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The House You Pass on the Way

3.66 of 5 stars 3.66 · rating details · 453 ratings · 54 reviews

Thirteen-year-old Staggerlee used to be called Evangeline, but she took on a fiercer name. She's always been different--set apart by the tragic deaths of her grandparents in an anti-civil rights bombing, by her parents' interracial marriage, and by her family's retreat from the world. This summer she has a new reason to feel set apart--her confused longing for her friend H...more

Hardcover, 112 pages

Published September 8th 1997 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

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Jul 11, 2010 Amanda added it · review of another edition

Snapshot: Set in the rural South, this book is the story of Staggerlee, a 14-year-old girl who is searching for her own identity while also attempting to understand her complicated family legacy. Staggerlee is caught between worlds in terms of race--her mother is white and her father is black in a mostly black community--and in terms of sexual orientation--Staggerlee is trying to come to terms with being gay. A visit from a cousin who seems to understand her enables Staggerlee her own awakening....more Snapshot: Set in the rural South, this book is the story of Staggerlee, a 14-year-old girl who is searching for her own identity while also attempting to understand her complicated family legacy. Staggerlee is caught between worlds in terms of race--her mother is white and her father is black in a mostly black community--and in terms of sexual orientation--Staggerlee is trying to come to terms with being gay. A visit from a cousin who seems to understand her enables Staggerlee her own awakening.

Hook: This book is fundamentally about gaining the strength to be yourself, a theme most teenagers can relate to. Woodson's language is gripping, precise, and honest, and offers Staggerlee a powerful voice of discovery. The books is a short read, so students might like it for that. But anyone going through the hard work of figuring herself out would find an ally and a comfort in Staggerlee's story.

Challenges: While the language is beautiful and poetic, I think Woodson's novel would be challenging for beginner/intermediate-level ESL students. There is a great amount of American historical context for a student to understand the family legacy thread of the book: race, interracial marriage in the South, the 1960s American civil rights movement, and cultural attitudes toward homosexuality.

Students in mind: Specifically, students working through sexual orientation identity issues. More broadly, I think many teenagers who feel out of place, alone, and isolated through puberty would appreciate the themes of this book. I think it would be most appropriate for strong English-language readers who would be able to benefit from the nuances of voice and language in the book. I also think this book is more appropriate for girls; I'm not sure most boys would hold interest for long.

Conference notes: How do you think Staggerlee's family's background contributes to her confusion about who she is? What do you think Staggerlee learns through her relationship with Trout? Do you think Staggerlee would encounter similar issues if she lived somewhere else? What are the attitudes toward homosexuality where you come from?

Level: High School, advanced readers in English
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Jun 13, 2013 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: gender-sexuality, race-ethnicity-socialclass, young-adult-literature

Thank goodness for Jacqueline Woodson.

In The House You Pass on the Way she has written a lovingly understated story of identity and family. As a young teenager, Staggerlee is seeking answers and understanding and relationship -- trying to figure out who she is and her place in the world -- big questions for anyone. As the biracial daughter of a Black father and a white mother living in a nearly all-Black, Southern small town, she has spent her entire life living the legacy of racism and its con...more

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Sep 09, 2012 Amanda Childs rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: engl-420-fall-2012

JAQUELINE WOODSON CATEGORY

Contains homosexual themes.

The daughter of mixed-race parents in an all-black southern town, Staggerlee has learned to avoid curious or deriding neighbors by keeping quietly to herself. She spends most of her time walking her dog by the river, alone. Though she longs for a friend, she feels alienated at school because her once-close friend Hazel has tuned the other girls against her. Secretly, Trout knows she and Hazel shared more than friendship, having had an experien...more JAQUELINE WOODSON CATEGORY

Contains homosexual themes.

The daughter of mixed-race parents in an all-black southern town, Staggerlee has learned to avoid curious or deriding neighbors by keeping quietly to herself. She spends most of her time walking her dog by the river, alone. Though she longs for a friend, she feels alienated at school because her once-close friend Hazel has tuned the other girls against her. Secretly, Trout knows she and Hazel shared more than friendship, having had an experience kissing in a field of flowers before the girls entered high school. But after Hazel's rejection, Staggerlee struggles to know what kind of girl she is, and to understand her own budding sexuality. When Stagerlee's cousin Trout comes to stay, and shares that she too is struggling to know if she is gay or not, the two girls form a strong friendship. But when Trout goes home again, and then slowly drifts away from Staggerlee, the protagonist is left reeling, wondering how she will deal with the changes in her life.

