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Drama High #10

Culture Clash

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Ever since she discovered a love for drag racing, it's full speed ahead for Jayd Jackson. . . Fed up with the way her school's handling Cultural Awareness Day, Jayd and her crew decide to form the first African Student Union. Now some notorious haters are out for blood. But that's not the only multicultural activity Jayd's got cooking. On the boy front, Jayd discovers she loves being behind the wheel of her friends' hot rods, but she can't deny her attraction for Emilio, the new Latino sophomore at South Bay High. Emilio seems to be crushin' hard on Jayd too. And now that Jayd may be South Bay's last virgin, she wonders if it's time to take things to the next level. But her magical grandmother thinks Jayd's already moving too fast--and if she doesn't slow down, she's sure to get burned...

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 23, 2010

35 people are currently reading
2243 people want to read

About the author

L. Divine

30 books624 followers
L. Divine is a young female author of the young adult fiction series Drama High. L. Divine is also a priestess who is originally from California, has lived in Jamaica and currently resides with her children in Atlanta. She also holds advanced degrees in African American studies from UCLA.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
Profile Image for eltamis.
1 review
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November 17, 2012
Ever since she discovered a love for drag racing, it's full speed ahead for Jayd Jackson. . .

Fed up with the way her school's handling Cultural Awareness Day, Jayd and her crew decide to form the first African Student Union. Now some notorious haters are out for blood. But that's not the only multicultural activity Jayd's got cooking. On the boy front, Jayd discovers she loves being behind the wheel of her friends' hot rods, but she can't deny her attraction for Emilio, the new Latino sophomore at South Bay High. Emilio seems to be crushin' hard on Jayd too. And now that Jayd may be South Bay's last virgin, she wonders if it's time to take things to the next level.

But her magical grandmother thinks Jayd's already moving too fast—and if she doesn't slow down, she's sure to get burned…
Profile Image for Tiffany Spencer.
1,976 reviews19 followers
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April 18, 2023
Culture Clash
There’s a bunch of racial things going on at school in the first chapter. Everyone’s gotten back together between this book and the last one. Nigel and Mickey are back together. Nellie, Mickey, and Jayd are tight again (not really sure how that happened). Jayd still isn’t cool with Rah because Sandy’s posted up at his place. Nellie thinks it’s ok to refer to her girls as bitches. (Jayd and Mickey don’t agree) because she’s seen Laura and her friends do it. In English, Jayd and another student (Charlotte) go head to head over the meaning of a poem (story?) At Rall's house out in the drama club because they want to pick the Crucible, but Jayd wants to pick the Fence. They want Jayd to play the role of a slave. She’s not hearing it.

In Spanish class, the students discuss the topic is America a melting pot. The black students don’t think so and the white students don’t get why the black students think like they do. So, Jayd proposes to start a club for black students. Mr. A waste no time with this and in MINUTES calls them back after getting lunch to discuss their new club. After taking a vote, they pick Jayd’s name (The African Student Union) and a set of goals (they learn more about black culture, books, music, etc). Mickey couldn’t come to the meeting because she had another meeting about her continuing at the correction school. She still isn’t allowed back because of her grades so Nigel says he’ll work with her. Mrs. Toni calls Jayd to her office and lets on she knows something about her lineage and her role in what happened to Laura the night of the play. She gets on Jayd’s case for being petty enough to use her talents for retaliation.

Jayd has a dream where she’s fighting against adversaries where she’s called on the use their ancestor’s powers to take them down. At school, the power of her ancestor’s sight is still there. Reid tries to step to Jayd out of disrespect about the ASU and she quickly gives him a lesson. Mama tho strips Jayd of this power because she says she’s not ready for it.

In class, the topic is should there be an official religion (or two) and it comes out that Jayd follows Voodu. It also comes out that her classmates have stereotypical beliefs about other religions other than Christianity. After class, Jayd finds out that while she and Emilio share the same spiritual beliefs, they have extremely different views. Emilio follows his grandmother’s views blindly. Emilio goes for a kiss from Jayd (which she doesn’t appreciate). Jeremy comes over and they get into an argument. Jeremy calls Jayd a tease and tells her he’s done being her bitch. (Can’t say I didn’t see this coming).

