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Juvenile Fiction. Juvenile Literature. HTML:Eleven-year-old Isabella's blended family is more divided than ever in this thoughtful story about divorce and racial identity from the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Out of My Mind, Sharon M. Draper. Eleven-year-old Isabella's parents are divorced, so she has to switch lives every week: One week she's Isabella with her dad, his girlfriend Anastasia, and her son Darren living in a fancy house where they are one of the only black families in the neighborhood. The next week she's Izzy with her mom and her boyfriend John-Mark in a small, not-so-fancy house that she loves. Because of this, Isabella has always felt pulled between two worlds. And now that her parents are divorced, it seems their fights are even worse, and they're always about HER. Isabella feels even more stuck in the middle, split and divided between them than ever. And she's is beginning to realize that being split between Mom and Dad is more than switching houses, switching nicknames, switching backpacks: it's also about switching identities. Her dad is black, her mom is white, and strangers are always commenting: "You're so exotic!" "You look so unusual." "But what are you really?" She knows what they're really saying: "You don't look like your parents." "You're different." "What race are you really?" And when her parents, who both get engaged at the same time, get in their biggest fight ever, Isabella doesn't just feel divided, she feels ripped in two. What does it mean to be half white or half black? To belong to half mom and half dad? And if you're only seen as half of this and half of that, how can you ever feel whole? It seems like nothing can bring Isabella's family together again�??until the worst happens. Isabella and Darren are stopped by the police. A cell phone is mistaken for a gun. And shots are fir… (more)
User reviews
A powerful and well-written story, Draper does a great job with characterization as always. Isabella reminded me strongly of other pre-teen girls I have known. If you enjoy realistic juvenile fiction, add this to your list. I’d also say this is a great book to recommend to young readers who are not quite ready to read The Hate You Give.
Izzy loves both of her parents, but she feels
Izzy enjoys playing the piano and spending time with her friends. She even likes school where new information changes her life as well. Her good friend finds a noose in her locker. This incident is the first time that Izzy sees racism up close. Her father, who is black, tells her gently about being black in society. He doesn’t say much, but it’s information that Izzy’s never thought about. People make comments about her that make her uncomfortable because she is half black and half white. The comments are usually innocently stated because the kids her age don’t realize what can be troubling. A few incidents happen while she’s out in society that makes her see how she is judged by her color and not who she is as a person.
Izzy just wants to figure out who she is and play the piano. She’s a sweet girl surrounded by good friends and a loving family. Even with this seemingly perfect life, Izzy feels the pressures of expectations--both familial and societal. For those of you not ready for Dear Martin or the Hate U Give, read this novel. Also, if you liked Ghost Boys, you’ll like this novel as well. It’s pretty short and will be enjoyable and educational for you to read
Because of this, Isabella has always felt pulled between two worlds. And now that her parents are divorced, it seems their fights are even worse, and they’re always about HER. Isabella feels even more stuck in the middle, split and divided between them than ever. And she’s is beginning to realize that being split between Mom and Dad is more than switching houses, switching nicknames, switching backpacks: it’s also about switching identities. Her dad is black, her mom is white, and strangers are always commenting: “You’re so exotic!” “You look so unusual.” “But what are you really?” She knows what they’re really saying: “You don’t look like your parents.” “You’re different.” “What race are you really?” And when her parents, who both get engaged at the same time, get in their biggest fight ever, Isabella doesn’t just feel divided, she feels ripped in two. What does it mean to be half white or half black? To belong to half mom and half dad? And if you’re only seen as half of this and half of that, how can you ever feel whole?
It seems like nothing can bring Isabella’s family together again—until the worst happens. Isabella and Darren are stopped by the police. A cell phone is mistaken for a gun. And shots are fired. (Amazon)
So you should read Blended. She does an amazing job portraying the anger, uncertainty, and helplessness of a child whose parents have divorced and who now divides time into "mom's week" and "dad's week." And the confusing, messy process of adding future stepparents and step-siblings to the mix (I absolutely love all of the "steps" in this book and wish every child could be so lucky). On top of all of this, mom is white and dad is black, so Isabella (dad's name for her)/Izzy (mom's name for her) also has the turmoil of being a mixed-race child. The majority of the story takes place in Isabella's 6th grade year, a year of burgeoning awareness of social and racial issues. And the issues become personal. A class discussion of the Civil Right Movement becomes heated and the aftermath is ugly. Isabella sees racial profiling first-hand, and experiences some casual, more thoughtless than deliberately hurtful racism that still hurts no matter what the intent was. She has wonderfully strong adults in her life who help her process and cope, but who also are not perfect and can behave toward each other in a way that adds rather than relieves the turmoil. I love this strong, brave girl and thought the book was very well done.
"Blended" has some serious issues including divorce, racism, class, stereotyping, police prejudice and step-families but Ms Draper has handled them with care and presented them in an age-appropriate manner. Highly recommended for younger readers.
Izzy tells her story as a middle school girl navigating school, friends, racism, and