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Ann Fay Honeycutt #2
Comfort
In the wake of World War II, Ann Fay Honeycut grapples with her father’s trauma and the physical and emotional effects of polio—finding healing in the unlikeliest of places
Now that Daddy has returned from fighting Hitler and Ann Fay is home from the polio hospital, life should get back to normal. But Ann Fay discovers she no longer fits easily into old friendships and Daddy has been traumatized by the war. Her family and social life are both falling apart. Ever responsible, she tries to fix things until she finally admits that she herself needs fixing.
She travels to the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation, founded by Franklin D. Roosevelt, where she finds comfort, healing, and even a little romance. Although this invigorating experience does not solve all her problems, it does give Ann Fay a new view of herself.
In this Parents’ Choice Awards Recommended Book, sequel to Blue , Ann Fay makes new friends, reevaluates old relationships, and discovers her unique place in the community.
Now that Daddy has returned from fighting Hitler and Ann Fay is home from the polio hospital, life should get back to normal. But Ann Fay discovers she no longer fits easily into old friendships and Daddy has been traumatized by the war. Her family and social life are both falling apart. Ever responsible, she tries to fix things until she finally admits that she herself needs fixing.
She travels to the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation, founded by Franklin D. Roosevelt, where she finds comfort, healing, and even a little romance. Although this invigorating experience does not solve all her problems, it does give Ann Fay a new view of herself.
In this Parents’ Choice Awards Recommended Book, sequel to Blue , Ann Fay makes new friends, reevaluates old relationships, and discovers her unique place in the community.
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First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
August 12, 2025
Okay, this book was really good. BUT I wish there was more details on Imogene and Bobby. Why was there no more emotions surrounding how Ann Fay and her family felt after losing him? Why did Imogene only get one chapter? Other than that, the story is super sweet and I think it really represents what it’s like to live in that time period!
April 28, 2020
Engaging, good characters. Has some PTSD violence from war damage later in book. Could certainly be upsetting to a sensitive child.
September 14, 2014
There are about thirty books that I truly, honest-to-god, love.
Then there are another ten that have dog-ear marks from the billion times I've read them and reread them because I love them so much.
And then every once in a while, I come across a book that I think about and think about and analyze and can never forget.
Comfort is one of them.
Ann Fay Honeycutt
She is a strong, brave, loving girl, who got polio while her daddy was off fighting in WWII. When her father came home, everything should have been just dandy. She can see how much her parents love each other, again.
and life is going back to normal.
Great, no?
Because her father is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Ann Fay is stuck a grade behind in school because of the year she spent sick, and her brother is still dead (gee), her mother is being hit, herfriendJuniorisgettingweirdandshecan'tevenwalk!
(Phew.)
In order to learn how to walk again, the wonderful southern town Ann Fay lives in collect money for her to go to Roosovelt's Warm Springs.
There, she lives a magical life, with friends and pools and luxury.
If this was the backpage flap of the book, I'd now write: Can it last?
But this is not the back of the book, so duh, it cannot last.
Read the book anyway because we are good people who deserve the small comforts of life. (Did you catch that? Ha, I do love being corny.)
I loved Ann Fay and I loved Junior, who was her neighbor and best friend. (Junior is helplessly smitten with Ann Fay and he proposes to her- but she refuses him- thinking I do love Junior. But does that mean I have to like him too? )
(You gotta love her.)
When the book ended, I was near tears. I wanted to know the rest of Ann Fays life. I wanted to know every, single detail in her life. No worries though, I now have her whole future mapped out in my head. From her wedding to Junior, to her first child, who she will name Bobby after her dead brother and ooh, to that moment in heaven when God will inform her that there was another human being on earth (me, of course) who was deeply, mentally invested in her life...
(I am pathetic.
Then there are another ten that have dog-ear marks from the billion times I've read them and reread them because I love them so much.
And then every once in a while, I come across a book that I think about and think about and analyze and can never forget.
Comfort is one of them.
