This post relates to the book, After Tupac and D Foster, by Jaqueline Woodson.  I'm interested in how  the author explores the following idea:

Sometimes, certain people come into your life that you may not like at first, but give them a chance and maybe they will surprise you.

D Foster came into the neighborhood of the narrator and Neeka unexpectedly.  At first, they were unaccepting of her , so she disliked them, but over time the three of them formed a very strong bond.

The narrator was the first to see D standing across the street watching her and Neeka.  Though she didn't show it, the narrator secretly envied D for her unique good looks.  As the narrator got to know D, she appreciated D's sense of humor and outgoing friendliness. When D talked about how her light hair was getting darker over time, the narrator realized that even though a person may seem like they have it all, their real life may be different than how it seems on the outside.

Neeka was annoyed when the narrator first pointed out D to her.  Neeka was the one who popped all the questions--such as where D was from, why her hair and eyes were the way they were, and why she was wearing "white girl shoes".  Just like the narrator, Neeka eventually learned to love D.

Ultimately, what the narrator and Neeka didn't know was that D had a much harder home life than they initially realized.  She was living with a foster family. As they came to know her better, what drew them in was that there was something mysterious and exciting about her, and they admired the freedom she had come and go where she wanted independent of grown ups.

In conclusion, this shows how you should really get to know a person before you judge them and how first impressions can be misleading.

If You Come Softly

Isabella Danon                                                                                                                               11/9/15
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                                                                 If You Come Softly
                       
            If You Come Softly, by Jaqueline Woodson, tells the story of Jeremiah and Elisha (Miah and Ellie)  who are in a normal relationship.  There is just one thing that is different.  Miah is African-American, and Ellie is Caucasian.  Miah and Ellie must navigate the challenges of being in an out-of-the-ordinary relationship and learn how to cope with the people who are not as open-minded as others.  They go about their days acting like a normal couple, but unfortunately receiving some stares and the occasional rude comment.  However, they don't pay much mind to the people around them and more so focus on their relationship and the good things in life, because none of these people can take from them the strong bond that they have.  They go through their life thinking it will always be that way.  Sadly, what they don't know is that something very bad will happen in the future.  On a regular day, Miah is walking through Brooklyn, to his favorite basketball court. What he doesn't know is that the police are looking for a man that happens to look quite similar to him.  He is so busy with his basketball that he doesn't notice the two officers telling him to stop and stand still.  When he doesn't obey, they shoot him.  This is a very good example of police brutality towards African-Americans in America.  Jeremiah is now dead and Ellie is beyond devastated.  The moral of the story is that people should always be affectionate with the people they love, because you never know when you might lose someone out of nowhere, and everyone has different ways of coping with loss.
                  Ellie was in a relationship with Jeremiah.  It started out with her dropping her books in the hallway, and he helped her pick them up.  There was something special between them from the moment they saw each other.  After that, they both ended up thinking about each other a lot, as weird as it sounds.  When Ellie told her sister about Miah, her sister did not approve.  Ellie found this hypocritical because her sister was in a lesbian relationship.  They stopped talking to each other after that.  For a while, all Miah and Ellie did was think about each other.  Then after a couple months passed, they decided to skip class and go for a walk.  They ended up talking about a lot of things, including their feelings for each other.  In the end, Jeremiah kissed Ellie and they ended up a couple.  They stayed like this for about a month, having their ups and downs, but nothing too serious.  When Miah passed away Ellie was extremely upset because she had lost the one person who truly understood her.
                Nelia was Jeremiah's mother.  She had been married to Jeremiah's father for a few years, but they had ended up getting a divorce due to Jeremiah's father having an affair with a woman called Lois Anne, who lived across the street.  Jeremiah lived with his mother, but also spent a lot of time with his father because they lived across the street from each other.  Nelia and Jeremiah had a very close relationship.  There were times when Jeremiah got upset that his family was divided, but he always stuck by his mom.  After Jeremiah's death, Nelia fell into a deep depression.  She was an author, so she began writing a lot more to express her feelings.  She also cut her hair to symbolize that she was starting over.
                 Carlton was Jeremiah's best friend.  He was a very good basketball player, and him and Jeremiah would often play basketball together.  When Miah told him about his relationship with Ellie, he was very supportive, because he was biracial, with a black father and a white mother.  After the death of Miah, Carlton began to find out a lot more about himself.  He realized that he liked boys and often found himself thinking about how attractive the boys on his basketball team were.  He decided to tell this to Ellie and Kennedy, one of Jeremiah's friends from school, whom Carlton knew from the basketball practices.  Carlton had found out a lot about himself, and he knew that Jeremiah would have supported his decisions.
              Norman was Jeremiah's father.  After having problems with Jeremiah's mother, he moved in with his girlfriend across the street.  Therefore, he spent a lot of time with Jeremiah.  Often times, Lois Anne would be there when Jeremiah was at Norman's house.  Surprisingly, she and Jeremiah were quite close.  She was also deeply saddened after his passing.  In the aftermath of the shooting, Norman talks about feeling guilty that he didn't understand Jeremiah enough.  In one particular conversation that they had, Norman had talked about how all white people were the same, and Jeremiah had asked his father if he thought that maybe there were some, or even just one, that was different.  At the time Norman couldn't understand why his son would ask a question like that, but now that he knew about Ellie, he finally understood.
                   Overall, this shows how different people can deal with losing someone close to them, and the different relationships those people had with that person.  Ellie, Nelia, Carlton, and Norman all dealt with the tragic death of Jeremiah in different ways.  They all had different relationships, but regardless of that, he was very close with all of them, and they all were very upset when he was shot.  Although they were heartbroken, they each found a way to move on after a while.

