In "Bleak House," Charles Dickens gave us Mrs. Jellyby, who took such a charitable interest in far-away Borrioboola-Gha that she failed to notice when her own wretched children were falling down the stairs.

Cynthia Voigt [in "A Solitary Blue"] has created a contemporary version of Mrs. Jellyby, an equally appalling mother-philanthropist…. (p. 34)

The reader guesses from the beginning of this beautifully written story that the mother is a washout—guesses too that the father's still waters run deep. The book has a natural suspense. One wants to see the boy discover the truth about his parents for himself. There is an "I could have told you so" satisfaction in seeing him betrayed once again by his mother, pleasure in watching the development of his new friendship with his responsible father. Professor Greene's repressions and inhibitions begin to seem like virtues compared with Melody's treacherous "I love you's".

"A...