This is a beautifully written book with very well-developed characters. It's a unique story with a point of view that doesn't get written about enough. Woodson is an excellent writer. The book is a moving portrayal of close friendships between adolescents. I like how it handled the descriptions of D being a foster child and her birth mom showing up. She usually refrains from misbehaving and rule-breaking because she wants to stay in her foster home -- not to be adopted, but to eventually reunite with her birth mom. It treated her being in foster care as just a part of reality, which I appreciated. Too many times, novels and movies portray adoption and/or foster care as a monumental crisis for the character, or a horrible secret to hide. I find Woodson's portrayal to be much more true to life. As a mother of two adopted boys, I realize things have changed a lot over the last 20 or 30 years in this country with regards to adoption. It's good for modern stories to reflect that.
Middle-schoolers and high-schoolers will find this book engaging and interesting, even if they don't have personal experience with adoption and race issues.
Middle-schoolers and high-schoolers will find this book engaging and interesting, even if they don't have personal experience with adoption and race issues.