A Solitary Blue

Cynthia Voigt writes about Jeff Greene in the third book of the Tillerman series. Jeff lives with his father who he himself is a subdued person in showing emotional feelings. When Jeff hears from his estranged mother, he jumps at the chance to spend the summer with her. He believes she lives him and enjoys his time with her. The next summer showed to be much different and new emotions arise. This was a good read and I look forward to book four in this series.

When he was in the first grade, Jeff Greene's mother Melody abruptly walked out of his life. The last thing she told him was that his father was a difficult man, and that he must do everything in his power not to disturb or upset him. Little Jeff took his mother's words seriously. As he grew, Jeff became increasingly distant from his father, never even calling him "Dad" but "Professor," just like his students. Quiet Jeff struggled to maintain a perfect home, to take care of himself and blend into the background of his father's life, so that the Professor would be happy and not leave like Melody. Even after Melody abandoned them, Jeff continued to idealize her. As an adolescent, she invites him to visit her down south, and Jeff is elated. He views his long-absent mother as something of an angel, perfect and wondrous. Happy to simply be in her company, Jeff never considers her ability to hurt him. When Jeff returns home, nothing is the same. Outwardly, he continues as he did, but on the inside, Melody has damaged his soul beyond repair. Jeff loses control, entering a personal downward spiral he can't seem to stop. It's then that the Professor realizes it's high time he stepped up to the role of father, and let his son know just what he means to him...

At only the age of seven years,Jeff Greene finds a note on the counter in his mothers scrawl revealing that she had left him with his father, The Professor. After years of feeling alone he receives a message from melody(his mom)saying that she wanted him to come visit her in charleston for the summer. By fall he has returned and writes her every month only to find the mail box empty every time he checks until summer comes along again, and he has an oppertunity to visit her once more...but something is different about her...or was he just under an illusion on they're first encounter. This book was the best book i have ever laid eyes on. Read this sad, suspenseful novel. I promise you won't be able to put it down!

I pretty much enjoyed the whole book. The way Voigt made me feel like I was actually in the book was overwhelming. I was hooked to the book and I was even more hooked to the characters. I felt really sorry for Jeff...at one point I even cried. I really sympathized with him when his mother told him off, that's when I pretty much realized he didn't have a mother or a father that he could count on. I would definately recommend this book to teenagers my age(15)! Even though I had to read this book for school, I surprisingly enjoyed it...and I think you will too!

This might very well be my all-time favorite book, and I'm an adult with a college education, not a kid who was force-fed "literature" all through school. Jeff as a character is real and beautiful, and his feelings are relayed throughout the book as universal human emotions of loneliness and longing. I tend to be self-loathing, so I identified with Jeff on that level ("He couldn't think of anything he wanted to do. Ever."). The story is so real that I dream about the characters and wish I could meet them--Brother Thomas working through a crisis of faith by harvesting crabs out of the Chesapeake Bay, the Professor working through a crisis of love by writing a history book. It's so great. I even convinced my aunt and uncle to take me to Crisfield, Maryland, so I could see what Jeff saw and felt. Voigt's descriptions are accurate and clear without boring the reader in the least. This is a book of life.

From the first sentence, I had a hard time putting this book. The excellently written plot kept me going. In this novel, Voight tells us an amazing story about a boy named Jeff Greene who struggles with his life with his mother. Jeff at first was blinded by his mother's sweet smile but later comes to see that she was lying to him all along. When Jeff's grandmother dies he inherits his grandmother's diamond ring and his mother becomes jealous. When his emotions kick in and he comes to reality that his mother doesn't love him and pours all of his emotions to her about when she left when he was small and still in first grade. This is a great book to read. I recommend it to teenagers my age and up.