The next day, Nellie tries to talk to Jayd about throwing a baby shower for Mickey. Emilio also stops her and asks why she didn’t call him. Jayd says she doesn’t have time. Her love life is complicated enough. Emilio gets pissed and calls her a tease and says she’s just like all the other Osha women (like Jeremy says). She tells him he doesn’t know a damn thing about her and to shut the hell out. Emilio walks off after a teacher sticks her head out the door and says it’s his fault when asked if there’s a problem. Jeremy tells Jayd all she does is attract unnecessary drama. Jayd can’t help but think this is true.

Mickey and Nellie want Jayd to invite Mrs. Esop to the baby shower. She says she’ll make her a deal. If she comes to the meet and greet for the debutante ball she’ll put in an appearance at the baby shower. Jayd has a dream that she’s racing Trish and Sandy in a hot rod with Rah as the prize. Sandy causes an accident and Rahema is burnt badly as a result from the explosion. While working on a client, Sandy calls Jayd and tells her to come get Rahema because she has her at the strip joint and she can’t get Rah. When they get to Rah’s, Sandy has called Trish to watch Rahema. Rah shows up and tells Trish she can leave but she says she has to have it confirmed by Sandy. Jayd asks Rah who she is to him. He as always tries to throw some ol player bull at her. Jayd is over it and leaves.

The next day Jayd's mother gives her some VERY GOOD advice. She asks why she keeps on hanging on to Rah even though he’s toxic. She tells her to make a list and if the bad outweighs the good LET HIS TRIIFFLIN A@@ GO! While out with Jeremy at her old job (Simply Wholesome) Jayd runs into Rah and Rahema. After she wonders if she should make a list for Jeremy too.

At school, Emily has a note delivered to Jayd (a song for Oshina). But any chances he might have had with Jayd she knows are long gone. In Mr. A’s class, they debate interracial dating. Nigel and Seth get into it over comparing not having gay rights to the Civil Rights movement. Jayd and Jeremy kick it on their break and hang out after school. She seems to have made her choice (even tho Mr. A doesn’t seem to approve).

Jayd has a dream about her great-grandmother pleading with her lover to run awawy together. He loves her Jayd can tell but since he’s a white man and she’s a black woman he’s scared of the consequences and says he can’t give up his inheritance and he has to get married. Marie gets upset and says that’s all its ever been for him and she hopes he and his white woman rot in hell before running off. At school, there will be a Culture Day and a festival. They have to decide on a theme, presentation, food, etc. Chance suggests they perform a scene from Fences and it’s agreed on. Chance agrees to do the lead and Jayd will be Ruth. (Well KJ and Del take issue with it but it's too late), Mrs. Benett interestingly shows up and offers to be the advisor. But Mr. A says no thanks without the thanks. She doesn’t accept this and says we’ll see. Mr. A knows she’s trying to shut the club down. Jayd knows that Reid and Laura had to do something with it and Misty has been “the mole”.

Mickey gets a tongue-lashing and a reality check from Mrs. Esop that makes it clear Mrs. Esop doesn’t believe her baby is his and will never accept it. Then they head out to a race where Nigel and Rah will be working. It turns out that all the guys are into illegal, street, racing (Jeremy and Chance are that is). Jeremy kisses Jayd after the race, and Rah sees (pissed). The admintration (with the help of some special cornbread Mama makes Mr. A) lets ASU join the other clubs. KJ and his boy give Chance static about playing the role of a black man and tell him they can’t let him do it. Chance is about to walk away but Jayd uses her powers to give him confidence. The festival goes off good. After it’s over, Jeremy and Jayd are doing well. He pops up one day and gives her a gift (a Vodoo doll) to show Jayd he accepts and loves her as is. Jeremy tells her he wants her back and gets a little more aggressive as they start to make off. As it ends, Jayd is considering just giving in.

