Forget-Me-Not Blue

Starred review from Publishers Weekly: “An optimistic conclusion, ferried by an enduring heroine, rounds out this hopeful novel by Moranville.”

Starred review from School Library Journal: “A unique book with the message that the scars of generational trauma are deep and lasting, but the cycle can be broken with creative outlets, strong family ties, and determination. A must-read companion to Leslie Connor’s Waiting for Normal.”

From Kirkus: “Life from Sofie’s perspective is painfully but realistically conveyed . . . Amid fears and crises, there are still small comforts to be found, capturing feelings of inherent value of her family.”

Awards: A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection 2023

Chosen for the 2025 Illinois Reads program

From the publisher: Stories make Sofie feel safe, from the books she checks out from the library so that her mom can’t sell them to the stories she tells herself. . . Moranville’s lyrical, intimate prose explores the generational ripple effects of addiction and the unbreakable bonds of family as Sofie searches for hope in the most important story: her own.

Holiday House ISBN 9780823453597

DISCUSSION GUIDE FOR TEACHERS AND READING GROUPS

1. From the very beginning of the story, Sofie declares Con the best brother in the world. She is determined to follow his footsteps into Mr. Bloom’s fifth grade class and win the Student Explorer Award just as her brother did three years earlier. But because of setbacks in her life, this does not happen. How do Sofie’s feelings and reactions to this disappointment show her character growth?

2. When her life gets sad and scary, Sofie escapes by reading, swimming, and gardening. How do those activities help Sofie, Con, and Gunner form bonds, learn about each other, and grow together?

 3. Sofie is often wrong, but never in doubt, in her judgment of people. Think about Gunner, her California great-grandmother, the Advocate, Jade. Her mother. Tommy. How do her opinions about these people change as she gets to know them, and how does that affect Sofie’s growth?

 4. Sofie assumes her California great-grandmother, whom she has never met, is surely a mean old lady. And she definitely sends wildly inappropriate Christmas gifts every year. But the Christmas box she sends at the end of the book is so on target that Sofie’s heart is full. How does that fabulous Christmas box show the understanding, connection, and healing that happens during the story? How is Gunner the hero in bringing about this healing?

 5. Sofie’s mom’s boss at the restaurant, Tommy, turns out to play a surprising role in her life. How do the characters work together to knit Sofie’s old life and her new life together in a way that includes everybody?

 6. How does the title, Forget-Me-Not Blue, which is Sofie’s mom’s favorite color, express one of the main themes of the story?