Ann Fay Honeycutt
She is a strong, brave, loving girl, who got polio while her daddy was off fighting in WWII. When her father came home, everything should have been just dandy. She can see how much her parents love each other, again.
and life is going back to normal.
Great, no?
Because her father is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Ann Fay is stuck a grade behind in school because of the year she spent sick, and her brother is still dead (gee), her mother is being hit, herfriendJuniorisgettingweirdandshecan'tevenwalk!
(Phew.)
In order to learn how to walk again, the wonderful southern town Ann Fay lives in collect money for her to go to Roosovelt's Warm Springs.
There, she lives a magical life, with friends and pools and luxury.
If this was the backpage flap of the book, I'd now write: Can it last?
But this is not the back of the book, so duh, it cannot last.
Read the book anyway because we are good people who deserve the small comforts of life. (Did you catch that? Ha, I do love being corny.)
I loved Ann Fay and I loved Junior, who was her neighbor and best friend. (Junior is helplessly smitten with Ann Fay and he proposes to her- but she refuses him- thinking I do love Junior. But does that mean I have to like him too? )
(You gotta love her.)
When the book ended, I was near tears. I wanted to know the rest of Ann Fays life. I wanted to know every, single detail in her life. No worries though, I now have her whole future mapped out in my head. From her wedding to Junior, to her first child, who she will name Bobby after her dead brother and ooh, to that moment in heaven when God will inform her that there was another human being on earth (me, of course) who was deeply, mentally invested in her life...
(I am pathetic.
December 2, 2011
In her sequel to the captivating novel Blue, Joyce Moyer Hostetter draws in her readers and transports them to the aftermath of WWII and America's war on polio. She picks up where she left Ann Fay Honeycutt--her instantly likable protagonist--and carries readers further into her journey.
This historical non-fiction hits on the timeless issues of acceptance, fitting in, love and loss, family ties and the tragedies that threaten to undo them. She also explores the depth of emotions soldiers must face post-war--a timely issue for our country today.
For a writer, writing is a journey--a long, arduous trek full of mis-steps, deadends, detours, twists and turns. And, for a reader, the end product is an adventure as well--the more eventful and tasking the writer's journey was, the more spell-binding and captivating the reader's response will be and the more that journey will leave an imprint on the reader and add to the core that makes a person who he or she is and that defines his or her character and approach to life. Comfort has certainly made such an imprint on me.
As in her earlier book, Hostetter provides author's notes in the back detailing some of the tireless research she did to produce this masterpiece. She also included which characters in the books were real and which were her own creation. I love reading about an author's writing experience and appreciate a glimpse into her creative thought process.
Hostetter's writing style is beautiful and the imagery she paints and word plays she uses are perfect. I found myself going back to reread sentence after sentence simply because I loved the flow of it or it's musical quality or just the way it fit so perfectly for the POV of a teenage girl from a small NC town in the mid-40s.
I also loved her prologues and epilogues in each book. I find myself replaying Ann Fay's voice from the book trailers reading those mesmerizing opening lines.
I think everyone--male, female; young, old and in-between should read these books. They provide a remarkable literary glimpse into a pivotal time in our country's history.
This historical non-fiction hits on the timeless issues of acceptance, fitting in, love and loss, family ties and the tragedies that threaten to undo them. She also explores the depth of emotions soldiers must face post-war--a timely issue for our country today.
For a writer, writing is a journey--a long, arduous trek full of mis-steps, deadends, detours, twists and turns. And, for a reader, the end product is an adventure as well--the more eventful and tasking the writer's journey was, the more spell-binding and captivating the reader's response will be and the more that journey will leave an imprint on the reader and add to the core that makes a person who he or she is and that defines his or her character and approach to life. Comfort has certainly made such an imprint on me.
As in her earlier book, Hostetter provides author's notes in the back detailing some of the tireless research she did to produce this masterpiece. She also included which characters in the books were real and which were her own creation. I love reading about an author's writing experience and appreciate a glimpse into her creative thought process.