Isabella Danon
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                                                                         Panic

          Panic, by Sharon M. Draper, is a novel about four friends who attend Crystal Point Dance Academy.  The chapters in this book switch from the point of view of Justin Braddock, Layla Ridgewood, Mercedes Ford, and Diamond Landers.  The night of the big dance concert, Diamond and Mercedes go to the mall to get new dance tights.  While they are at the mall, Diamond has an encounter with a very well dressed, well mannered man who claims to be involved in the making of a film with celebrities.  He asks Diamond if she would like to have a dancing part in the film.  Diamond is so excited that she may have the chance to meet celebrities, that a she is oblivious to the fact that she just left with a complete stranger.  This decision will change her life, as well as the lives of her family and friends.  Teenagers can relate to this book because the characters are all being abused in some way.
         Teens can relate to Layla Ridgewood, who is in a very bad position.  She is in a relationship with a young man named Donovan,  and he is extremely controlling.  Layla is convinced that its because he loves her.  The first time he shows signs of abuse is at one of the dance recitals.  Layla os about to go on stage, when suddenly Donovan storms into the room, demanding that Layla change her costume due to him thinking it's too revealing.  Layla tires to argue that her costume is fine and she doesn't have time to change.  Donovan squeezes her arm until a mark is left, as well as pointing out to her that she is gaining weight.  After the incident, Layla continues to believe that Donovan is the one for her.  This goes on for a while.  Behind Layla's back, Donny is seeing a girl named Magnificent Significant Jones.  Layla is notified about the situation, and immediately confronts Donovan about it.  When she tries to talk to him, he hurts her severely.  Nevertheless, she continues to come back to him again and again.  Some  advice for Layla would be to leave Donovan as soon as she can, or it will only get worse.
     Teenagers can also relate to Justin Braddock, a male dancer who has a passion for what he does.  Unfortunately, the other young men think that dancing is not athletic or manly enough.  This causes them to tease Justin and make mean comments about him.  They are not aware of the athletic strength it takes to do some of the dance moves that Justin does.  It is saddening to think that he is getting put down for doing what he loves and is his passion.  Some of the boys even go so far as to make comments about his mother, who recently passed away.  Justin spends much time trying to figure out how he can get through this difficulty.
      Finally, teens can relate to Diamond Landers, who went to the mall with her friend Mercedes, thinking that she was just getting dance tights.  She instead ended up getting kidnapped.  The man who kidnapped her is holding her hostage in a small room.  In the day time he gives her food, clothes, and things that he assumes will keep her entertained.  But at night, he drugs her and then proceeds to bring in a group of men to put Diamond through pain that no 15-year-old girl should have to go through.  All the while filming her against her will.  Diamond soon finds herself going almost insane, and the only thing that can keep her from completely loosing it is the thought of dance,  and the minisclule amount of hope that she has about escaping the place where she is being held hostage.  Now     whenever I am in a situation where someone is offering me something and they want me to follow them, I know the safest thing to do is to pass up the oprotunnity.
     Overall, this book shows that teenagers can relate to these characters if they are being abused, whether it be mentally or physically.  Even though these kids are going through struggles and difficulties of their own.  They each find a way to solve their problems in the end.  This shows that there is always a way out of a difficult situation.

My Reading Life

Hello, my name is Isabella. I am 13 years old and I'm in 8th grade.  I love to read, but I am very picky in the books that I read, if I really like a book, it could take me a day to finish it, but if i don't like a book, it could take me as long as a month to finish it.

Some of my favorite books are The Hazelwood High Series, November Blues, If I Stay, and What is the What. 

  The Hazelwood High Series, by Sharon M. Draper, is a series of three books. Each of them tell a different person's story, but these people are all connected somehow.  The first book, Tears of a Tiger, is about a boy named Andy Jackson.  Andy is living with guilt over an accident that he caused, that killed his friend, Robert.  The book talks about when Andy is going to therapy and also how everyone else is dealing with Rob's death.  The second book, Forged by Fire, tells the story of Gerald, Andy's friend.  It talks about his childhood and how he was dealing with abuse at home.  He tries desperately to protect his younger sister Angel from their violent stepfather.  The last book, Darkness Before Dawn, is about Andy's ex girlfriend, Keisha.  She is drawn to a handsome young man with a smooth-spoken tone of voice, and very good manners.  She soon ends up in a relationship, but it ends up taking a dark turn, and Keisha learns a lot about trust, fakes, and how to let go of the past.
     My favorite book of all time is What is the What, by Dave Eggers.  It tells the story of Valentino Achack Deng, a Sudanese refugee traveling with the Lost Boys of Sudan.  It flashes back and forth to his childhood in Africa, and his new life in America.  Valentino has lived through a lot, and it has made him a better person now.
    Overall, these are some of my favorite books that I have read over the summer and throughout the school year.  Many of these books have taught me a lot about life.  I hope other people will love these books and their characters just as much as I do.