Summer Reading: A Solitary Blue
This quiet little book may be one of the best I've ever read. Certainly, it's one that's stuck with me. Jeff Greene is just seven when his mother Melody leaves him and his professor father to save the world. Jeff spends the next five years trying to be as unobtrusive as possible, afraid that his introverted, work-focused father will abandon him, too, if he makes a fuss about anything. When Melody invites him to spend a summer with her at her family's home in Charleston, Jeff falls in love with his capricious and charming mother all over again. But Melody isn't really interested in her son, and her second abandonment rips him up. Heartbroken and betrayed, Jeff falls apart completely — he can't keep track of the days, so he skips school and ends up failing eighth grade. But to Jeff's surprise, his father is there to help him pick up the pieces, and together, they build a life together in a new town and a new school. Jeff makes friends for the first time in his life (including Dicey Tillerman from Voigt's Homecoming) and slowly realizes that the possibility of happiness has always been inside him. By the time he meets Melody again, he understands her enough to love her without losing himself and to let her go again without regret.
What makes this book so resonant is its simple, vivid descriptions of Jeff’s emotional life. His isolation is so absolute that he lives most of his life inside his head, and Voigt brings both his depression and his hard-won happiness to life without melodrama or romance. The book's inhabitants are complicated people: do-gooder Melody wants to make a difference in the world but completely ignores her own son; the Professor and Jeff assume so many things about each other that it takes a crisis for them to realize how much they really like each other; Melody's grandmother is so caught up in her family's patriarchal traditions that she leaves her wealth to Jeff rather than Melody, whom she adores. Ultimately, it's the deliberate, nuanced development of Jeff as an individual that makes this book sing—and creates a boy who I'd argue is one of the most memorable characters in young adult fiction.
We’re reprinting some of Amy’s summer reading series favorites from Atlanta Homeschool magazine on the home/school/life blog.
If you can’t get enough of Greek mythology, add these myth-inspired books to your summer reading list.
Nobody’s perfect, but we all have the power to be better tomorrow than we were yesterday. These tales of forgiveness and redemption remind us that we are better together.
Miss Rumphius wants to make the world a more beautiful place, a legacy that comes with a deep connection to nature. These books take up that project, showing that family, home, and nature can change us for the better.
Milo’s adventure in the Lands Beyond is full of witty wordplay and curious characters. Get a similar taste of brainy unpredictability from these delightfully eccentric books like The Phantom Tollbooth.
Harriet the Spy was our first rebel heroine, a smart girl who spies for the sheer pleasure of it. These other renegade girls are worthy follow-ups to her literary legacy.
An Edwardian family faces a changing world in this British drama of manners that’s a little bit Austen, a little bit soap opera, and entirely satisfying. Get your Downton fix with historical fiction featuring rich details and nuanced character development.
Fairy tales get complicated in these twists on tradition. You’ll never read “happily ever after” the same way again.
If you loved The Bad Beginning, Lemony Snicket's hilariously tragic chronicle of the sad adventures of the Baudelaire orphans, add these titles to your library list this summer.
There’s a kind of magic in imagining worlds shaped from non-European culture and myth — and these books paint possibilities powerful and profound.
If you love solving mysteries with Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, we’ve got a reading list of detective stories from picture books to adult novels you’ll love.
Summer means adventure in these old-fashioned stories about independent children making their own fun.
Who can resist the perfect combination of words and pictures? Add a spunky hero with a few problems, and you’ve got worthy Wimpy Kid follow-ups.
Home in these books takes many forms, but it’s always the place where you just belong.
Small towns with spooky secrets, friends who face down evil, and a little retro charm give these books the same vibe as the sleeper series hit.
Get your rebellion on with these books set in dystopian worlds that are just asking to be burned down.
Technology meets humanity with unpredictable results in these works of speculative fiction.
If you love the fantasy, fun, and humor of Roald Dahl, you’ll enjoy these books that capture some of that same playful spirit.
If you’re looking for a twisty turner teen thriller, these recent YA books about teens in dangerous situations may be just what you’re looking for.
If you have a kid who dreams of starting a business, these readalouds will help inspire them.
Amy Sharony is the founder and editor-in-chief of home | school | life magazine. She's a pretty nice person until someone starts pluralizing things with apostrophes, but then all bets are off.
AMY SHARONY is the founder and editor-in-chief of home | school | life magazine. She's a pretty nice person until someone starts pluralizing things with apostrophes, but then all bets are off.