A Tiny Piece of Blue by Charlotte Whitney ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

 

A heartwarming historical novel following a homeless young girl as she struggles to survive during the Great Depression.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.  A free book was provided for an honest review.

February 2025; She Writes Press; 978-1647428365
ebook, print (336 pages); historical fiction

This beautifully written novel takes place in rural Michigan during the Depression.  Everyone is struggling to survive especially in rural areas and this story is about a young girl who is without options after her father leaves the family and a fire destroys her home.  After the fire, thirteen-year-old Silstice is told by her mother that she's on her own.  With few friends and no family, she is facing a desperate life.  When she goes to a 4-H class taught by a local farmwife, Edna feels the need to help her.  Her husband Vernon is totally opposed to helping anyone because they are in debt and may lose their farm.  He feels that they can't afford to feed anyone else and forbids his wife from helping the young girl.  Edna can manage her husband and works out a temporary plan for Silstice to live with them.  The story is told in alternating chapters by Silstice, Edna, and Vernon and gives a clear look at what life was like for people when there was no money and minimal food during the Depression.  To make matters worse, there was a group of kidnappers in the area who were exploiting children by either putting them to work in factories or making them participate in prostitution.

Silstice is so well written that the reader can feel her pain.  She's only 13 but is forced out of her home after the fire.  She does have an older sister and they are very close but Alberta is able to stay with a friend in town and even though she worries about her sister, there is nothing she can do to help.  Silstice goes to a 4H meeting to try to learn how to make a dress.  She is shy around the young girls at the meeting but she has big plans for her future and with the help and encouragement of Edna, she begins to come out of her shell.  Despite her upbringing, she is a hard worker and soon takes over much of the work in the house and with the animals.  Edna is a happy woman who enjoys reading her Bible and writing poetry.  She feels that she needs to help Silstice out of her dead-end life and to help her become successful.  Vernon is a negative guy no matter what is going on.   He loves his wife and gives in just a little bit about Silstice staying with them.  He put a time limit on how much time she could spend with them and was adamant that once the time was up, he would turn her out on the streets to make her own way.  The three of them are all characters that I won't soon forget.

A Tiny Piece of Blue is an emotional story and your heart goes out to Silstice who is trying so hard and keeps hitting major snags in her plans for the future.  The author did a lot of research about what life was like in this rural area of Michigan during the Depression.  This is a story about hunger and despair, and the importance of helping others survive and thrive.  The characters were beautifully written and while there may be tears as you read it, the final message is one of family hope and love not by family joined by blood but the family created by the people you love and want to take care of.  The title of the book represents a small glimmer of hope in the midst of a challenging situation.

Charlotte Whitney is a new author for me but based on how much I enjoyed this book, I've just ordered several of her older books.

The title A Tiny Piece of Blue likely represents a small glimmer of hope or positivity amidst a larger, potentially bleak, or challenging situation,

Buy A Tiny Piece of Blue at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.   

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