A Solitary Blue, by Cynthia Voigt

Jeff's mother left when he was little. After that betrayal he learned to shut the world out, to be cold and not feel what others did to him. Years later his mother contacts him and wants him to visit. He opens up under his mother's attentive interest, but realizes that he just set him self up to get hurt in a big way.  His mother may not be anything like she pretends to him at first, she may not really care so much.

This main character was much more believable then the character in the last book. He felt solid and was flawed just the right amount. I felt real sympathy for Jeff, I have been in a hard spot and shut myself down in a similar way and know how hard it is to figure out how to open up again. The writing was just as nice as the last, with a sparse poetry to the prose and smart dialogue.

4 Stars,
Emme