sociopath [[spoiler: after trapping Nicki inside his house where he plans to feature her as the nonconsensual center of an impromptu gangbang video]].
** Bobby James Sounder. Affluent and over-privileged, Bobby James uses his looks, charm, and social clout and connections to [[ItsAllAboutMe do and get whatever he wants]] with no apparent consequences. Nicki hears at least one story of a former girlfriend he treated abysmally, and, later, finds out he nearly came to blows with a man whose girlfriend he’s after.
** Quinn’s mother turns out to be a pretty nasty piece of work offscreen.
* [[spoiler:BrotherSisterIncest: NickiBrotherSisterIncest: [[spoiler:Nicki and Quinn are related through their father.]]
** Averted for Bette Valentine, Nicki’s mother. Though she is relentlessly cruel to her daughter, Bette does help Nicki in her most desperate time of need. Ultimately, Nicki understands that her mother is [[MisplacedRetribution acting]] out of anger, hurt, and betrayal.
** Ellis Rey. Although at first he seems to be merely an insufferable jerkass, he reveals himself as an utter sociopath [[spoiler: after trapping Nicki inside his house where he plans to feature her as the nonconsensual center of an impromptu gangbang video]].
** Bobby James Sounder. Affluent and over-privileged, Bobby James uses his looks, charm, and social clout and connections to [[ItsAllAboutMe do and get whatever he wants]] with no apparent consequences. Nicki hears at least one story of a former girlfriend he treated abysmally, and, later, finds out he nearly came to blows with a man whose girlfriend he’s after.
** Quinn’s mother turns out to be a pretty nasty piece of work offscreen.
* [[spoiler:BrotherSisterIncest: Nicki
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1_tvtropesbluevalentinecover.jpg]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 54 (click to see context) from:
* IRegretNothing: Jonathan Garver basically says this [[spoler:in the final confrontation after Nicki [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech verbally pummels]] him within an inch of his life]].
to:
* IRegretNothing: Jonathan Garver basically says this [[spoler:in [[spoiler:in the final confrontation after Nicki [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech verbally pummels]] him within an inch of his life]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 54 (click to see context) from:
* IRegretNothing: Jonathan Garver basically says this [[spoler: in the final confrontation after Nicki [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech verbally pummels]] him within an inch of his life]].
to:
* IRegretNothing: Jonathan Garver basically says this [[spoler: in [[spoler:in the final confrontation after Nicki [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech verbally pummels]] him within an inch of his life]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 12 (click to see context) from:
** Unexpectedly averted once with Nicki's mother when she takes care of Nicki after [[spoiler:Nicki is gang-raped at fourteen]], though she re-affirms this trope by [[spoiler:declining to report the assault to the police, and then quickly regresses to her state of animosity toward her daughter quickly afterward.]]
to:
** Unexpectedly averted once with Nicki's mother when she takes care of Nicki after [[spoiler:Nicki is gang-raped at fourteen]], though she re-affirms this trope by [[spoiler:declining to report the assault to the police, and then quickly regresses to her state of animosity toward her daughter quickly afterward.]] afterward]].
Changed line(s) 14,15 (click to see context) from:
** Quinn calls Nicki ''Sparks,'' and Nicki, in turn, calls Quinn ''Sparky.''
** Nicki’s father calls her ''Pixie.''
** Nicki’s father calls her ''Pixie.''
to:
** Quinn calls Nicki ''Sparks,'' "Sparks," and Nicki, in turn, calls Quinn ''Sparky.''
"Sparky."
** Nicki’s father calls her''Pixie.''"Pixie."
** Nicki’s father calls her
Changed line(s) 19 (click to see context) from:
* BathroomBreakOut: Once trapped [[spoilers:inside Jonathan Garver’s house]], Nicki initially uses the toilet ploy merely as a ruse to put a door between herself and her [[HiredGuns captors]]; however, she decides she can’t fight her way out and makes a drop from a bathroom’s second-story window to escape.
to:
* BathroomBreakOut: Once trapped [[spoilers:inside [[spoiler:inside Jonathan Garver’s house]], Nicki initially uses the toilet ploy merely as a ruse to put a door between herself and her [[HiredGuns captors]]; however, she decides she can’t fight her way out and makes a drop from a bathroom’s second-story window to escape.
Changed line(s) 25,26 (click to see context) from:
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Nicki and Quinn, together at last, leave their toxic hometown behind, but also leave everything they’ve ever know to head toward an uncertain future and a potentially dangerous world that may seek to condemn or destroy the couple]]. Also, [[spoiler:while the antagonists come off scathed, none are defeated. Nicki steals Bobby James’ beloved Chevy Nova, but whether or not she costs him the election is up in the air. And her final confrontation with Jonathan is therapeutic for her, but Jonathan makes [[IRegretNothing no apologies]] for what he’s done to her.]]
