Written in a purposefully detached style, early sections of [A Solitary Blue] read like a journalistic case-study of child neglect. The confrontation with [Jeff's mother], Melody, which would seem to be the climax, comes quite early in the book, and further chapters, while necessary to show Jeff's ultimate resolution of his relationship with his parents, are choppy, episodic and disconnected. The last section, in which he meets Dicey Tillerman and her family [from Voigt's earlier books] … is unnecessary and dull. While well-written (the character of the father is outstanding), the book ultimately disappoints: Melody is a monster, and Jeff's feelings are never clearly portrayed. The theme of a child abandoned by his mother will be interesting to some, but many will lose interest in later chapters. (p. 140)

Gloria P. Rohmann, in a review of "A Solitary Blue," in School Library Journal, Vol. 30, No. 1, September, 1983, pp. 139-40.