LitStack is excited to present Allie Coker’s review of A Tiny Piece of Blue, Charlotte Whitney’s heartwarming historical novel following a homeless young girl as she struggles to survive during the Great Depression
In This LitStack Rec of A Tiny Piece of Blue
The Impact of Fortitude in Charlotte Whitney’s
A Tiny Piece of Blue
…Desperate Measures
Imagine being a 13-year-old child during a time when everyone only has the capacity to look out for themselves. You’re famished and hungry for knowledge. No running water, electricity, or clothes— just a flour sack dress. Literally don’t have two pennies to rub together. And you’re lying in the ruins of your home after a devastating fire with no idea how you will survive…until you see the one tiny piece of blue amid the blackened, smoky sky.
This is the reality for Silly (Silstice) Trayson, the main character of Whitney’s powerful novel A Tiny Piece of Blue. When we first meet Silly in her rural Michigan hometown, it’s 1934 and the depression is punishing everyone. Silly worries about a different kind of punishment as she has just been caught stealing school supplies so that she can enter high school with a modicum of what she needs.
With her Pa largely absent (though still in the picture), her Ma a hermit who doesn’t venture out of her bedroom due to disinterest and depression, and the phrase “you have to fend for yourself” pelted at her on a regular basis by her parents, the only person Silly can count on is Alberta, her oldest sister who is seventeen. The family of eight lives in total poverty and the sense of despair drips from the opening pages of the book, even if the characters have yet to name it outright yet. The town considers them “The Trashy Traysons.”
Desperate Times…
The cops aren’t worried about Silly though—crime rings and kidnapping are on the rise as criminals look to make a fast buck from children’s labor in factories or prostitution.
Fortunately for Silly, Alberta and the 4-H lady, Edna Goetz, have agreed Silly should learn to sew. Edna and Vernon Goetz are pillars of their 4-H community leading youth to win beef/steer and sewing/style shows over the years. They are a respectable couple who have been married for over 30 years and appear to have plenty to survive during lean times. As Silly attends sewing sessions with Edna, she comes to find out that Vernon has an explosive temper, replete with fits and verbal abuse, and that perhaps their finances aren’t as flush as the town (or even Edna) realizes.
Edna’s dizzy spells, Vernon’s prized and highly valuable stamp gone missing, and the disappearance of Silly’s young brothers are just the beginning of a long journey of trouble for Whitney’s characters though. A Tiny Piece of Blue alternates points of view between Silly, Edna, and Vernon giving a full perspective of the mindsets of their drastically different personalities which only makes the story richer. Whitney imparts lots of information in an organic, seamless way that allows the reader to easily visualize the human drama playing out before them.
Adaptability and the Role of Community
After the Trayson house burns to the ground and the family splits apart, moving wherever there’s space to take them in, Silly questions how she will survive as her cold, unloving mother has abandoned Alberta and her stating they are pretty much fully grown. Silly wonders if she will be able to “live in the ruins” –she somehow finds the resolve to live in the ruins of her obliterated life. When she emerges from that pit, she is no longer Silly but Silstice and she demands Vernon and Edna address her as such.
She is more forthright, less timid, and bent on less worry and more strategizing. The Goetzes let her stay for one night, but despite Vernon’s consternation, Edna and Silstice conspire to get her to stay longer, having to come up with money to pay Vernon for her keep at first, which breaks way to room and board in exchange for chores and care when Edna’s fading health continues to diminish.
For Alberta, graduating high school has always been the “ticket out of Poorville,” but with their home and family gone, she must drop out of almost all her classes to work a job at the Rexall store to survive. The library—a haven with running water, heat, electricity, and books—becomes the sisters’ favorite spot to meet despite the mean-spirited librarian who somehow dresses fashionably and can afford perfume during such lean times. Vernon warns them to avoid her at all costs. Meanwhile, the sheriff, still concerned about minors being forced into sex trafficking and labor (an aspect seldom depicted during this era), enlists Vernon to listen at the local bar for any word of prostitution and report back.
Walk the Walk
While the story is about becoming more than you are, finding strength both within yourself and the community around you, it also highlights the impediments to that. Scarcity mindset abounds during the depression to the point where others are unwilling to help even homeless children, another aspect of that time that is rarely represented in books or movies. Those who are willing to take in kids that aren’t theirs can be cruel and inhospitable to them, encouraging them to eat less and pay more to earn their keep.
Everyone is understandably in a pinch, but the attitudes that follow are appalling. Edna, on the other hand, is the picture of charity. Ever the optimist though overlooked in Vernon’s shadow, she always finds a way to split whatever is available and do so with the true spirit of giving and expecting nothing in return.
Vernon attends church with Edna each week, but never lets the sermons sink in—remaining stingy and hard-hearted immediately after service. Even the Reverend, knowing the reputation of the “Trashy Traysons” and Silly’s stealing school supplies just once, didn’t make any moves to help the young homeless girl. Silly feels closer to and loves Edna and Vernon more than she ever did her own Ma and Pa, proving that blood is not thicker than true care and concern.
Silly said she would work to win the style show and even the beef show that Vernon finally agreed was a good idea for girls to participate in given the hard times and her natural knack for all things farm related. She continues to show efforts instead of quitting at the first sign of defeat.
Despite the bootstrap mentality that surrounds them, Silly and Alberta both experience and perpetuate the ripple effect of helping others. Edna, a role model in this way, tries to prove that by handling burdens as a community versus on our own, we are stronger. Interdependency need not mean weakness.
Curses and Blessings: One and the Same?
The entire story takes place within one year and Whitney’s pacing captures the nonstop nature of life within that time frame. While the characters learn what it means to adapt to all sorts of unprecedented situations, it’s also worth noting that their unfortunate pasts may lend to their ultimate successes. Silly’s independent nature and ability to remain calm in a crisis due to having negligent parents her whole life help her when showing steer (a moment that will have readers bursting with pride for her). Vernon has ugly secrets in his own past that perhaps lend to him being able to spot and stop evil-doing when he sees and hears whiffs of it.
Whitney gracefully develops Vernon’s character arc throughout A Tiny Piece of Blue until we suspect he’s beginning to respect Silstice and perhaps even show a little pride in her. He hears Edna’s words of advice in his mind, despite spending many decades of ridiculing her for her “soft” ways. For Edna, Silly is like the daughter they never had and as Edna’s chapters get shorter and shorter, the author makes a creative and meaningful choice to move from Edna’s original poetry to quoting the Bible to sayings from all world religions, proving once again that kindness is a universal language.
Whitney’s lived experience of growing up on a Michigan farm and participating in 4-H clubs as a young girl shine through in her narrative, adding realism and eliciting heartfelt investment from her readers. She artfully captures collective suffering of the community during dire times while still shining a spotlight on the roles that hope and grit play. I look forward to her next novel.
~ Allie Coker
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About Chatlotte Whitney
Charlotte Whitney grew up on a Michigan farm and often heard stories about the difficult years of the Great Depression. Her widely acclaimed debut historical novel, Threads: A Depression Era Tale was followed by the historical mystery The Unveiling of Polly Forrest, which won multiple awards. She is also the author of two nonfiction books and a romance novel, I Dream in White. Charlotte received a master’s degree in English from the University of Michigan and spent much of her working career in higher education. An avid reader, she loves libraries and book clubs. She lives in Tempe, Arizona, with her husband and two Labrador retrievers.
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