* Blackmail: Bobby James worries about this possibility, which might affect his run for the mayor’s seat.
* Blackmail: Bobby James worries about this possibility, which might affect his run for the mayor’s seat.
to:
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Nicki and Quinn, together at last, leave their toxic hometown behind, but also leave everything they’ve ever know to head toward an uncertain future and a potentially dangerous world that may seek to condemn or destroy the couple]]. Also, [[spoiler:while [[while the antagonists come off scathed, none are defeated. Nicki steals Bobby James’ beloved Chevy Nova, but whether or not she costs him the election is up in the air. And her final confrontation with Jonathan is therapeutic for her, but Jonathan makes [[IRegretNothing no apologies]] for what he’s done to her.]]
* Blackmail: Nicki’s told that Bobby Jamesworries is concerned about this possibility, which might affect his run for the mayor’s seat.
* Blackmail: Nicki’s told that Bobby James
Changed line(s) 31 (click to see context) from:
* CombatPragmatist: Since Nicki is often outnumbered and faces-off against men, she has no scruples against any and every tactic she can use to her advantage in a fight, especially if it involves [[WeaponOfChoice her straight razor]].
to:
* CombatPragmatist: Since Nicki is often Finding herself outnumbered and faces-off facing-off against men, she Nicki has no scruples against using any and every tactic she can use to at her advantage disposal in a fight, especially if it involves especially [[WeaponOfChoice her straight razor]].
Changed line(s) 36 (click to see context) from:
** Bobby James Sounder. Affluent and over-privileged, Bobby James uses his looks, charm, and social clout and connections to [[ItsAllAboutMe do and get whatever he wants]] with no apparent consequences. Nicki hears at least one story of a former girlfriend he treated abysmally, and, later, finds out he nearly came to blows with a man whose girlfriend he’s after.
to:
** Bobby James Sounder. Affluent and over-privileged, Bobby James uses his looks, charm, and social clout and connections to [[ItsAllAboutMe do and get whatever he wants]] with no apparent consequences. Nicki hears at least one story of a former girlfriend he treated abysmally, and, later, finds out he nearly came to blows with a man whose girlfriend he’s after. after.
Changed line(s) 39,40 (click to see context) from:
* ConvictedByPublicOpinion: In high school, rumors spread about Nicki’s [[spoiler:alleged ''gangbang'' with three adult men the previous summer]]. No one bothers to corroborate the story.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Nicki Valentine, [[TraumaCongaLine in spades]].
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Nicki Valentine, [[TraumaCongaLine in spades]].
to:
* ConvictedByPublicOpinion: In high school, rumors spread about Nicki’s [[spoiler:alleged ''gangbang'' "gangbang" with three adult men the previous summer]]. No one bothers to corroborate the story.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Nicki Valentine,[[TraumaCongaLine in spades]].spades.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Nicki Valentine,
Changed line(s) 42 (click to see context) from:
* EpunymousTitle: The title pairs the protagonist’s last name with blue, a color associated with sadness and melancholy, profane language, loyalty, and socially prohibited sexuality.
to:
* DysfunctionalFamily
* EpunymousTitle: The title pairsthe protagonist’s Nicki’s last name name, often associated with love and the color red, with blue, a color associated with which stands for various things such as sadness and melancholy, profane language, loyalty, and a step toward the unknown. Blue also refers to laws against socially prohibited sexuality.
* EpunymousTitle: The title pairs
Changed line(s) 60 (click to see context) from:
* LuredIntoATrap: [[spoiler: Twice. Once when Nicki is lured to Jonathan Garver's house by Todd and Ellis, and again when Ellis promises her an end to Bobby James' harassment.]]
to:
* LuredIntoATrap: [[spoiler: Twice. Once when Nicki is lured to Jonathan Garver's house by Todd and Ellis, and again when Ellis promises her an end to Bobby James' harassment.schemes.]]
* NotLikeOtherGirls: Nicki Valentine swears, fights, drinks, and plays poker. She’s mechanically inclined and works to repair her parents’ dishwasher. As a child, she fearlessly handles a snake and remains unperturbed when a spider crawls on her. She dresses in jeans and t-shirts, tennis shoes or boots, and wears a leather jacket. In fact, when she goes on her date with Andy Fosse, she has to borrow a nice dress from her co-worker, Sheila, and re-acquaint herself with walking in heels.