I hated this book. My reasons are listed below:
1) It's too short. The plot is totally underdeveloped, and little is developed or resolved within the family relationships presented. There is a sub-plot about Staggerlee's grandparents having been famous civil rights activists and entertainers, and their activism is frequently referenced, but never fleshed out. It seems like a needless side plot that is never fully realized. As is the segment about Staggerlee's struggles with her siblings, and her mom's apparent poor mental and physical health.

2) The theme of discovering one's sexuality is poorly played out. Indeed, the book seems to advance labels at an unhealthily early age (13-14), with a poorly defined "gay" meaning you've liked kissing someone of the same sex. Moreover, Staggerlee's emotions are never fully explained. Is she reeling from the loss of friends? Or is she struggling because she thinks she's gay, or both? The book never explains.

3) Trout's character is flat. Yes, she later decides she's not gay, but why? And why do we care? Because there is no real character development in her, and all her change occurs off stage, we don't have any real reason as readers to care about her change at all.

4) There are no real resolutions in the book. Plus, the story starts awkwardly from the beginning, with Staggerlee seeking some understanding in a church, and then wondering if she's betrayed Trout. How is this possible?! From the reader's perspective, Trout is the one doing the betraying to some degree, but the author has the story end with her more confused and lonely than ever.

Overall, this book seems to be a lesson in confusion–as a teen, and even more so as a writer. It feels stuck together and poorly developed. Almost like a concept piece more than a novel. If a student is struggling with their sexuality, or wants to read a book with homosexual themes, I'd point them elsewhere. There are other books that deal with these subjects much, much better.
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Jul 31, 2012 Alaa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, girls-like-girls, can-be-re-read-again, books-i-own, young-adult

This is one of the books that I tucked under the pillow and read over one sitting when I couldn't sleep, when the sun was above the horizon and the soft glowing light from the sky would shine over the last pages, making me feel like a 14 year girl playing harmonica in large field of cornflowers.

Staggerlee is a 14 year old daughter of interracial couple who sees herself as a loner yet she likes it that way as she spends most of her time playing harmonica and remembering the time when she kissed...more

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Feb 21, 2012 Jenni French rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: age-4-grades-6-8, lgbtqia-lit

Staggerlee doesn't have much going for her. She has a completely unusual name, first of all. Second, she is a child of mixed race in a time and place where this is not acceptable. Third, she has a crush on her best friend, who also happens to be female. When her friend moves away, Staggerlee isn't sure what to do with herself, until her cousin Trout moves in. Staggerlee and Trout become fast friends and soon confess to each other that they both like girls, but both have realized that they cannot...more

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Aug 23, 2010 Patrice Sartor rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: lbgt, school, realistic-fiction, tween, young-adult

GENRE: Fiction, realistic fiction, homosexual issues.

SUMMARY: Fourteen-year-old Staggerlee has experienced difficulty fitting in at school; her classmates hold it against her that her father is black and her mother is white, and they feel that Staggerlee is a snob. Amidst this, Staggerlee is struggling to come to terms with the kiss she shared with Hazel, who was her one and only friend until Staggerlee's classmates turned Hazel against her. Life improves after Staggerlee's cousin Trout comes to...more

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Jul 13, 2010 Sonya rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The House you Pass Along the Way: Jacqueline Woodson
Date Finished: August 2009

Snapshot: Staggerlee is a 13-year-old girl, half black and half white. She is from a family of legends and her family is criticized by the community for being stuck up. She doesn’t have many friends, and is excited when she discovers that her adopted cousin Trout will be staying with them for the summer. Staggerlee feels a deep bond with Trout, and is confused about what this means. After Trout leaves in the fall, thei...more

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Jun 23, 2010 Ab rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-ness

A quick read, but quite interesting. The racial issues along with the questioning of sexuality as 14-year-olds makes for a fairly intelligent story. I'm glad I read it!

p.5 "Again & again she had searched through the photo albums. Again & again she saw the pictures of Evangeline Ian -- pretty, smiling baby. As she grew older, that smiling baby girl became her own tiny burden. She was the good child -- the happy one. The one that never needed, never asked for anything, never caused any tro...more

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Apr 04, 2010 Lydia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-lgbt

What happens when you have a secret, deep inside yourself, and absolutely no one to share it with? What if your life is complicated enough, living in the south, with famous grandparents who even have a monument built to them in the center of your small town, your father is a true community figure, and your mother, who is white, has no friends?

