What is the theme in A Solitary Blue by Cynthia Voigt?

Another theme in the novel is identity. Jeff spends the first half of the novel with his true identity submerged as he tries to be variously what he thinks his father, mother, teachers and others want him to be. He is quiet, regular and unemotional for his father, passionate and informed about social issues for his mother, interested in history and family names for Gambo, and polite and well-mannered for Miss Opal. These roles are highlighted by the names people use in the novel. Melody calls Jeff, "Jeffie," and his aunts and Gambo call him "Jefferson." The Professor just calls him Jeff. However, none of these characters is really Jeff Greene. Later, Jeff feels that he has been a ghost in his own life, has striven too hard to be "nobody," and really does not know himself at all. He resolves towards the novel's end to make an effort to know himself, even though it scares him, he suspects that he will like himself when he does.