Changed line(s) 70,71 (click to see context) from:
* SlutShaming: Nicki’s mother. Nicki’s former high school peers (all women) who patronize clubs and up-scale taverns taunt her with a chant.
* Tomboy: Nicki Valentine swears, fights, drinks, and plays poker. She’s mechanically inclined and works to repair her parents’ dishwasher. As a child, she fearlessly handles snakes and remains unperturbed when a spider crawls on her. She dresses in jeans and t-shirts, tennis shoes or boots, and wears a leather jacket. In fact, when she goes on her date with Andy Fosse, she has to borrow a nice dress from her co-worker, Sheila, and re-acquaint herself with walking in heels.
* Tomboy: Nicki Valentine swears, fights, drinks, and plays poker. She’s mechanically inclined and works to repair her parents’ dishwasher. As a child, she fearlessly handles snakes and remains unperturbed when a spider crawls on her. She dresses in jeans and t-shirts, tennis shoes or boots, and wears a leather jacket. In fact, when she goes on her date with Andy Fosse, she has to borrow a nice dress from her co-worker, Sheila, and re-acquaint herself with walking in heels.
to:
* SlutShaming: SlutShaming:
** Nicki’smother. Nicki’s mother calls her "the town bicycle. "
** When Nicki encounters former high school peers (all women)who patronize clubs and in an up-scale taverns tavern and, later, at a swanky dance club, they taunt her with a an old chant.
*Tomboy: NotLikeOtherGirls: Nicki Valentine swears, fights, drinks, and plays poker. She’s mechanically inclined and works to repair her parents’ dishwasher. As a child, she fearlessly handles snakes a snake and remains unperturbed when a spider crawls on her. She dresses in jeans and t-shirts, tennis shoes or boots, and wears a leather jacket. In fact, when she goes on her date with Andy Fosse, she has to borrow a nice dress from her co-worker, Sheila, and re-acquaint herself with walking in heels.
** Nicki’s
** When Nicki encounters former high school peers (all women)
*
Changed line(s) 75 (click to see context) from:
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Anyone who chooses to throw-down with Nicki is taking their hide and their pride in their hands.
to:
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Anyone who chooses to throw-down with Nicki is taking their hide Ellis and their pride in their hands.his goons.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 12 (click to see context) from:
** Unexpectedly averted once with Nicki's mother when she takes care of Nicki after [[spoiler:Nicki is gang-raped at fourteen]], though she re-affirms this trope by [[spoilers:declining to report the assault to the police, and then quickly regresses to her state of animosity toward her daughter quickly afterward]].
to:
** Unexpectedly averted once with Nicki's mother when she takes care of Nicki after [[spoiler:Nicki is gang-raped at fourteen]], though she re-affirms this trope by [[spoilers:declining [[spoiler:declining to report the assault to the police, and then quickly regresses to her state of animosity toward her daughter quickly afterward]]. afterward.]]
Changed line(s) 25 (click to see context) from:
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Nicki and Quinn, together at last, leave their toxic hometown behind, but also leave everything they’ve ever know to head toward an uncertain future and a potentially dangerous world that may seek to condemn or destroy the couple]]. Also, [[while the antagonists come off scathed, none are defeated. Nicki steals Bobby James’ beloved Chevy Nova, but whether or not she costs him the election is up in the air. And her final confrontation with Jonathan is therapeutic for her, but Jonathan makes [[IRegretNothing no apologies]] for what he’s done to her.]]
to:
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Nicki and Quinn, together at last, leave their toxic hometown behind, but also leave everything they’ve ever know to head toward an uncertain future and a potentially dangerous world that may seek to condemn or destroy the couple]]. Also, [[while [[spoiler:while the antagonists come off scathed, none are defeated. Nicki steals Bobby James’ beloved Chevy Nova, but whether or not she costs him the election is up in the air. And her final confrontation with Jonathan is therapeutic for her, but Jonathan makes [[IRegretNothing no apologies]] for what he’s done to her.]]
Changed line(s) 35 (click to see context) from:
** Ellis Rey. Although at first he seems to be merely an insufferable [[Jerkass jerkass]], he reveals himself as an utter sociopath [[spoiler: after trapping Nicki inside his house where he plans to feature her as the nonconsensual center of an impromptu gangbang video]].
to:
** Ellis Rey. Although at first he seems to be merely an insufferable [[Jerkass jerkass]], jerkass, he reveals himself as an utter sociopath [[spoiler: after trapping Nicki inside his house where he plans to feature her as the nonconsensual center of an impromptu gangbang video]].