For Staggerlee (born Evangeline), there are competing examples of how to socially fit in. Her tall, handsome black father is at ease in his hometown. Her m...more

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Dec 08, 2010 Lisa rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: english-420, young-adult-literature

Themes: sexual identity, homosexuality, self-discovery

Fourteen-year-old Staggerlee Canan has been a loner, an outsider, for as long as she can remember. She doesn’t have close friends at school, she doesn’t demand a lot of attention in her family, and because of her natural introversion, she has a reputation for being stuck-up and aloof among the other kids her age. Her father, the son of the now-dead, black heroes of the town, have not been in good standing with Staggerlee’s aunts, living a few...more

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Mar 11, 2012 Xiao Wen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 10th-grade

At the beginning of this book, one thing had surprised me so much, which is Staggerlee's family did not contact her father's family for 20 years. How is this possible for family members not to communicate for 20 years? However, the reason of not contacting is common, it is because of discrimination. Staggerlee's father is from a black family, but her mother is white, this is why there is not communication in a family for 20 years. Another thing that I like in this book is when Trout said she afr...more

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Nov 15, 2012 Wan Yu( Stephanie) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 11th-grade

Staggerlee is a shy, quiet and self-conscious girl, she doesn't like to talk and doesn't care about her neigbors. She is isolating herself from the outside world, and she tries to find who she is. Trout, her cousin came visit which helps Staggerlee to be who she wants to be. Staggerlee had no one to talk to, and to share secrets with, Trout is the one. The one she needs and the one she wants to be.
Everyone is shy in someway, we can be emotionally, mentally or physically. Staggerlee is the type o...more

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Jul 17, 2009 Josiah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"And freedom? Oh, freedom.
Well that's just some people talking.
Your prison is walking through this world all alone."

—The House You Pass on the Way

"What did it sound like...having someone call your name across a crowded school yard? How did it feel to turn to the sound of your name, to see some smiling face or waving hand and know it was for you and you alone?"

—Staggerlee, "The House You Pass on the Way", P. 43

From before I even read page one of this book, I was drawn into it by the power...more "And freedom? Oh, freedom.
Well that's just some people talking.
Your prison is walking through this world all alone."

—The House You Pass on the Way

"What did it sound like...having someone call your name across a crowded school yard? How did it feel to turn to the sound of your name, to see some smiling face or waving hand and know it was for you and you alone?"

—Staggerlee, "The House You Pass on the Way", P. 43

From before I even read page one of this book, I was drawn into it by the powerful, quiet lyricism that hides within all of Jacqueline Woodson's words.
I perhaps have never been so attracted to the style of a writer as I am to that of Jacqueline Woodson. Each time I have read one of her superbly crafted stories I once again find myself falling in love with the potential variances within the English language, and the power that such words have to charm and to wrap up one's life with that of another person.
Such is the case in "The House You Pass on the Way". Jacqueline Woodson quietly tackles issues that are painful and jarring, but in a smooth style that is SO good that the thoughts and experiences of Staggerlee and Tyler are as resounding as if they were our own. Perhaps that is because they ARE our own, laced so inseparably with the feelings of sadness that all of us have experienced that they can be powerfully and universally felt by all who have felt rejection of any kind.
This book largely defies synopsis, and I will not try to go into an in-depth analysis of what happens. "The House You Pass on the Way" is one of the more powerful books that I have read in quite a while, and I can only shake my head in awe at the never-faltering writing ability of the one, the only, Jacqueline Woodson.

"I have all this stuff—all these thoughts going on inside me and they all seem so—so dangerous."

