Published in 2010, Cynthia Lord’s Touch Blue is a middle-grade realistic novel narrated by 11-year-old Tess Brooks, who lives on a small Maine island. The state plans to close the island’s only school, forcing families to move, unless they can raise enrollment. Tess’s family takes in 13-year-old Aaron as a foster child to help save the school, but Tess’s wish for “good luck” collides with Aaron’s anger, grief, and complicated ties to a mother experiencing alcohol addiction. The novel won the Maine Literary Award in 2011 and explores themes including The Need for Connection and Belonging, Superstition as an Attempt to Cope With Life’s Uncertainties, and The Importance of Trust.

This guide refers to the e-book edition released by Scholastic Press in 2010.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of illness, death, bullying, addiction, and substance use.

Plot Summary

Eleven-year-old Tess Brooks lives on a small Maine island with her parents and her five-year-old sister, Libby. When the state threatens to close the island’s only school unless it can raise enrollment, Tess’s family takes in 13-year-old Aaron Spinney as a foster child to help save the school. Although Tess is initially excited about the plan that will enable her to stay in her beloved home, her first interactions with Aaron make her wonder if he will be a good fit for her family.

During Aaron’s first full day on the island, Tess opens a letter addressed to her parents because she hopes it contains news about the school. Instead, she finds a letter from Aaron’s biological mother, whom he hasn’t heard from in four years. Aaron reads the letter and asks Tess not to tell her parents about the message because he thinks his caseworker would disapprove. She reluctantly agrees to keep his secret. Soon afterward, a boy named Eben spouts harmful stereotypes about foster children and tells Aaron that the Brooks family took him in to raise enrollment and keep the school open. Aaron punches the boy in the face. Tess tries to comfort Aaron, but he’s hurt to learn that there is some truth to what the bully said about the school.

As the weeks pass, Aaron accompanies Tess and Mr. Brooks, who is a fisherman, on his lobster boat because he’s drawn to the man’s quiet presence. However, he still feels uncomfortable in the Brooks’s home and on the island. Aaron is musically gifted and plays the piano and the trumpet. In the hope of making him feel like part of the community, Tess suggests that Aaron perform at the Fourth of July picnic. Although he’s apprehensive about having an audience, he feels as if he can’t decline. That same day, Aaron opens up to Mr. Brooks and Tess about how his grandmother died of cancer, and he allows them to comfort him. Later that evening, Tess takes Aaron to the parish hall so that he can practice on the piano, and he encourages her to have more confidence in her singing.

At the Fourth of July picnic, Aaron astounds the crowd by playing his trumpet beautifully, but he suddenly flees when he sees that Eben left a cruel note in his music book. The next day, Aaron reveals to Tess that he plans to run away because he wants to live with his biological mother. Tess is in the process of repairing a boat, and he plans to use the skiff to sail to the mainland once the boat is finished. When Tess says that she can’t keep his plan a secret, he accuses her of betraying their friendship, packs his things, and runs to the ferry. Tess finds him on the beach and persuades him to stay by offering to invite his mother to watch him perform at the island’s talent show. Inwardly, she’s certain that the woman won’t come and that this disappointment will make Aaron decide to give her family a chance. Libby learns of Tess and Aaron’s plan, and they swear the five-year-old to secrecy.

Tess catches a blue lobster, which is a rare find. The lobster’s coloration is also significant because Tess believes strongly in luck, and local superstition maintains that blue is an auspicious color. An aquarium offers to buy the blue lobster, and she hopes to use the money to purchase a motor for the boat she’s repairing. However, Aaron objects to the idea of separating the lobster from its familiar environment and putting it on display for strangers to gawk at.

To Tess’s surprise, Aaron’s mother attends the talent show. Aaron is thrilled to see her and performs beautifully. Eben becomes jealous of the positive attention that the boy receives from the audience and calls him an “orphan,” prompting Libby to reveal that Aaron’s biological mother is present.

The Brooks, the Spinneys, and Aaron’s caseworker gather in the Brooks’s home. The caseworker censures the Brooks family for allowing this unauthorized visit, and Aaron demands to know why Ms. Spinney hasn’t regained custody of him. He reveals that he was placed in foster care after she became intoxicated and unresponsive when he was five years old, and he feels that he has been punished for her actions.

The boy runs to his room, and Ms. Spinney, Mrs. Brooks, and the caseworker go to talk to him. Meanwhile, Tess explains to her father that she hoped her plan would make Aaron want to stay on the island. Mr. Brooks encourages her to accept that some things are beyond her control and to take comfort from the fact that they’ll always mean something to Aaron, even if they have to part ways.

The next morning, Aaron decides to remain on the island with Tess’s family. Tess reclaims the blue lobster that she was going to sell and lets the boy release it into the ocean. Then, she drops her collection of lucky charms into the water because she now understands that she can make her own luck instead of clinging to superstitions for a sense of control.