Changed line(s) 65,66 (click to see context) from:
* [[RapeAsDrama]]
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Nicki delivers [[spoilers:Jonathan]] a few hard truths in the novel’s final confrontation.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Nicki delivers [[spoilers:Jonathan]] a few hard truths in the novel’s final confrontation.
to:
* [[RapeAsDrama]]
RapeAsDrama
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Nicki delivers[[spoilers:Jonathan]] [[spoiler:Jonathan]] a few hard truths in the novel’s final confrontation.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Nicki delivers
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
''Blue Valentine'' is a 2019 novel by Thomas Cummings.
After a night of bar-hopping, Nicki Valentine attends a select after-hours party where she is confronted by a threatening figure from her past. Learning old adversaries have taken a sudden new interest in her, she lays low and assesses her troubled past to unravel what they could want with her after so many years. Ultimately, she must enlist the help of her half-brother, Quinn Halliday, to stay ahead of the powerful forces that run her small town.
Not to be confused with the 2010 film ''Film/BlueValentine''.
----
!! ''Blue Valentine'' contains examples of the following tropes:
* AbusiveParents: Bette Valentine, Nicki’s mother, insults, degrades, and manhandles her all her life, and, on at least one, occasion savagely beats her.
* AdultsAreUseless:
** Owen Valentine, Nicki’s father, is an [[AlcoholicParent alcoholic]] who, while often kind and loving, never offers a helping hand to Nicki.
** Unexpectedly averted once with Nicki's mother when she takes care of Nicki after [[spoiler:Nicki is gang-raped at fourteen]], though she re-affirms this trope by [[spoilers:declining to report the assault to the police, and then quickly regresses to her state of animosity toward her daughter quickly afterward]].
* AffectionateNickname:
** Quinn calls Nicki ''Sparks,'' and Nicki, in turn, calls Quinn ''Sparky.''
** Nicki’s father calls her ''Pixie.''
* AlcoholicParent: Nicki’s father after a back injury put him out of work.
-->'''Nicki:''' Good thing he fucked up his back when he did; it let him dedicate himself full-time to drinking.
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Just about all of Nicki’s peers throughout high school begin to taunt and insult her after [[ConvictedByPublicOpinion rumors]] spread about her.
* BathroomBreakOut: Once trapped [[spoilers:inside Jonathan Garver’s house]], Nicki initially uses the toilet ploy merely as a ruse to put a door between herself and her [[HiredGuns captors]]; however, she decides she can’t fight her way out and makes a drop from a bathroom’s second-story window to escape.
* BetrayalByInaction:
** Nicki’s father never intervenes on her behalf in the face of her mother’s abuse. Also, while it is never clear when he finds out about [[spoiler:Nicki’s rape]], he remains silent about it after he does.
** Despite their genuine friendship at the time, Jonathan stood by while [[spoiler:Bobby James and Ted Wells took turns raping]] Nicki when she was fourteen.
* BigBadEnsemble: Bobby James Sounder, Jonathan Garver, and Ted Wells.
* BigBrotherBully: Two of them: Lewis and Terry Valentine. Doubtlessly taking a cue from their mother, the brothers, at best, dismiss their little sister’s efforts to be a part of the family and, at worst, tease and taunt her.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Nicki and Quinn, together at last, leave their toxic hometown behind, but also leave everything they’ve ever know to head toward an uncertain future and a potentially dangerous world that may seek to condemn or destroy the couple]]. Also, [[while the antagonists come off scathed, none are defeated. Nicki steals Bobby James’ beloved Chevy Nova, but whether or not she costs him the election is up in the air. And her final confrontation with Jonathan is therapeutic for her, but Jonathan makes [[IRegretNothing no apologies]] for what he’s done to her.]]
* Blackmail: Bobby James worries about this possibility, which might affect his run for the mayor’s seat.
* BrokenBird: Nicki has internalized years of familial neglect and abuse and social rejection.
* ChaseScene: Averted. Nicki flees down neighborhood streets [[spoiler:after escaping Ellis Rey’s house]], but her potential pursuers have more pressing issues at hand.
* ChandlersLaw: [[spoiler:Jonathan Garver]] [[EmergingFromTheShadows emerges]] from a dark hallway, breaking the stalemate between Nicki and [[spoiler:Todd and Ellis] when the two reveal their hand at the after-hours party.
* ClusterFBomb: Nicki deploys these at will.
* CombatPragmatist: Since Nicki is often outnumbered and faces-off against men, she has no scruples against any and every tactic she can use to her advantage in a fight, especially if it involves [[WeaponOfChoice her straight razor]].