—Tyler, "The House You Pass on the Way", P. 95

"If I loved someone enough, I would go anywhere in the world with them."

—Staggerlee, P. 89 (less)

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Apr 12, 2010 Leslie Vasquez rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was a short yet deep story. It takes you through the life in the eyes of a biracial, uncertain, teenage girl, Staggerlee. Staggerlee is growing up in a town that is dominantly black. She has a white mother and a black father. She is on the journey of life of course, but she on the other had tends to isolate, and finds some comfort with her adopted cousin. They both share their feelings with each other and begin to understand who they are. Staggerlee and her cousin Trout talk about havi...more

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Sep 16, 2010 Jessica V rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: english-420, young-adult

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 10, 2009 Abigail rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: engl-420

The main character in this novel is Staggerlee who has isolated herself from her surroundings. When her cousin, Trout comes to visit Staggerlee we see the quintessential example of what Staggerlee wishes she could be; confident, beautiful and sure of herself. We watch as their relationship grows closer and closer together but as the novel moves forward it becomes obvious that Trout isn't everything that Staggerlee had hoped her to be.

I felt medium about this novel. I really enjoyed the characte...more

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Oct 20, 2010 Sarah Tilatitsky rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book tackles touchy issues that are so hard to talk about without offending anyone. This book tackles the issues so beautifully and wonderly that I'm amazed. The tackle on color deeply goes into me, if the comment is'nt said as a "good" joke (not the hurtful ones). The rights of gay issues are little comented on, but is said in the book, and on how that makes a person feel self-consious. In this book, Staggerlee is deciding who she is, and what she is, when Trout comes along and changes Sta...more

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Mar 02, 2011 Lawral rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011

I'm always amazed by how quickly I get sucked in to Jacqueline Woodson's books. The House You Pass on the Way is barley over 100 pages, and yet it is full of growth, a well-rounded cast of characters, and so much emotion. It even covers enough time to be both a little bluesy and a little hopeful at the same time. It's the perfect book for a rainy afternoon.

Staggerlee is kind of a loner, and, for the most part, she likes it that way. It gives her space to think and to play her music. In a town th...more

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Jul 04, 2010 Imani ♥ ☮ rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, ohhhhhhhhhh, pg, africanamerican-black

Wow, this book was very...interesting to say the least. I notice that in almost all of Woodson's books it deals with this subject matter: gay people. Not that I have anything against this or anything it just proved my hypothesis that a lot of Woodson's books deal with that subject matter. Well, anyhoo, this book was kind of strange to me and if I hadn't finished it in the time I did and it wasn't as short as it was, I'm not so sure this book would have gotten 4 stars or even 3. The reason for th...more

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Jun 02, 2008 Lily rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The House You Pass on the Way, by Jacqueline Woodson is a riveting book that examines the relationship between two friends and how the confusion of the coming of age affected their friendship. There are so many factors I had never considered that could complicate such a close relationship. First of all, the main character Staggerlee confused her extremely close friendship with her best friend Hazel, for love. She questioned her sexuality as well as her personal worth. Her mother had dark skin, w...more

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May 12, 2008 Evan rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Folks who are into reading almost anything queer

Shelves: youngadultfiction

I wanted to like this book more than I did. If I had read this book at 10 it would have made me feel less alone but scared I think. If I had read this at 16 I would've hated it. Now, at almost 30, I think it was really thin. 99 pages. Everyone is sketched so thinly. It's hard to really care about anyone. I'm glad I read it though. It's one of the few books that deal with a maybe lesbian black (& biracial) teenager. I just wish it was a little deeper. And it's kind of a lonely book. It's lone...more

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Oct 07, 2011 Liz Ballif rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: engl-420

Maybe I totally missed the boat here, but I didn't enjoy this novel. I didn't like the characters, and something rubbed me the wrong way about the narration style. Also, I was confused about the main conflict--were Staggerlee's problems caused because she had a white mother and a black father or because she liked girls instead of boys. While I am supportive of the idea of books being written about issues that teenagers deal with, I just didn't like this particular book.

