Editorial Reviews
From School Library
Journal
Gr 9 Up-Keisha's senior year of high school is
quite an ordeal. Her ex-boyfriend has recently committed suicide; a good
friend was killed in a car crash; and she is attracted to the new track
coach, the principal's college-aged son. When he begins to make advances,
Keisha decides that she is mature enough to date this older man. Jonathan,
however, turns out to be more than a smooth talker, and attempts to rape her
after a romantic date. Readers may be overwhelmed by the soap-opera feel of
this issue-laden world of suicide, anorexia, teen models, divorced or dead
parents, homelessness, car accidents, and girl power. There's even a romance
that Keisha doesn't see coming, but readers will. Although never didactic or
preachy, the issues are there to teach a lesson. While slightly unrealistic,
the book still may appeal to readers who love page-turners, as Draper has
given her characters life by developing relationships and using believable
teen-speak.-Angela J. Reynolds, Washington County Cooperative Library
Services, Aloha, OR Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 8-12. It's been a hard
summer for Keisha Montgomery. She is still recovering from the recent
suicide of her ex-boyfriend, Andy, though she finds comfort in her tight
circle of good friends and supportive family. Then handsome new track coach
(and the principal's son) Jonathan Hardaway notices Keisha and sweeps her
off her feet with his smooth manner. When a dinner date with Jonathan turns
into attempted rape, Keisha successfully fights him off, but the incident
leaves her depressed and shaken. This third title in Draper's books about
Hazelwood High will draw readers anxious to follow the personable characters
from Tears of a Tiger (1994) and Forged by Fire (1997).
However, the teen phone conversations, so well handled in those titles,
become awkward here when used to relate plot developments, and the
frequently didactic tone of the characters is contrived. What's more, so
many problem issues are raised--date rape, anorexia, depression, mental
illness, suicide, and grief, to name a few--that the focus blurs. Yet the
graduation scene, in which class president Keisha gives the closing speech,
is moving and triumphant, showing Draper and her vibrant characters at their
best. Debbie Carton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Book Description
Has Keisha found happiness at last?
In her senior year, things are finally looking a
little brighter for Keisha. Still haunted by the suicide of her
ex-boyfriend, Andy, she finds comfort in the attentions of the new track
coach, twenty-three-year-old Jonathan Hathaway, the principal's son. How can
Keisha not be swept off her feet by a tall, dark, handsome "lemon drop
wrapped in licorice" who treats her like a woman, not a girl?
But suddenly this intoxicating relationship
takes a frightening turn, and Keisha is once again plunged into the darkness
she's fought so hard to escape. Will Keisha ever be able to find her way
back into the light?
About the Author
Sharon Mills Draper,
born in Cleveland, Ohio, has been writing and teaching for over twenty-five
years. She has always encouraged in her students a love of learning through
literature and a respect for excellence in writing. She is an accomplished
educator, author, poet, consultant, and motivational speaker. As the 1997
National Teacher of the Year, she traveled extensively, discussing issues of
literacy and education.
Her first novel for Atheneum, Tears of a
Tiger, was the recipient of the first Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe
Award for New Talent, and her second novel, Forged by Fire, won the
Coretta Scott King Award for Literature in 1998. Darkness Before Dawn
is the final book in the trilogy. She is also the author of Romiette &
Julio, as well as several other books for young readers.
When asked to describe herself, Mrs. Draper
replied, "I'm a dreamer, a creator, a visionary. I approach the world with
the eyes of an artist, the ears of a musician, and the soul of a writer. I
see rainbows where others see only rain, and possibilities when others see
only problems. I love to write; words flow easily from my fingertips, and my
heart beats rapidly with excitement as an idea becomes a reality on the
paper in front of me. I learned to dream through reading, learned to create
dreams through writing, and learned to develop dreamers through teaching. I
shall always be a dreamer." |