My Thoughts
This serious already leaves me with a heavy feeling after each book because it reads like a reality show and Ifor the most part I can take or leave those (big emphasis on LEAVE). This one made it even heavier because it dealt with debating racial issues. But it felt shorter which was a good thing. The first question was should Jayd give up on Rah? YES! I’ve been saying that since the first book. Obviously, she can’t just “be friends” with him with all the emotion. Should Jayd have cut off Emilio? YES! He was an ASS! I had to let go of a couple of guys that had negative views about me being a Wiccan. LATER FOR EM! Then he was just a lil bit too possessive for someone who she only had a few conversations with. VERY BAD SIGN! Were KJ and his boys justified in their reaction to Chance taking a black role? Considering that this is a SCHOOL PLAY and let's be real no one knows who the hell these people are, I say NO.NO ONE CARES! Now maybe I can see if this was Hollywood and it was a major motion picture and they gave the role of a black man to a white man. I can see black people getting pissed because they can argue on the history of black people having to fight for roles. It kinda reminds me of when the horrific remake of the Jem movie was made (shrudders) and they whitewashed Shana and made her look more white than black. I just think KJ is a jerk and wants to start some bs over nothing. He and Del didn’t want the part so. If he felt that strongly about it he should have tried to get it. Does your school have an ASU? My college did and I did join it and attend the meetings. Was Nigel’s mom right to tell Mickey to get an abortion? NO. I think whether you decide to go through with a pregnancy or not should be your own personal decision. Noone elses.

Rating: 4 This one drug for me more than normal.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
28 reviews
May 6, 2016
this book is about a girl named Jayde.she was really sassy and love to get in a lot of drama.i liked this book because it said a lot of bad words and made it better by being funny.i would recommend this boom to my friend Asia because sh loves all the novels.
26 reviews
January 8, 2016
What I think about this book is that the people that did this book is good at it because when I read it make me happy because it about school.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Crystal Belle.
Author 3 books43 followers
July 11, 2019
Meh. I really wanted to like this series and I think it’s possible that urban students, particularly those in Compton, LA, would very much enjoy and connect with a variety of scenes.

With that said, the plot was all over the place, there were too many disjointed scenes interrupting the flow and pace of the narrative that caused boredom for me.

I really enjoyed some of the well thought out scenes addressing themes of interracial marriage, racism, teen relationships and classism. A young person would enjoy it for sure. This would also be great in 8-9th grade English classrooms. The significance of teaching urban fiction is severely underrated, but that’s another story.

Interesting read that lacked character/scene cohesion. I will not continue with the series.
3 reviews
December 27, 2014
Simply amazing, After reading the last book Holidaze, I said it was the best. Now I am saying that Culture Clash is the best in the Drama High Series and I'm sure I'll continue to say this as I keep on reading the following books. This is what makes L. divine such a great writer and her books so enjoyable by its readers. This book would take you on an adventure, have you on the edge of your seat and so drawn into the story. In this book the main character Jayd takes control as usual and forms an African Student Union because she became tired of the ways her schools handles Culture Awareness Day. This bring up problems with racism and shows that going to a school where different ethnic background that stands out in one another can affect other students. Being that Jayd now loves drag racing, her life has also been related to the fast pace. She has another new person that comes into her life who is a new student at South Bay. His name is Emilio and Jayd has a deep crush on him and so does he. However, Jayd has a boyfriend Jeremy and her ex boyfriend Rah who are always defensive when Jayd is involved with something that has to do with another boy. At the same time, I think that Jayd deserves to be treated with more respect from Jeremey and Rah as they do say she is a Queen but yet she isn't treated like one. She always deals with their drama, especially when it comes to their babies and the mothers. She needs to be happy like her mom,Lynn, who also gets married. Even with all the chaos/drama Jayd still maintains an A average in school and still works to get money. Emilio is a good choice for Jayd because she can be with him and have less drama. However, Mama, Jayd's grandmother who always watch over her, protecting, guiding and advising her thinks that Jayd is moving at a fast pace and needs to slow down because she sense bad things to follow with her haste. This book shows both the great things you learn and the struggles teens go through while growing up. It is a book that I can relate certain parts to in my life as well. I definitely recommend this book to everyone but especially for those who love drama and suspense books as this book is filled with it. It would literally have you reading everywhere you go and even when you are trying to get some sleep. It is very entertaining and one would definitely love it with no regret.
1 review
February 14, 2014
Dear Charan,

I am reading the book Drama High: Culture Clash by L.Divine which is a work of a novel. I thought the author wrote this book to show how going to a school where their are different ethnic backgrounds that stand out in one another, can effect many student in such a deliberate way.

