A Solitary Blue

Front Cover
Turtleback, 2003 - Juvenile Fiction - 256 pages
Jeff Greene was only seven when Melody, his mother, left him with his reserved, undemonstrative father, the Professor. So when she reenters his life years later with an invitation to spend the summer with her in Charleston, Jeff is captivated by her free spirit and warmth, and he eagerly looks forward to returning for another visit the following year.

But Jeff's second summer in Charleston ends with a devastating betrayal, and he returns to his father wounded almost beyond bearing. But out of Jeff's pain grows a deepening awareness of the unexpected and complicated ways of love and loss and of family and friendship -- and the strength to understand his father, his mother, and especially himself.


A NEWBERY HONOR BOOK
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION CHILDREN'S NOTABLE BOOK
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION BEST BOOK FOR YOUNG ADULTS
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION BEST OF THE BEST FOR YOUNG ADULTS
INTERNATIONAL READING ASSOCIATION TEACHERS' CHOICE
INTERNATIONAL READING ASSOCIATION YOUNG ADULT CHOICE
"BOOKLIST" EDITORS' CHOICE

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About the author (2003)

Cynthia Voigt was born on February 25, 1942 in Boston, Massachusetts. She received a bachelor's degree from Smith College, did graduate work at St. Michael's College, and later received a teacher's certification from Christian Brothers College. After college, she worked for an advertising agency. Before becoming a full-time author, she was a secretary and a high school English teacher. Her first book, Homecoming, was published in 1981. Her children's books address such issues at child abuse and racism, topics that are not often talked about in books designed for children. She is the author of numerous books including the Bad Girls series, the Tillerman Cycle series, and the Kingdom series. She won the Notable Children's Trade Book in the field of social studies for Homecoming, the Newbery Medal, ALA in 1983 for Dicey's Song, and the Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1984 for The Callender Papers. In 1995, she received the MAE Award.