The Blue Man

Steve Forrester #1

by Kin Platt

Steve Forrester is a teenager who goes to live for a summer with his aunt and uncle, who run a rural motel.

On his first day running the desk by himself, a strange man checks in, dressed in a scarf, hat, trench coat and gloves, unusual attire for summer. The light on the desk starts to flicker as the man signs in with an illegible scrawl. Later, Steve brings a towel to the stranger's room and sees something that launches him on an unusual and singular adventure.

Genres: Young Adult, Thriller, Fiction, Science Fiction

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

Pseudonyms: Kirby Carr, Guy West, Alan West, Guy York & Wesley Simon York

Kin Platt (1911–2003) was the author of the perennially popular I Can Read Book Big Max, as well as several outstanding young-adult novels and the Max Roper mystery series for adults. Mr. Platt was also a noted cartoonist.

For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kin_Platt

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know this book because my sixth grade teacher read it to us, and I remember falling in love with the noir-lite, quasi-sci-fi tone of the story. I was reunited with this long out of print book after years of looking for an affordable copy, only to have an internet query discovered by someone closely associated with the author, who was kind enough to send me a replica of the first printing. After 30 years, did this book hold up for me? Mostly! The language and dialog are certainly dated, but it reads more quaint and charming than distractingly out of vogue. There are elements that certainly wouldn't fly today - a teenaged girl smoking cigarettes as if she were munching on pretzel sticks? Scandal! But it was acceptable in the days in which The Blue Man was written, and what I read was the unaltered first edition version of the book. (An edited version was published in the early 70s, which was the version I knew from grade school.) All in all, I'm not sure if this book completely stands the test of time, but it was as much of a thrill ride in 2011 as it was for me in 1980.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

My fifth grade teacher read this book to our class and I was utterly engrossed. Flashes of the story stayed with me, and when I saw her again a decade later I made sure to get the title so that I could track it down again.

[Cari]

In fourth grade, in Kent, WA, my teacher read us this book and I just loved it! We moved away before the book was finished & I searched for it everywhere so I could learn the ending, but I never found it. I want to re-read it someday just to recall what it was all about. :)

[S. Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

"When Uncle Fred said 'Welcome to Grisly Manor,' he was joking. That was yesterday....Believe me, tonight it's no joke."

Teenager Steve Forrester arrives to spend the summer with his aunt and uncle at their rural motel, expecting a slow, tedious vacation. All of that changes, however, when on his first day running the desk by himself, a strange overdressed man checks in. Steve takes a towel to the man's room and discovers that the man's skin is bright blue, and witnesses him draining energy from a nearby lamp. The Blue Man later kills Steve's uncle and flees, propelling Steve on a cross-country road trip in search of revenge.

I picked this book up at a library sale because it looked like a strange young adult novel, and indeed it is. Possibly darker in tone than other YA books today, The Blue man injects the young main character into a situation involving the death of a loved one at the hands of appears to be an alien, forcing him to grow up quickly as he launches his own manhunt for his uncle's killer. Kin Platt's writing is tight and suspenseful, and he keeps the action moving and the characters interesting and believable. A great read for anyone into action-adventure YA fiction.

[sham reads]

dnf ..

i thought i'd like that book ... but hell nah ..

[Joe Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in about 4th grade. LOVED it then. One of the first books to really turn me on to reading.

[Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book. I have read Sinbad and Me but not this one. Children’s literature at its best.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book for the Popsugar Challenge prompt, 'Read a book that makes you nostalgic'. I read this in my 4th grade English class... I remembered that we read it out loud as a class. I remembered that it was called The Blue Man and had a blue man in it. Did not remember the author's name. I remembered that there was a teenage boy protagonist who was trying to find the blue man after a scary encounter with him. And I remembered that I thought the book conveyed a lot of ominousness and a sense of doom.

This book definitely made me nostalgic. It's funny how I didn't remember the writing style (which was odd, but maybe at the time -1961- it was considered to be written in the vernacular of teenage boys?) and I didn't remember the sexist comments made about females (they're hysterical, obsessed with fabrics, and don't know how to throw), and I definitely didn't remember the very ending which explains it all.

Reading it as an adult, I would say it's very Scooby Doo-ish and a bit too meandering and I think the author got paid per word. I think there are better books for young people these days, but I did like it, and I especially liked feeling so nostalgic with a book that I thought I'd never find again.

[Patrick McWilliams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember loving ‘Sinbad and Me’ as a kid, so when I found out later that it was actually the second book in a 4-book series, I had to get my hands on book one. Headed to Amazon and NOPED outta there real fast. $80 for a used copy in “Good” condition? Thankfully, archive.org came to the rescue!