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May 02, 2013 Heather rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult-books

Despite the slim nature of this book, it carries a surprising amount of weight. Staggerlee is an interesting character-the grandchild of famous grandparents, unable to take advantage of the freedom from oppression that they fought for. She struggles to understand what it means to be bi-racial in a mostly black community, where the other kids assume she thinks she is better than they are. The fact that she has a secret about her feelings towards other girls contributes to her isolation. When Trou...more

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Jan 14, 2009 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I learned that I am very furtunate to have my mother and father by my side even though sometimes we fight I feel like this because some people dont have anyone to go to when they need support like I have. My parents support me with everything.

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Oct 23, 2009 Jamie L rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: realistic-fiction

This book is a very good book. It almost made me cry at some parts. It has a very good point how you need someone to care for you and to love you. Without there parents they are very sad. It makes you relize how lucky you are to have yoour parents. This book shows how the kids work together to acomplish things because they have no parents. I feel bad for all of the kids. It makes you sad. The kids are brave and i would be proud of them for coming together and staying strong even thought a teriab...more

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May 25, 2011 Cindy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

4.5 stars!

beautifully written, poignant and sweet.
a wonderful novel on self-discovery. this
was my first read by woodson and i look forward
to many more.

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Jan 08, 2010 Jamel Mays rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

this book was very good i will read it again and let other people know about it because its a book that when u read it it make dont want to stop

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Aug 29, 2012 R rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, read-and-liked

Evocative. Woodson does a great job establishing character. A quiet sort of novel, so keep that in mind. No earth-shattering climaxes.

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Sep 22, 2009 Franny rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-for-children

Great lesbian coming-of-age story. Recommend to any questioning young adults, especially if they're African-American.

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Aug 15, 2012 Deb marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Recommended by Bitch Media's "Beyond Judy Blume: Identity and Sexuality in Young Adult Literature" forum.

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About Jacqueline Woodson

I used to say I’d be a teacher or a lawyer or a hairdresser when I grew up but even as I said these things, I knew what made me happiest was writing.

I wrote on everything and everywhere. I remember my uncle catching me writing my name in graffiti on the side of a building. (It was not pretty for me when my mother found out.) I wrote on paper bags and my shoes and denim binders. I chalked stories a...more I used to say I’d be a teacher or a lawyer or a hairdresser when I grew up but even as I said these things, I knew what made me happiest was writing.

I wrote on everything and everywhere. I remember my uncle catching me writing my name in graffiti on the side of a building. (It was not pretty for me when my mother found out.) I wrote on paper bags and my shoes and denim binders. I chalked stories across sidewalks and penciled tiny tales in notebook margins. I loved and still love watching words flower into sentences and sentences blossom into stories.

I also told a lot of stories as a child. Not “Once upon a time” stories but basically, outright lies. I loved lying and getting away with it! There was something about telling the lie-story and seeing your friends’ eyes grow wide with wonder. Of course I got in trouble for lying but I didn’t stop until fifth grade.

That year, I wrote a story and my teacher said “This is really good.” Before that I had written a poem about Martin Luther King that was, I guess, so good no one believed I wrote it. After lots of brouhaha, it was believed finally that I had indeed penned the poem which went on to win me a Scrabble game and local acclaim. So by the time the story rolled around and the words “This is really good” came out of the otherwise down-turned lips of my fifth grade teacher, I was well on my way to understanding that a lie on the page was a whole different animal — one that won you prizes and got surly teachers to smile. A lie on the page meant lots of independent time to create your stories and the freedom to sit hunched over the pages of your notebook without people thinking you were strange.

Lots and lots of books later, I am still surprised when I walk into a bookstore and see my name on a book’s binder. Sometimes, when I’m sitting at my desk for long hours and nothing’s coming to me, I remember my fifth grade teacher, the way her eyes lit up when she said “This is really good.” The way, I — the skinny girl in the back of the classroom who was always getting into trouble for talking or missed homework assignments — sat up a little straighter, folded my hands on the desks, smiled and began to believe in me.(less)

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Quotes from The House You Pass on ...

“If I loved someone enough, I would go anywhere in the world with them."

—Staggerlee” — 9 people liked it

“And freedom? Oh, freedom.
Well that's just some people talking.
Your prison is walking through this world all alone.” — 3 people liked it

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