Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Book Review For:

Woodson, Jacqueline. 2008. AFTER TUPAC & D FOSTER. New York: G.P. Putnam’s
       Sons. ISBN 9780399246548

 

Three young girls on the verge of becoming teenagers form a close friendship. Although their backgrounds and situations are different, their intense admiration for Tupac, a musical artist/entertainer who has recently been accused of a crime and is eventually shot, draws them together. Also faced with the imprisonment of Neeka’s brother, who is gay and was consequently set up, the girls struggle to understand the world that they live in and, most importantly, their own part in it.

D Foster is the new girl who is admired by Neeka and her best friend, the main character, whose name the author purposefully and cleverly omits from the story. (This must signify that her self-identity is not yet clear and is still forming.) In a Queens neighborhood in New York, these three girls sit on the stairs talking, join younger girls reluctantly to jump rope, and test the boundaries set by two of their mothers. Readers of this age will certainly be able to relate to the characters’ adoration of a famous public figure and envision the environment created by Woodson, and girls of today could easily place themselves and their friends in this story, doing each others’ hair and discussing celebrities.

A Round Robin, taking turns reading the story out loud, could be used by educators, and discussions after each chapter could take place to ensure that a deeper understanding of events is happening. A paper brown bag book review could also be assigned, requiring adolescents to decorate a paper brown bag with pictures or words that relate to the story and place common items inside the bag that have some connection to the events in the story. For example, they might include a short length of rope and explain how it reminded them of the scenes in which the girls in the story were jumping rope with the younger girls.

AFTER TUPAC & D FOSTER has won the 2009 Newbery Honor Medal and the 2009 Josette Frank Award (“Jacqueline Woodson: Books for Children and Young Adults”, 2013). A Booklist review claims, “Beautifully capturing the girls’ passage from childhood to adolescence, this is a memorable, affecting novel about the sustaining power of love and friendship and each girl’s developing faith in her own ‘Big Purpose’ (Amazon: After Tupac and D Foster, n.d.).” The SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL agrees, saying it “...will immediately appeal to teens... the emotions and high-quality writing make it a book well worth recommending (Amazon: After Tupac and D Foster, n.d.).”

 

References

"Amazon: After Tupac and D Foster." Amazon., accessed November 30, 2013, http://www.amazon.com/After-Tupac-Foster-Jacqueline-Woodson/dp/0142413992.

“Jacqueline Woodson: Books for Children and Young Adults.” Jacqueline Woodson,
       Accessed November 30, 2013, http://www.jacquelinewoodson.com/category/books-ive-written/middle-grade-titles/