* ComingOfAgeStory: Something of a late bloomer example. While Nicki’s [[AbusiveParents past]] [[DysfunctionalFamily home life]], among other things, goaded her to mature ''too fast'' in many ways, it takes the events of the book, when she’s in her early twenties, to reject society’s condemnation of her and to recognize and begin to break free of her internalized self-hatred.
* CompleteMonster:
** Averted for Bette Valentine, Nicki’s mother. Though she is relentlessly cruel to her daughter, Bette does help Nicki in her most desperate time of need. Ultimately, Nicki understands that her mother is [[MisplacedRetribution acting]] out of anger, hurt, and betrayal.
** Ellis Rey. Although at first he seems to be merely an insufferable [[Jerkass jerkass]], he reveals himself as an utter sociopath [[spoiler: after trapping Nicki inside his house where he plans to feature her as the nonconsensual center of an impromptu gangbang video]].
** Bobby James Sounder. Affluent and over-privileged, Bobby James uses his looks, charm, and social clout and connections to [[ItsAllAboutMe do and get whatever he wants]] with no apparent consequences. Nicki hears at least one story of a former girlfriend he treated abysmally, and, later, finds out he nearly came to blows with a man whose girlfriend he’s after.
** Quinn’s mother turns out to be a pretty nasty piece of work offscreen.
* [[spoiler:BrotherSisterIncest: Nicki and Quinn are related through their father.]]
* ConvictedByPublicOpinion: In high school, rumors spread about Nicki’s [[spoiler:alleged ''gangbang'' with three adult men the previous summer]]. No one bothers to corroborate the story.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Nicki Valentine, [[TraumaCongaLine in spades]].
* DisproportionateRetribution: Once safe in Quinn’s car, Nicki is horrified with herself when she contemplates [[spoiler: how she took time to mutilate Ellis Rey despite having successfully secured an escape from his house]].
* EpunymousTitle: The title pairs the protagonist’s last name with blue, a color associated with sadness and melancholy, profane language, loyalty, and socially prohibited sexuality.
* EvilMatriarch: Bette Valentine. Her [[MisplacedRetribution cruelty]] toward her daughter goes unchecked by her husband and serves as injunction and justification for Lewis and Terry’s behavior toward their sister.
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler: Jonathan, whom Nicki considers a true friend, takes advantage of her when she's at her most vulnerable.]]
* ForbiddenLove: [[spoiler: Nicki Valentine and Quinn Halliday, half-siblings on their father’s side, first find companionship in each other’s company throughout life, but finally find love in each other’s arms by story’s end.]]
* GlorifiedSpermDonor: Owen Valentine demonstrates no interest in reuniting with or even recognizing the existence of his son, Quinn.
* HairOfTheDog: Nicki prepares herself Amarillo Poppers as a hang-over remedy one morning and cracks open a beer on another.
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Witnessing [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech Nicki's final confrontation]] with Jonathan, Todd Keeling has a crisis of conscience and offers his assistance in a minor campaign of vengeance against Bobby James; this even after being roughed up, threatened, and abducted by Nicki and Quinn.]]
* HopeSpot: Nicki's date with Andy Fosse.
* HiredGuns: Todd Keeling and Ellis Rey.
* IOwnThisTown: Bobby James’ election bid for mayor will allow him to control and benefit from the development of lakefront property.
* IrrationalHatred: Nicki’s mother is cruel to her for reasons far outside Nicki’s control.
* IRegretNothing: Jonathan Garver basically says this [[spoler: in the final confrontation after Nicki [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech verbally pummels]] him within an inch of his life]].
* ItsAllAboutMe: The way of the world, as far as Bobby James Sounder is concerned.
* Jerkass:
** Ellis Rey. While Ellis is far worse than he seems, even at first blush he’s so intolerable he gets on the nerves of [[spoiler:Jonathan, and even Todd Keeling]], who recruited him [[spoiler:to help find Nicki]].
** Andy Fosse, although he really doesn’t mean to be, [[spoiler:when he cheapens his and Nicki’s date by turning into an excuse to get her into bed]].
* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown: [[spoiler:In making her escape from Ellis' house, Nicki gets the best of Ellis and then decides to [[PayEvilUntilEvil pay some evil unto evil]].]]
* LongLostRelative: Quinn Halliday, to an extent. Nicki only finds out about her half-brother when she’s nine years old.
* LuredIntoATrap: [[spoiler: Twice. Once when Nicki is lured to Jonathan Garver's house by Todd and Ellis, and again when Ellis promises her an end to Bobby James' harassment.]]
* MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Nicki and Andy Fosse, a delivery driver, [[SexForSolace regularly shtup]] every Monday behind pallets of flour in the supply room of the bakery where she works.
* MisplacedRetribution: The abuse Bette directs at her daughter is a frustrated expression of her feeling of hurt and betrayal.
-->'''Nicki:''' Now that I'm older, I know the reason my mom hates me. It's because she can't hate my dad. She loves him. She adores him, and he hurt her. He hurt her so bad she could never forgive him, but she could never hate him, either. She had to hate someone for his betrayal. And here I was, born the same day Quinn was born. I guess that made me her voodoo doll, her way to hate him without having to stop loving him.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: Nicki [[spoiler: slices off the tip of Ellis Rey’s nose with her straight razor before escaping the trap he’s set for her.]]
* [[RapeAsDrama]]
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Nicki delivers [[spoilers:Jonathan]] a few hard truths in the novel’s final confrontation.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: During Bobby James’ drunken joyride through town, fourteen-year-old Nicki worries that they’ll be arrested, but Jonathan assures her that Bobby is above the law.
-->'''Jonathan:''' His uncle's the Chief of Police. He's got, like, three cousins on the force [...] As long as he doesn't crash or kill anyone, we'll be fine.
* SexForSolace: While Nicki is blessed with a naturally healthy libido, she uses sex to cheer herself up and as a brief escape from a crappy life.
* SlutShaming: Nicki’s mother. Nicki’s former high school peers (all women) who patronize clubs and up-scale taverns taunt her with a chant.
* Tomboy: Nicki Valentine swears, fights, drinks, and plays poker. She’s mechanically inclined and works to repair her parents’ dishwasher. As a child, she fearlessly handles snakes and remains unperturbed when a spider crawls on her. She dresses in jeans and t-shirts, tennis shoes or boots, and wears a leather jacket. In fact, when she goes on her date with Andy Fosse, she has to borrow a nice dress from her co-worker, Sheila, and re-acquaint herself with walking in heels.
* TrueCompanions: Nicki Valentine and Quinn Halliday. After meeting in fourth grade, the pair’s friendship, despite conflicts, develops into a long-lived a relationship that is protective, nonjudgmental, empathic, and mutually encouraging.
* TwentyMinutesIntoThePast: The novel was published in 2018 but the events take place in 2009.
* TheUnfavourite: Doubtlessly, Nicki is her mother’s least favorite child.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Anyone who chooses to throw-down with Nicki is taking their hide and their pride in their hands.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Bobby James’ mayoral campaign posters are all over town.
* WeaponOfChoice: Nicki’s late grandfather’s ivory handled straight razor.
After a night of bar-hopping, Nicki Valentine attends a select after-hours party where she is confronted by a threatening figure from her past. Learning old adversaries have taken a sudden new interest in her, she lays low and assesses her troubled past to unravel what they could want with her after so many years. Ultimately, she must enlist the help of her half-brother, Quinn Halliday, to stay ahead of the powerful forces that run her small town.
Not to be confused with the 2010 film ''Film/BlueValentine''.
----
!! ''Blue Valentine'' contains examples of the following tropes:
* AbusiveParents: Bette Valentine, Nicki’s mother, insults, degrades, and manhandles her all her life, and, on at least one, occasion savagely beats her.
* AdultsAreUseless:
** Owen Valentine, Nicki’s father, is an [[AlcoholicParent alcoholic]] who, while often kind and loving, never offers a helping hand to Nicki.
** Unexpectedly averted once with Nicki's mother when she takes care of Nicki after [[spoiler:Nicki is gang-raped at fourteen]], though she re-affirms this trope by [[spoilers:declining to report the assault to the police, and then quickly regresses to her state of animosity toward her daughter quickly afterward]].
* AffectionateNickname:
** Quinn calls Nicki ''Sparks,'' and Nicki, in turn, calls Quinn ''Sparky.''
** Nicki’s father calls her ''Pixie.''
* AlcoholicParent: Nicki’s father after a back injury put him out of work.
-->'''Nicki:''' Good thing he fucked up his back when he did; it let him dedicate himself full-time to drinking.
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Just about all of Nicki’s peers throughout high school begin to taunt and insult her after [[ConvictedByPublicOpinion rumors]] spread about her.
* BathroomBreakOut: Once trapped [[spoilers:inside Jonathan Garver’s house]], Nicki initially uses the toilet ploy merely as a ruse to put a door between herself and her [[HiredGuns captors]]; however, she decides she can’t fight her way out and makes a drop from a bathroom’s second-story window to escape.
