After Tupac and D Foster
by Jacqueline Woodson
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 148)
Read in January, 2008
Some authors make writing reviews easy. You pick up their book, glance at the cover, and the words pour out of you like a hard spring rain. Jacqueline Woodson is not one of those authors, and this is not a bad thing. Her books are deep little critters. Their surface concerns hint at fuller depths. Her Newbery Honor winning book Feathers was a novel that I made the mistake of reading, putting down for a month or two, and then picking up to rev...more
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Reviewed by Grandma Bev for TeensReadToo.com
Woodson's engrossing story contains a lot of big issues, but the main theme is about friendship, and how unexpected changes come into our lives as we are touched by others.
AFTER TUPAC & D FOSTER is a tension-filled story of how two twelve-year-old girls meet an outsider and become friends with her. "D" is a foster child, and has adopted "Foster" as her last name. Abandoned by her mother, D Foster is searching for someth...more
Woodson's engrossing story contains a lot of big issues, but the main theme is about friendship, and how unexpected changes come into our lives as we are touched by others.
AFTER TUPAC & D FOSTER is a tension-filled story of how two twelve-year-old girls meet an outsider and become friends with her. "D" is a foster child, and has adopted "Foster" as her last name. Abandoned by her mother, D Foster is searching for someth...more
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Read in February, 2008
Neeka and her best friend (the unnamed narrator of the story) have known each other since they've been babies. They've grown up across the street from each other in Queens, and now that they are both twelve, they're eager to spread their wings a bit and see some of the world beyond their block. That proves to be difficult because their mothers keep such tight reins on them.
So the world must come to them, and it does so in two ways: through the music of Tupac Shakur, and through D Foster, a g...more
So the world must come to them, and it does so in two ways: through the music of Tupac Shakur, and through D Foster, a g...more
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Read in March, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Read in January, 2008
Jacqueline Woodson not only has a way with words but she knows how to put together a plot that seems effortless. This is the story of two friends who have known each other since infancy. They live across the street from each other in a neighborhood where everyone knows them and they feel safe. One day a new girl shows up. She doesn't live there, but she says she's been "roaming." Thus begins a friendship of love, acceptance and growing between the three girls. This is one of those ...more
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Read in June, 2008
Small book with a powerful punch. The unnamed narrator and her best friend Neeka are 11 and living in Queens when the book opens. Their mama's are strict about them staying on the block but they make a new friend when D, a foster kid who wanders the city strikes up an acquaintance with them. They all love Tupac's music. This low key, introspective story follows the girls for a couple of years as Neeka deals with all the kids in her family and they visit her eldest brother, a gay queen who is doi...more
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Read in July, 2008
Jacqueline Woodson is incredibly talented; her writing is real and intricate and beautiful. I am unfamiliar with Tupac other than his name. I found this title a bit off-putting initially, but it is right on. I will now make the point to listen to Tupac's music.
"I know it sounds whack," she said, so softly it sounded like she was talking to herself almost. "But when I see him on TV, I be thinking about the way his life was all crazy. And my life is all crazy. And we both all sad about it and stuff. But we ain't trying to let the sad feelings get us down. We ain't trying to give up." ...more
"I know it sounds whack," she said, so softly it sounded like she was talking to herself almost. "But when I see him on TV, I be thinking about the way his life was all crazy. And my life is all crazy. And we both all sad about it and stuff. But we ain't trying to let the sad feelings get us down. We ain't trying to give up." ...more
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Quiet, warm and moving, this is a thoughtful coming of age story about three "almost twelve-year-old girls in Queens, who are searching for their Big Purpose. The portrait of the fiercely supportive families of two of the girls and their neighborhood is framed by the events of Tupac's shooting, jailing and eventual death. Woodson's writing is beautiful, each carefully chosen word makes a purposeful piece of the whole and when I closed the book, I felt as if I left friends behind.