Hostetter's writing style is beautiful and the imagery she paints and word plays she uses are perfect. I found myself going back to reread sentence after sentence simply because I loved the flow of it or it's musical quality or just the way it fit so perfectly for the POV of a teenage girl from a small NC town in the mid-40s.
I also loved her prologues and epilogues in each book. I find myself replaying Ann Fay's voice from the book trailers reading those mesmerizing opening lines.
I think everyone--male, female; young, old and in-between should read these books. They provide a remarkable literary glimpse into a pivotal time in our country's history.
June 20, 2009
Ann Fay is recovering from polio, while her father, recently returned home from World War II, is still struggling with his demons. When Ann Fay is given the chance to attend President Roosevelt's rehabilitation center for polios at Warm Springs, it's a chance for her to escape the ridicule and quiet shunning of her classmates and surround herself with people who understand disability and recovery. When her father sinks deeper into violence and rage as the result of his wartime experiences, Ann Fay must decide where she belongs.
A solid book; not daunting or intimidating. Ann Fay's voice is strong and true, and her dialect is fairly rendered but not impenetrable. A good choice for kids interested in learning more about WWII and the polio epidemics of that era; I learned a lot about the epidemic and the treatment of people with disabilities. Touches on issues of racial segregation, which occasionally felt heavy-handed in its repetition.
A solid book; not daunting or intimidating. Ann Fay's voice is strong and true, and her dialect is fairly rendered but not impenetrable. A good choice for kids interested in learning more about WWII and the polio epidemics of that era; I learned a lot about the epidemic and the treatment of people with disabilities. Touches on issues of racial segregation, which occasionally felt heavy-handed in its repetition.
July 3, 2016
When Daddy returns from fighting Hitler, Ann Fay assumes like will get back to normal. Or as normal as can be expected for a girl with polio. But just as the disease has changed her, so has the war changed her Daddy. And Ann Fay doesn’t know what to do. Should she take care of herself and travel to Warm Springs, Georgia for therapy or stay with her family in the hopes she might help her Daddy heal.
“Answers come easy to people who never have problems.”
Ann Fay doesn’t have any easy answers, but COMFORT raises profound questions about healing, both mentally and physically, and how important it is to be understood.
“Answers come easy to people who never have problems.”
Ann Fay doesn’t have any easy answers, but COMFORT raises profound questions about healing, both mentally and physically, and how important it is to be understood.
March 27, 2023
This book vividly portrays rural small town life, the main character's adjustments to her post-polio disability, and her father's difficult reentry into civilian life after World War II. It also portrays the community of polio patients recovering at the Warm Springs Foundation in Georgia, and the author's note mentions which people and experiences were based on history from her research and interviews.
Although this historical fiction novel has a lot of fascinating elements, it's also super depressing. I enjoyed the first book more, both because of its significantly tighter plot and because it was more uplifting, with lots of positive messages and lighter moments in the midst of difficult struggles. This sequel is painfully realistic without much to counterbalance the heavy topics, and it's really sad overall. I would not have liked this when I was the target audience in elementary and middle school, and only enjoyed it now because of how much I've built up my tolerance for dealing with miserable historical life realities.
Although this historical fiction novel has a lot of fascinating elements, it's also super depressing. I enjoyed the first book more, both because of its significantly tighter plot and because it was more uplifting, with lots of positive messages and lighter moments in the midst of difficult struggles. This sequel is painfully realistic without much to counterbalance the heavy topics, and it's really sad overall. I would not have liked this when I was the target audience in elementary and middle school, and only enjoyed it now because of how much I've built up my tolerance for dealing with miserable historical life realities.
July 8, 2021
It's a rare feat when two books in a series earn five-star reviews from me. It's hard to move a story forward in a plausible yet engaging way, keep the characters compelling yet believable, and maintain the tone set in the first book, leaving room for a narrator's growth--or non-growth.
