"Comfort" picks up where "Blue" left off. Anne Fay is home from the polio hospital and missing her black friend Imogene. At first, she's excited because her father is back from fighting in World War II, but as time goes along she sees that he didn't come back whole. He is suffering from what we now call post traumatic stress disorder. Anne Fay returns to school to find that wearing her braces and walking with crutches, and also being a year behind because of the time in the polio hospital, make her not fit in very well.
Her salvation comes when she gets sent to the Warm Springs Foundation for physical therapy, and just as importantly, the emotional therapy of being with other people who have suffered the same ordeal she has. Warm Springs seems too good to be true for Anne Fay, a poor farm girl.
Her happy time there comes to an abrupt end when her good friend and neighbor, Junior Bledsoe, shows up unannounced to let her know that her father has, at least a couple of times, hurt her mother.
Fabulous book, but do read "Blue" first. ( )

Comfort was not what I expected. What I expected was the happy homecoming bitter sweet with the death of Bobby. What she wrote was reality. ( )

Gr 6-9-At the conclusion of Blue (Boyds Mills, 2006), Ann Fay Honeycutt's daddy is just back from the war and Ann Fay is learning to deal with her polio. The continuation of this determined protagonist's story is even richer than the first installment. It is 1945, and life is anything but normal. Ann Fay, now 14, returns to school after missing a year, and even classmates who do not mock her cannot understand her struggles. Her father's moods fluctuate between apathy and rage. When Ann Fay gets the opportunity to travel to Franklin D. Roosevelt's Georgia Warm Springs Foundation, she is torn: her desire to enter a state-of-the-art polio facility is undercut by the nagging belief that her fragile family will not cope well with her absence. Finally persuaded, she leaves North Carolina and quickly learns to love the welcoming, supportive environment of Warm Springs. Romance blossoms, and she makes rapid gains in her mobility. Then Junior shows up unexpectedly with the news that her father is physically abusing her mother. He also professes his feelings for Ann Fay, and the two, once fast friends, are weighed down by a new awkwardness. While readers of Blue will be instantly drawn into this sequel, Comfort stands alone, and newcomers will find much to appreciate in Ann Fay's attempts to come to terms with the confusion around her. Hostetter's beautiful story about rebuilding, with absorbing back matter about post-traumatic stress disorder and disability rights, is exceptional historical fiction.-Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information
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Reviewed by Jane Kinner for TeensReadToo.com

After reading BLUE, I was not disappointed by the sequel, COMFORT.

The story of Ann Fay's continued recovery from polio and her devastation was incredibly inspiring. I have read stories about polio before, but this one was different because the disease affected the Honeycutt family so deeply.

Ann Fay's difficult choice is relatable with many people's stories today - the choice between caring for yourself and helping your family. When Ann Fay decides to go to Warm Springs, she is greeted by one of the most nourishing and wonderful experiences of her life.

My heart leaped as she began to get well. But soon after she begins to heal, she discovers that her family's happiness is in jeopardy. She must put her own wellness aside as she returns home.

COMFORT is filled with love and the longing for wellness, and the small, interesting bits make up a completely refreshing novel for older readers. ( )