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Three girls coming of age at the apex of Tupac's rap career. Yawn. This could have been done really well, but instead Woodson tried to cram too many "social issues" into one novel, foregoing a complex and intriguing plot for a cursory glance at characters with difficult lives. The slang and 90s references seem like a forced attempt at verisimilitude rather than the words of a genuine 13 year old. Woodson is acclaimed for some of her other writings, but I hope they are stronger than thi
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Read in April, 2008
This is a small book about the big theme of friendship, between three girls who have different backgrounds but all need the same thing, to matter to others, to discover who they are and to try to understand the world they are growing into. The voice of the main character is powerful and rings true. An inner city story that includes travelling to prison to visit a brother (in both senses of the word), jumping rope, absorbing the worries of parents and dealing with loss.
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Read in April, 2008
Anything with Tupac has huge appeal to students. I don't love this one so far, but Jacqueline Woodson writes beautifully as always (I'm generally not big on beautiful writing, but I like hers). My favorite by her is Behind You (sequel to If You Come Softly, but I read Behind You first. They're both good).
It was interesting to read about the death of Tupac being as significant to the characters as the death of Kurt Cobain was to my friends.
wmslibrary: yes
It was interesting to read about the death of Tupac being as significant to the characters as the death of Kurt Cobain was to my friends.
wmslibrary: yes
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Read in March, 2008
recommended to Jamie by:
Capitol choicesThis review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Read in September, 2008
Jacqueline Woodson is possibly my favorite author ever.
In this book, she incorporates pointed critiques of the prison industrial complex, racist profiling of Black youth in New York City, the foster care system, the criminal (in)justice system, and violent homophobia while developing compelling characters and friendships... all in a 130-page YA novel. Damn.
She also dedicates the book to Toshi Reagon.
In this book, she incorporates pointed critiques of the prison industrial complex, racist profiling of Black youth in New York City, the foster care system, the criminal (in)justice system, and violent homophobia while developing compelling characters and friendships... all in a 130-page YA novel. Damn.
She also dedicates the book to Toshi Reagon.
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Read in July, 2008
If I could give half stars, I would rate this 3.5 instead of 3. This slim book is a rather quiet story about the transformative friendship of three girls, set against the backdrop of Tupac's rise to fame, shooting, and subsequent murder. I like how it privileges friendship and family over romance, and the narrative voice is lovely and effective. Probably best for younger teens, or even precocious tweens.
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
middleschool students
Woodson lyrically captures how music expresses the things we can't. D Foster has spent her life in and out of foster care, and she and her friends have seen neighborhood boys get in trouble with the law. They talk about how Tupac expresses their feelings, and about their complex reactions to his thug/poet image. I felt the same way about music when I was their age, so Woodson's account rings true.
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This book is nice, and it takes a rare look at middle school girlfriends who really care about each other. Not much happens, though. It takes place in the mid-90's around the time of Tupac's death. Are the kids still interested in Tupac? I don't know, but I'll try them on it, especially since good books for African American middle school girls are still pretty thin on the ground.
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Read in August, 2008
I've never been part of the Tupac hype but have always been curious about his music and the following he generated. I was hoping this book would give me some insight into these things, but I found it lacking. Woodson is great for capturing an inner-city voice for her narrator and characters but, beyond that, this book was lacking in substance or real message for me.
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Read in June, 2008
It's good. It's fine. I'm nit-picking: the denouement drags on too much that could have been tightened and re-arranged a bit to be stronger. The emotions are so raw and true, though, and the problems these kids face are so real and still relevant -- even though for young teens, 1994 to 1996 is ancient history! (They were either just born or even not born yet...)
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Not so good, even for teens. Woodson tries to sell us the Tupac part, without the Tupac. The reader is duped here. There are none of his rhymes, and nothing to really grab onto here. If she came back with a new addition, adding some character, plot, and setting "meat," I believe we may have a winner. As it stands, the book simply fails to live up to its cover.
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Read in June, 2008
Wow! I was blown away by this book. Had no expectations (besides being a Woodson book). I just picked it off the library shelves and read it in a day. It was so beautifully written, and the many themes touched upon were done so in a very compelling, convincing way. This has to win some sort of award. Brava!
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