* BetrayalByInaction:
** Nicki’s father never intervenes on her behalf in the face of her mother’s abuse. Also, while it is never clear when he finds out about [[spoiler:Nicki’s rape]], he remains silent about it after he does.
** Despite their genuine friendship at the time, Jonathan stood by while [[spoiler:Bobby James and Ted Wells took turns raping]] Nicki when she was fourteen.
* BigBadEnsemble: Bobby James Sounder, Jonathan Garver, and Ted Wells.
* BigBrotherBully: Two of them: Lewis and Terry Valentine. Doubtlessly taking a cue from their mother, the brothers, at best, dismiss their little sister’s efforts to be a part of the family and, at worst, tease and taunt her.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Nicki and Quinn, together at last, leave their toxic hometown behind, but also leave everything they’ve ever know to head toward an uncertain future and a potentially dangerous world that may seek to condemn or destroy the couple]]. Also, [[while the antagonists come off scathed, none are defeated. Nicki steals Bobby James’ beloved Chevy Nova, but whether or not she costs him the election is up in the air. And her final confrontation with Jonathan is therapeutic for her, but Jonathan makes [[IRegretNothing no apologies]] for what he’s done to her.]]
* Blackmail: Bobby James worries about this possibility, which might affect his run for the mayor’s seat.
* BrokenBird: Nicki has internalized years of familial neglect and abuse and social rejection.
* ChaseScene: Averted. Nicki flees down neighborhood streets [[spoiler:after escaping Ellis Rey’s house]], but her potential pursuers have more pressing issues at hand.
* ChandlersLaw: [[spoiler:Jonathan Garver]] [[EmergingFromTheShadows emerges]] from a dark hallway, breaking the stalemate between Nicki and [[spoiler:Todd and Ellis] when the two reveal their hand at the after-hours party.
* ClusterFBomb: Nicki deploys these at will.
* CombatPragmatist: Since Nicki is often outnumbered and faces-off against men, she has no scruples against any and every tactic she can use to her advantage in a fight, especially if it involves [[WeaponOfChoice her straight razor]].
* ComingOfAgeStory: Something of a late bloomer example. While Nicki’s [[AbusiveParents past]] [[DysfunctionalFamily home life]], among other things, goaded her to mature ''too fast'' in many ways, it takes the events of the book, when she’s in her early twenties, to reject society’s condemnation of her and to recognize and begin to break free of her internalized self-hatred.
* CompleteMonster:
** Averted for Bette Valentine, Nicki’s mother. Though she is relentlessly cruel to her daughter, Bette does help Nicki in her most desperate time of need. Ultimately, Nicki understands that her mother is [[MisplacedRetribution acting]] out of anger, hurt, and betrayal.
** Ellis Rey. Although at first he seems to be merely an insufferable [[Jerkass jerkass]], he reveals himself as an utter sociopath [[spoiler: after trapping Nicki inside his house where he plans to feature her as the nonconsensual center of an impromptu gangbang video]].
** Bobby James Sounder. Affluent and over-privileged, Bobby James uses his looks, charm, and social clout and connections to [[ItsAllAboutMe do and get whatever he wants]] with no apparent consequences. Nicki hears at least one story of a former girlfriend he treated abysmally, and, later, finds out he nearly came to blows with a man whose girlfriend he’s after.
** Quinn’s mother turns out to be a pretty nasty piece of work offscreen.
* [[spoiler:BrotherSisterIncest: Nicki and Quinn are related through their father.]]
* ConvictedByPublicOpinion: In high school, rumors spread about Nicki’s [[spoiler:alleged ''gangbang'' with three adult men the previous summer]]. No one bothers to corroborate the story.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Nicki Valentine, [[TraumaCongaLine in spades]].
* DisproportionateRetribution: Once safe in Quinn’s car, Nicki is horrified with herself when she contemplates [[spoiler: how she took time to mutilate Ellis Rey despite having successfully secured an escape from his house]].
* EpunymousTitle: The title pairs the protagonist’s last name with blue, a color associated with sadness and melancholy, profane language, loyalty, and socially prohibited sexuality.
* EvilMatriarch: Bette Valentine. Her [[MisplacedRetribution cruelty]] toward her daughter goes unchecked by her husband and serves as injunction and justification for Lewis and Terry’s behavior toward their sister.
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler: Jonathan, whom Nicki considers a true friend, takes advantage of her when she's at her most vulnerable.]]
* ForbiddenLove: [[spoiler: Nicki Valentine and Quinn Halliday, half-siblings on their father’s side, first find companionship in each other’s company throughout life, but finally find love in each other’s arms by story’s end.]]