Ann Fay is home from the hospital, and her daddy is home from the war. That should be enough to make everyone happy and everything better. But it seems the two homecomings only highlight how much Ann Fay and her daddy have changed, and how much they no longer fit into their family and community.
Once again, the author gives us a narrator with strong opinions and desires who is faced with big challenges. And as she did in the first novel in this series, Ann Fay's plainspoken, heartfelt, determined voice grabs readers and won't let go until the last page.
An encore as strong and clear as the preceding performance, including terrific writing on disability and society's changing attitudes toward it.
Ann Fay is home from the hospital, and her daddy is home from the war. That should be enough to make everyone happy and everything better. But it seems the two homecomings only highlight how much Ann Fay and her daddy have changed, and how much they no longer fit into their family and community.
Once again, the author gives us a narrator with strong opinions and desires who is faced with big challenges. And as she did in the first novel in this series, Ann Fay's plainspoken, heartfelt, determined voice grabs readers and won't let go until the last page.
An encore as strong and clear as the preceding performance, including terrific writing on disability and society's changing attitudes toward it.
April 14, 2019
I believe this is classified as young adult. And if so, it does a good job of touching on race relations in the 1940s, what is now known as PTSD, the strength of women in their unassuming life roles, and of course the lasting effects of the polio epidemic. I am old enough to remember people with disabilities from polio—thank God for vaccines.
November 14, 2017
I loved the juvenile novel Blue and this story continues the tale of Ann Fay Honeycutt as she battled polio and her dad’s return from WW II. The locales are North Carolina and Georgia and Ann Fay’s voice is true blue.
November 12, 2018
Unexpectedly excellent read: all middle graders and adults love this book.
Great book club read: discussions on physical disabilities, war, poverty, self-sufficiency, history, the shunning of the ill and the line between childhood and adult responsibility.
Great book club read: discussions on physical disabilities, war, poverty, self-sufficiency, history, the shunning of the ill and the line between childhood and adult responsibility.
September 3, 2021
Great book left off exactly where Blue ended. I really liked that they did that because it made me wonder what the next book would hold. I like that they also tied in a little bit of history, and that it was realistic fiction.
July 15, 2017
Not as good as the first one, but still pretty good. I liked the main character's strength and compassion.
June 21, 2018
Great story. Well written and so familiar and comforting.
My father was a poleo but never talked about how he revived from a year in a full body cast.
My father was a poleo but never talked about how he revived from a year in a full body cast.
June 18, 2021
Amazing amazing amazing. Got a signed copy of this book. 1010110100/10. Pls read.
July 17, 2024
It's a good book, and I love the plot
July 18, 2024
I loved this sequel to Blue! Very well wriiten! I’m looking forward to reading the rest of this series!
March 24, 2023
One of my
August 16, 2009
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
August 18, 2016
Ann Fay is anything but a typical 14 year-old girl. Instead of hanging out with her best friend Peggy Sue at the movies, or playing at recess like the regular kids, Ann Fay—stricken with Polio the year before—works a Saturday job to help support her family, spends recess alone with her clickity leg brace, and worries incessantly about why Daddy is a whole different man since returning from the war. Longing to feel normal, a sparkle shines bright in her eyes when she’s offered the opportunity to live at Warm Springs—a place in Georgia for Polios to receive rehabilitation treatments. But she also thinks her family will crumple without her. With her parents’ blessing, she finally agrees to attend Warm Springs and for the first time feels she’s in a place where everyone’s just like her. There’s real comfort in that.
Ann Fay progresses quickly and is soon walking with a cane and making friends. Life is perfect, until Junior Bledsoe from back home shows up at Warm Springs with bad news from back home, forcing Ann Fay to leave the one place she feels her best in. But family comes first, and it’s time to step out of her comfort zone and face her daddy and his war neurosis (PTSD).