This book made me realize that African american students that feel the same way as teachers do in debating wise, such as the controversy of black history month, can effect other students (Hispanics) in a way where they might feel uncomfortable in such a intricate, and unrespectable way.In the text it states "'whats a grit" said Jeremy'" Jeremy is white and this quote states the differences between white people knowledge and black people knowledge. I learned while reading that most Hispanics don't like the idea of having a black history month class because of all the actions that's being done, and how most African Americans are being treated. Also because most of Hispanics just don't like escalating debates or dilating discussions about other race, besides theirs. I'd recommend this book to people that love books with a lot of drama because this book is very dramatic and talks about life in high school with plenty of dilemma going on.


Sincerely,
Jose Ortiz
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
1 review
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February 22, 2013
Dear Samantha,

I am reading the book Drama High: Culture Clash by L.Divine which is a work of a novel. This book made me realize that going to a school where their are different ethnic background that stands out in one another, can effect many student in such a veag way.

This book made me realize that african american students that feel the same way as teachers do in debating wise, such as the debation of black history month, can effect other students (hispanics) in a way where they might feel uncomfortable in such a difficult, and unrespectable way. Most Hispanics dont like the idea of having a black history month class because of all the actions thats being done, and how most african americans are being treated. Also because most of hispanics just dont like debating or discussing about other race, besides theirs.
Profile Image for Lisa.
133 reviews
May 20, 2010
Jayd is back and this time, Rah and her are over, and jeremy is just a little jealous. But its culture day at South Bay, and Jayd is ready to bring it on with the whole, african sprit thing her family does. Having weird dreams about Sandy and going to therapy after slapping Misty.
I can make a text to text connection. In the Fight (first book in the Drama High Series) Jayd gets hit by Treece, who went to a school for anger issued kids. But Jayd isn't that bad so she just has to go to therapy for a few weeks.
I really enjoyed this book. L. Divine is a really good writer, and i enjoy her Drama High series. 5 stars, Jayd is an interesting character, and she is really truthful with a great personality
19 reviews4 followers
February 2, 2010
What i've learned from this book is that the main character Jayd Jackson a sassy sixteen year old junoir in high school who lives in Compton,California with her grandmother her she calls mama and her mom(Lynn Marie and she works at her godmother's(Netta)hair salon:Netta's Never Nappy Hair Salon.In this bok Jayd learns more about her culture and that she wants to make a differnce at her ghetto school and teach and learn and start a group that teaches about black and african american history for people who want to learn about it no matter what race you are.
28 reviews
Currently reading
September 20, 2020
This book was very good and every book she get I will most definitly purchase and has. I love her books because some of the things she wrtes about i can realate cause i have seen it before or heard about it.
Profile Image for Olivia Owens.
31 reviews
October 26, 2010
It was very interesting once it got to the end if you hate books with unnesisary talking this isn't for you but if you are the type of person who can commit to a series this book will be kind of like that i enjoyed it but i am glad i got sidetracked.
Profile Image for Marline.
24 reviews
September 13, 2012
This book was a fast read for me at first I liked Emilio but then afterwards not so much. Each of these book holds a new adventure and takes you everywhere. Jayd is a great character who sometimes slips up but always stands tall!!
104 reviews
July 3, 2016
This is a very wonderful book, and you learn more about Jayd's culture and how everyone sees it or knows about it. I recommend this book because there is a sense of heat and attraction in between Jayd and three boys and it will make readers thirst for more Drama High books.
Profile Image for Chelle.
2 reviews
March 25, 2010
This was the best book i have ever read i look forward
to da next 1.CANT WAIT!
551 reviews3 followers
August 8, 2010
I can't believe shes back with the white boy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Sky.
6 reviews1 follower
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August 26, 2010
i read all tha drama high series YAY ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
14 reviews2 followers
October 9, 2011
I loved this one. Jayd has a new crush and with this crush comes more drama. And as always Misty is lurking in the background to start some drama. I know you guys get tired of her as much as me.
Profile Image for Zaria.
25 reviews
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January 9, 2013
Jayd friend Emilo is flirting with her and one day Jeremy was outside and Emilo kiss Jayd and Jayd got mad and punch Emilo and Jeremy was shock.
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