Author: Charlotte Whitney
Published: February 2025 by She Writes Press
Category: Historical, Fiction, 1930s America
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Set in Michigan during the Great Depression of the 1930s, A Tiny Piece of Blue tells the story of Silstice Trayson and Vernon and Edna Goetz from their own perspectives. Silstice, nicknamed Silly, along with her brothers and sisters lived with less than caring parents, an absentee father and a mother who took to her bed at the slightest provocation.
A bright child, Silstice wanted to do well but was hampered by circumstances. When she found herself homeless and alone, abandoned by her parents at thirteen after a fire destroyed the family home, she had no idea how she would manage. Her siblings all had homes to go to, either temporary or permanent. Joining Edna’s 4-H sewing group was a lifeline for Silstice and she was determined to make it count.
I’d heard through the grapevine that my new girl, Silly, had gotten herself in trouble, stealing some things from Grover school, a mile down the road. She was one of the Trayson kids, people who were considered low-downers. I’d hoped Vernon hadn’t heard, as he wouldn’t be happy having her in our house. But the girl\s older sister had explained she was taking only paper and pencils for her classes, and she was a good girl at heart, so I decided to make up my own mind. Getting her busy in 4-H would be a good way to stave off more crimes and get her situated with hard working farm girls. Undoubtedly a better element than she was used to.
Edna had a heart of gold and was committed to ‘her girls’ partly because she never had a family of her own but she had high hopes for Silly. Her husband had a different view of what he thought of as his wife’s soft-heartedness in this time of continuing hardship, and manifested itself in bad temper and occasional rages, especially when he believed someone had stolen something he prized.
Silly and her older sister, Alberta were concerned about their younger twin brothers who appeared to have gone missing. No-one knew where they were. Then, when it looked like both girls would soon be homeless again, they ran through several scenarios to avoid that outcome which initially only seemed to have landed them in even more trouble.
The story has lots of vibrant detail, drama plus serious and desperate issues, while encompassing the struggles, the various meanings of family, the ability to adapt when life gets challenging and how much community can matter in dark times. It also highlights the all encompassing difficulties of the era but with pockets of optimism and positivity even amid the horror of child abductions. I loved how the characters evolved and grew, particularly Vernon, even if it was triggered by a great loss.
My thanks to Charlotte Whitney for the invitation to read A Tiny Piece of Blue via NetGalley.
Rural Michigan, 1934. During the throes of the Great Depression, thirteen-year-old Silstice Trayson finds herself homeless, abandoned by her parents after a devastating house fire. Nearby, aging midwestern farmers Edna and Vernon Goetz ar pillars of the community, but when do-gooder Edna takes up Silstice’s cause, Vernon digs in his heels, displaying his true nature as an ornery curmudgeon.
Theirs is a quiet-seeming community, but danger lurks beneath the bucolic façade. With so many youngsters leaving home to make it on their own, child trafficking has grown rampant, and Silstice and her two spirited young brothers soon find themselves in the sights of a ring of kidnappers that’s exploiting local children into forced labor—and worse. Meanwhile Vernon finds himself at risk of losing everything.
Narrated by Silstice, Vernon, and Edna, A Tiny Piece of Blue sets the customs and traditions of rural Michigan against a backdrop of thievery, bribery, and child-trafficking—weaving a suspenseful yet tender tale that ultimately winds its way to a heartwarming conclusion.
