This latest book by the wonderful author Jacqueline Woodson was just named as a 2009 Newbery Honor Book. jWoodson has written many other books, including Feathers, which was also a Newbery Honor Book. As I started reading, I breathed a big sigh of relief. The writing is so beautiful, and I have read a number of books lately (which will remain unnamed) that are just painful to read, they're so poorly written. The book was a revelation for me; I never understood how important Tupac Shakur was to black culture, and how much black teenagers identified with his life and struggles. I'm sure I still don't really understand, but at least I have an inkling. The first line of the book sets the tone: "The summer before D Foster's real mama came and took her away, Tupac wasn't dead yet." Now that's the way to start a book. It let's you know right off the bat where the action in the book is headed (something I should have remembered as the story progressed, and I became afraid that something really awful was going to happen), and also how the happenings in Tupac's life frame the personal story of the lives of the three girls who are the main characters. I think the sense of foreboding that hangs over the story is probably an accurate reflection of the kind of tension the girls felt growing up in our society. But mostly this is a coming of age story of 3 12-year-old girls: 2 who have been best friends forever, and 1 mysterious girl who joins their group one summer. Review by Stacy
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