• After Tupac and D Foster

    Overall Rating: ★ Rating:85 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.25 Fraction:4.25★ Rating:85 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.25 Fraction:4.25★ Rating:85 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.25 Fraction:4.25★ Rating:85 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.25 Fraction:4.25½ Rating:85 Star Piece:0.25 Fraction:4.2585%
    After Tupac and D Foster
    Jacqueline Woodson
    Putnam Young Adult, 2008
    Fiction
    ISBN: 0399246541
    160 pages
    Newbery Honor Book

    Synopsis

    A summer of adventure and loss, the unnamed narrator gains a new best friend named D Foster. Mysteriously coming out of nowhere, D quickly becomes friends with the narrator and her best friend Neeka. Throughout this coming of age text, the narrator takes us on a journey throughout her summer, starting when D shows up, just after Tupac gets shot for the first time, and ending when Tupac gets killed and D leaves to go live with her real mother. Woodson takes us back a few years to show the reality of living in Queens as an African American family, and many of the personal and national events that effect the block the narrator lives on.

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    Posted in 2008, Best Of, Classroom, English/Reading, Fiction (non-fantasy), History/Period, Recommended, Reviews | No Comments »

    The Surrender Tree

    Overall Rating: ★ Rating:94 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:4.7★ Rating:94 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:4.7★ Rating:94 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:4.7★ Rating:94 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:4.7½ Rating:94 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:4.794%
    The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle For Freedom
    Margarita Engle
    Henry Holt and Co, 2008
    Poetry
    ISBN: 0805086749
    176 pages
    Newbery Honor Book

    Synopsis

    Taking place over the several wars that Cuba had with Spain in order to gain independence, the story centers on Rosa, a young slave girl who is eventually freed by her master when he revolts against Spain and becomes the most renowned healer throughout Cuba.

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    Posted in 2008, Award Winners, Best Of, Classroom, English/Reading, Geography/Culture, History/Period, Poetry, Recommended, Reviews | No Comments »