I read this aloud to my 8-year-old daughter in two nights and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. The author’s first-person writing voice has perfectly captured what you’d imagine a 15-year-old boy from 60’s New York would sound like, although I admittedly don’t have a frame of reference. In tense action scenes, you can “hear” the excitement in his voice as sentences become sprawling stream-of-consciousness run-ons.

In both content and style, this felt very much like an early Stephen King novella, only for younger readers. Set three years later than Sinbad and Me (and sans Sinbad), The Blue Man is a great introduction to the unusual, mysterious world of Steve Forrester.

[Mindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been re-reading old childhood favorites and managed to get a paperback copy of The Blue Man which I had read many times as a 4th-6th grader. There was a notable absence of nuance compared to what I remembered, but I just read a blog from an author who had a conversation with the author Kin Platt's son Chris. It sounds like the original hardback version was more robust and is what I recall from my younger years. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable trip down memory lane.

Kin Platt had an interesting and productive career, writing radio comedy for George Burns and Jack Benny, as well as scripting TV animation for The Jetsons, The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, etc. among many other accomplishments. The Wikipedia page about him is worth a visit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kin_Platt

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of those odd little pieces of YA fiction that really imprinted on me. It's fun, and strange, and hard to pin down. The plot is about a young teen who runs into a hotel-guest who is strangely blue, and disguising his actions/motivations. The plot that ensues never entirely explains what the situation really is, which is part of what makes it ultimately such an intriguing and delightful little book.

[Gerrold · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I was seven or eight when I read this ... it may be the first SF novel I read. The five stars is for how this book affected my young self.

[Teresa Tavener · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book that got me started on reading in 4th grade

[Samuel Provance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this growing up and still one of my favorite books

[Victoria Barics]

my dad’s favorite childhood book

[Priyansh Suthar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really worth reading, as long as my experience is concerned. When I first dived into the book, it took me away completely in the first few lines of the text. Afterwards, I only got deeper and deeper into the book while it becoming more and more engaging.
Although the end of the story is quite anti-climactic, I really enjoyed the adventure the protagonist went into. I would very well recommend this book.

[Chris Beller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review will contain spoilers, since my appreciation for it lies in the ending itself. I found this book in my attic, and since it looked like a quick read, I decided to add it to my list of books to read. I was not disappointed.
The thing about this book is that it's a mystery that morphs into a bit of a thriller before going back to the mystery and explaining everything, and in a very nice way, I must say. The use of the journal the blue man kept to explain things may seem rushed or not well thought-out, but the way the story ran, it fit perfectly. I very much enjoy the fact that, while the mystery is explained, it's still left slightly open for interpretation. Was this man really receiving messages from another planet? Or did he have an acute case of schizophrenia? Whichever you believe, his actions from the skeleton to all the action that took place, and I found myself pondering what the ending meant when I finished. Personally, I believe more of the schizophrenic route, and how one person with this affliction sparks an entire adventure, affecting so many other individuals along the way. In my opinion, the story was about this kid who gets roped into this guys delusional world and forced to find his own way out. If, however, the ending really was that he was receiving signals, I sense a possible sequel. However, as a stand-alone story, I find the mental instability aspect to be far more fascinating. I feel that it gives this story that final layer that really makes it feel complete. I definitely recommend it, and encourage you to take it as it is and draw your own conclusions.

[Steve Chaput · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book in Jr. high and was completely blown away. I guess this was the first book, other than say the Tom Swift, Jr. and Hardy Boys novels, aimed at 'teens' that I read and could identify with. Possibly because the lead character was also named Steve.

Very happy living with his parents in New York City, Steve is not thrilled when his parents decide to send him off to spend the summer with his aunt & uncle. They run a small hotel in a rural area, and he finds himself pretty bored. When a rather odd looking guest registers and Steve accidentally discovers he is blue, things take a very, dangerous turn. Believing that his uncle has been killed, Steve steals his car and takes off in pursuit. However, how can a sixteen year old kid track down someone who may very well be an alien.

This book hooked me like few others. I must have read the book close to a dozen times over the next few years and still find it just as entertaining now that I'm more than forty years older than I was when I first discovered it.

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

My aunt recommended it and after looking all over on line I was able to buy a used copy. Every review I have read gives this a five star. I am eager to get it here and read it.

This was a weird, quirky book but an easy, engaging fast read. Any 12 year old boy would love this.

[Dennis Mansfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

one of the first books I read when I was 10 yrs old

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I also remember reading this as a child; don't remember the plot! But remember that it was memorable and I remember the name of the book.

[Chris Brimmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great young adult reading and a good intro to detective, crime writing for Jr high readers.

[Carol]

See my Library Thing list for the right cover art