* GlorifiedSpermDonor: Owen Valentine demonstrates no interest in reuniting with or even recognizing the existence of his son, Quinn.
* HairOfTheDog: Nicki prepares herself Amarillo Poppers as a hang-over remedy one morning and cracks open a beer on another.
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Witnessing [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech Nicki's final confrontation]] with Jonathan, Todd Keeling has a crisis of conscience and offers his assistance in a minor campaign of vengeance against Bobby James; this even after being roughed up, threatened, and abducted by Nicki and Quinn.]]
* HopeSpot: Nicki's date with Andy Fosse.
* HiredGuns: Todd Keeling and Ellis Rey.
* IOwnThisTown: Bobby James’ election bid for mayor will allow him to control and benefit from the development of lakefront property.
* IrrationalHatred: Nicki’s mother is cruel to her for reasons far outside Nicki’s control.
* IRegretNothing: Jonathan Garver basically says this [[spoler: in the final confrontation after Nicki [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech verbally pummels]] him within an inch of his life]].
* ItsAllAboutMe: The way of the world, as far as Bobby James Sounder is concerned.
* Jerkass:
** Ellis Rey. While Ellis is far worse than he seems, even at first blush he’s so intolerable he gets on the nerves of [[spoiler:Jonathan, and even Todd Keeling]], who recruited him [[spoiler:to help find Nicki]].
** Andy Fosse, although he really doesn’t mean to be, [[spoiler:when he cheapens his and Nicki’s date by turning into an excuse to get her into bed]].
* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown: [[spoiler:In making her escape from Ellis' house, Nicki gets the best of Ellis and then decides to [[PayEvilUntilEvil pay some evil unto evil]].]]
* LongLostRelative: Quinn Halliday, to an extent. Nicki only finds out about her half-brother when she’s nine years old.
* LuredIntoATrap: [[spoiler: Twice. Once when Nicki is lured to Jonathan Garver's house by Todd and Ellis, and again when Ellis promises her an end to Bobby James' harassment.]]
* MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: Nicki and Andy Fosse, a delivery driver, [[SexForSolace regularly shtup]] every Monday behind pallets of flour in the supply room of the bakery where she works.
* MisplacedRetribution: The abuse Bette directs at her daughter is a frustrated expression of her feeling of hurt and betrayal.
-->'''Nicki:''' Now that I'm older, I know the reason my mom hates me. It's because she can't hate my dad. She loves him. She adores him, and he hurt her. He hurt her so bad she could never forgive him, but she could never hate him, either. She had to hate someone for his betrayal. And here I was, born the same day Quinn was born. I guess that made me her voodoo doll, her way to hate him without having to stop loving him.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: Nicki [[spoiler: slices off the tip of Ellis Rey’s nose with her straight razor before escaping the trap he’s set for her.]]
* [[RapeAsDrama]]
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Nicki delivers [[spoilers:Jonathan]] a few hard truths in the novel’s final confrontation.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: During Bobby James’ drunken joyride through town, fourteen-year-old Nicki worries that they’ll be arrested, but Jonathan assures her that Bobby is above the law.
-->'''Jonathan:''' His uncle's the Chief of Police. He's got, like, three cousins on the force [...] As long as he doesn't crash or kill anyone, we'll be fine.
* SexForSolace: While Nicki is blessed with a naturally healthy libido, she uses sex to cheer herself up and as a brief escape from a crappy life.
* SlutShaming: Nicki’s mother. Nicki’s former high school peers (all women) who patronize clubs and up-scale taverns taunt her with a chant.
* Tomboy: Nicki Valentine swears, fights, drinks, and plays poker. She’s mechanically inclined and works to repair her parents’ dishwasher. As a child, she fearlessly handles snakes and remains unperturbed when a spider crawls on her. She dresses in jeans and t-shirts, tennis shoes or boots, and wears a leather jacket. In fact, when she goes on her date with Andy Fosse, she has to borrow a nice dress from her co-worker, Sheila, and re-acquaint herself with walking in heels.
* TrueCompanions: Nicki Valentine and Quinn Halliday. After meeting in fourth grade, the pair’s friendship, despite conflicts, develops into a long-lived a relationship that is protective, nonjudgmental, empathic, and mutually encouraging.
* TwentyMinutesIntoThePast: The novel was published in 2018 but the events take place in 2009.
* TheUnfavourite: Doubtlessly, Nicki is her mother’s least favorite child.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Anyone who chooses to throw-down with Nicki is taking their hide and their pride in their hands.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Bobby James’ mayoral campaign posters are all over town.
* WeaponOfChoice: Nicki’s late grandfather’s ivory handled straight razor.
