After Tupac and D Foster (by Jacqueline Woodson)

After Tupac and D Foster After Tupac and D Foster has such strong stands about friendship, trouble, and an awe-inspiring performer whose legend only seems to grow. There is such a quiet beauty to the way this story is told through the voice of a girl growing up with a passion for friends, for family, and for music. The story of Tupac Shakur, both his life and death, helps tell the story of three girls living lives that are at times both rough and happy. The music becomes a character all its own, as does Tupac himself. After Tupac and D Foster is most deserving of the Newbery medal because of its age range, well-defined characters, and it’s developed plot. For these reasons are so strong that I’m surprised it’s being compared to lower level books that will not even stand a chance in the running if they are compared to this novel. The age range for this book is very unique. The girls are eleven and maybe twelve by the end of the story. But the writing is definitely from an adult, or a VERY intelligent teens perspective, looking back at that time frame. The girls also have to deal with issues that your average everyday teen book isn't considering. Things like having your best friend's brother in jail for a crime he never committed. It is also so deeply related Then again, nothing in this book is inappropriate for ten and eleven-year-olds either. There is such a beauty to the way this story is told through the voice of a girl growing up with a passion for friends, for family, and for music. The characters are so tightly nailed to the story, they are so strong and forward with their thoughts about their lives. The story of Tupac Shakur, both his life and death, helps tell the story of three girls living lives that are at times both rough and happy, because of the choices he made. The music becomes a character all its own, just like does Tupac. D Foster was a girl with a very daring personality. She came walking sown the street and said that she had gotten off of the bus because she liked the trees. She had that kind of daring personality. The girls then meet in the neighborhood in Queens. They are all eleven-years-old and have all moved from house to house. The three become friends almost instantly, and through the course of their friendship they try to deal the everyday realities of family, their love of Tupac, and the future as it arrives. They have so much in common, except the unnamed narrator and Neeka very quickly learn that D Foster has something that they don’t have, freedom. D Foster just wants to stay in one home from now on, but when her real mom gets her act together and wants her back, the closeness of the girls is tested in ways that are not even imaginable. The age range for this book is very unique. The girls are eleven and maybe twelve by the end of the story. But the writing is definitely from an adult, or a VERY intelligent teens perspective looking back at that time. The girls also have to deal with issues that your average everyday teen book isn't considering. Things like having your best friend's brother in jail for a crime he never committed. It is also so deeply related Then again, nothing in this book is inappropriate for ten and eleven-year-olds either. In After Tupac and D Foster, the plot is very well brought together. It is a strong story about friends, keeping them, losing them, and how can never really know what's going on in another person's mind. Set in Queens in the mid 90’s, After Tupac and D Foster is the story of three girls--“Three the Hard Way”. It’s a moment in time when the nameless narrator and her childhood best friend, Neeka, meet D Foster. A mysterious, slightly older girl, who’s latest foster mother let’s her “roam” so long as D meets curfew. A freedom the narrator and Neeka have never known under the watchful eyes of their mothers, restricted by the geography of the block they live on. The girls bond over their mutual love of Tupac Shakur and his music. D especially, feels a connection to him. Over about two-year period D becomes a fixture on the block and in the girls’ lives just as Tupac is a fixture in the media and therefore their radar. When it comes down to it, Jacqueline Woodson has packed a lot of tough topics into this airtight little story: throwaway kids, jail visits, homosexuality, Tupac’s art, fatherless ness, and the hope some kids cling to that they might one day be With so many big issues in mixed in with that. It’s amazing how smooth the story flows. ByAddie