This is an absolutely wonderful book. I fell in love with ( )

Ann Fay is left to be the "man of the house" when her father goes off to fight in World War II. She lives just outside of Hickory, N.C., and during the summer, a dreadful polio epidemic hits the western portion of the state, with Hickory as it's focal point. The book rather smoothly covers a wide variety of issues... war, polio epidemic, and racial relations of the era being the main three. First Ann Fay's little brother comes down with polio and is taken off to the temporary hospital set up in Hickory*. Later Ann Fay herself comes down with the disease, and ends up meeting the first black girl she's ever encountered personally as a fellow patient in the contagious ward of the hospital.

*The Miracle of Hickory is the hospital setting of large portions of the book, and is real. When the epidemic hit, the people of Hickory came together and in three days built a temporary hospital which at it's peak had over 200 patients. ( )

"Blue" is a lovely, extraordinary small book that is both heart-warming and historical. Written about the Great Hickory, NC Polio Epidemic of 1944, during WWII, the story involves a sweet, naive family whose father has gone off to war and who are left to carry on in a harsh and inprotected environment for which they are ill-equipped. They are a little band made up of a young mother, a 13 yr. old, twin elementary school aged little girls and a pre-school aged boy. All of this little family live mostly on the land, have very little meat, and they can wild berries and their own garden vegetables for the winter.

The eldest daughter, Ann Fay, is given a set of overalls and instructions by her dad to be the "man of the house" while he's away...a daunting task for any child. It is Ann Fay who takes on the burden of guilt when her baby brother is struck down with polio, and when she is also taken with polio and removed from her family responsibilities.

Blue" has won a bushelful of impressive awards for children's literature. It is a very special book. However, its beauty makes it a most worthy read for adults and those who enjoy YA fiction, as well.

Having a mother who was a polio patient in Hickory, NC, during this same epidemic in 1944, made me especially interested in this book! Although it's a fiction novel, Ms Hostetter recounts the particulars of the disease, the hospital-like facilities, and the therapies as my own mother recalls them. So, there is much truth to her fiction.

The book is also a moral tale. So much of the simple values and morality of a common way of living in the South are protrayed in "Blue." The faith that uplifts all of her friends and relatives in Ann Fay's community are deeply moving. These values and the quiet, simple ways of living still linger in this region of NC, today.

I recommend this book without reservation to those who love a historic novel, YA fiction, and all readers of medical history. ( )

Reviewed by Julie M. Prince for TeensReadToo.com

Ann Fay Honeycutt is only thirteen, but she's already the man of the house. This is thanks to her daddy leaving to fight in the war against Hitler and leaving his blue overalls for Ann Fay to fill.

Trying to keep the wisteria she loves from choking the vegetable garden she's been charged to tend is nearly a full-time job, and that's without counting the extra work of taking care of her baby brother and twin sisters.

Ann Fay thinks these will be her greatest challenges while her daddy is off at war. But then a polio epidemic hits their hometown of Hickory, North Carolina, and Ann Fay learns what real challenge is.

This is a remarkable story of courage and of a spirit that cannot be broken. The flowing language this author uses is just gorgeous, and the voice of Ann Fay is as unique as they come. I stayed up late to read the next chapter and then the next -- one of the highest compliments I can give a book. ( )

Set in 1944 Hickory, North Carolina, Blue is the story of Ann Fay, left to wear the overalls in the family when her father goes off to the European warfront. With three younger siblings and her mother to look out for, Ann Fay has her work cut out for her. When polio strikes her little brother, Ann Fay is wracked with guilt and grief. When she also succumbs to the disease, Ann Fay spends months in a racially mixed emergency ward and begins to question the segregation that she has always taken for granted. An author’s note at the end explains the important part that Hickory, NC, played in the 1944 polio epidemic, the history of polio treatment, and the research and writing process that brought the book to life. Although the dialects do not always ring true and Ann Fay retains a mysterious ability to write letters throughout her affliction, the story is engaging and, at times, heartwrenching. Keep a hanky nearby for this recommended middle school title.