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| Book #78 of 2010 |
| Title: After Tupac and D Foster |
| Author: Jacqueline Woodson |
| Publisher: Putnam Young Adult |
| Pub Date: January 10, 2008 |
| Grade: A- |
| Comments: Neeka and the narrator are 11 years old and aren’t allowed to leave the block by themselves, when D Foster enters their lives. She’s a foster child and though she has a strict nighttime curfew, Flo lets her roam the city on her own. Once the girls meet, they become fast friends and their block is where D often comes to hang out, jump rope, and listen to Tupac Shakur. This slice of life story takes place over a year and a half, when the girls start to grow up and ends when D leaves and Tupac is killed.
This was an interesting story for me to read, because I was only about a year older than the girls in the story, and while I was never a Tupac fan (much more of a Biggie fan, though I also liked Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg), I distinctly remember feeling the way these girls did when Kurt Cobain died. Aside from the personal connection, the strength of this book lies in the gorgeous writing. Every word out of these characters’ mouths is poetry but at the same time, it is all realistic dialogue. Though there isn’t a lot going on in the story, particularly for the narrator herself, the characters’ intelligence, wit and warm affection for each other sparkles. I liked how Neeka’s brothers’ stories were also fleshed out and provided two male perspectives. |
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