This story is exquisitely told, with both beautiful language and heartfelt revelations, “I learned quick enough that when someone drops a bomb in one small place on this planet, it shatters the whole universe. And not just for a little while either. The breaking goes on forever…”
Readers will love Ann Fay and enjoy her journey as she realizes that, “Something that hurts can make us stronger. You just have to face it, and after a while it starts to get better.” Yes, Ann Fay, it really does.
Ann Fay progresses quickly and is soon walking with a cane and making friends. Life is perfect, until Junior Bledsoe from back home shows up at Warm Springs with bad news from back home, forcing Ann Fay to leave the one place she feels her best in. But family comes first, and it’s time to step out of her comfort zone and face her daddy and his war neurosis (PTSD).
This story is exquisitely told, with both beautiful language and heartfelt revelations, “I learned quick enough that when someone drops a bomb in one small place on this planet, it shatters the whole universe. And not just for a little while either. The breaking goes on forever…”
Readers will love Ann Fay and enjoy her journey as she realizes that, “Something that hurts can make us stronger. You just have to face it, and after a while it starts to get better.” Yes, Ann Fay, it really does.
November 13, 2012
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.
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.
June 1, 2016
This book is a sequel to BLUE. Readers who enjoy historical fiction will love both books. COMFORT is set in rural North Carolina following World War II. Our heroine, Ann Fay, is recovering from the effects of polio, and her daddy is suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome. This book draws a haunting portrait of the emotional effects fighting has on soldiers and their families.
The author conducted extensive historical research in writing this book and it shows, particularly when Ann Fay is treated at Roosevelt's Warm Springs Foundation. All of the secondary characters are exquisitely drawn. I have a special fondness for Ann Fay's neighbor, Junior Bledsoe.
The author conducted extensive historical research in writing this book and it shows, particularly when Ann Fay is treated at Roosevelt's Warm Springs Foundation. All of the secondary characters are exquisitely drawn. I have a special fondness for Ann Fay's neighbor, Junior Bledsoe.
May 29, 2009
This book is really good so far Ann Fay's daddy has come home from the war, and is fighting with her mom. She just got used to using her cruches and brace but it's still hard to be crppled. when Ann Fay starts going through rough times she must save her family and learn to walk at the same time. Its hard but there is nothing Ann Fay can't do with her wooden Comfort around her neck and her friends by her side.
December 14, 2009
I could not get into this at all. I didn't like any of the characters or anything that they did. I thought I'd really enjoy learning more about the polio clinic Ann went to, but I didn't stay engaged long enough to get much out of it. The author's note was really interesting, though. Meh. Maybe I'll try this again when I'm less stressed - everything with her father was so depressing, which didn't help my own moods. I usually love anything 1940s, especially with a unique spin.
December 18, 2010
This book explores some heavy issues--post traumatic stress syndrome, polio, and race relations. The topics made me put off reading it, but once I got started I couldn't put it down. I like the characters that Hostetter created in this series, and at the end of the book, I still wanted to know more. In the end, it was a story of endurance and determination and the love of family and friends. I hope there is a book 3 coming!
January 24, 2012
Mom, you need to read this beautifully written book. I know that you will love it. The protagonist is strong and doesn't give up amidst the fact that she is recovering from the debilitating effects of polio. Love it! Beautifully written and I just loved Ann Fay immediately, she catches you by the hearstrings and you just want to know what happens to her.
November 15, 2009
This is the rest of Ann Fay's story (continued from the 2006 book, Blue), as she recovers from polio and her dad returns from the war. Although I didn't like it quite as much as the first one, it has very interesting characters I really grew to like.
April 2, 2010
This is a sequel to the novel blue. It's about the after math of polio, war, etc. And how these things effect families. I didn't like it as much as the first book but it was still an easy read, I learned a lot, and kept me interested. It's just a feel good book. Completely clean too!
February 24, 2011
I just couldn't be happy with this book. It had much less history to it, although I did enjoy reading more about the clinic for "polios". Although it was a realistic follow up I didn't really like the direction she took the plot. I also wish there had been more between Ann Fay and Junior.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews