Blended

by Sharon M. Draper

Hardcover, 2018

Status

Available

Call number

813.6

Genres

Children's Books

All Topics

Fiction

Publication

Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books (2018), 320 pages

Description

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

LibraryThing member foggidawn

Isabella’s parents are divorced, so she is swapped between families each week. As a pre-teen, she’s confronting issues of identity: being biracial, should she identify as Black? White? Both? An unpleasant incident at school brings these questions to the forefront, but she’s also wrestling

with feelings about changes in her family, plus the normal turmoil of growing up.

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.

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LibraryThing member lindamamak

Survival middle school is bad enough but when your parents divorce and seek 50/50 custody and you Mother is Black and your Dad is black, your chances to survive are tough

LibraryThing member acargile

A perfect middle grades novel about living in America as a person of color, Blended presents Izzy/Isabella as she tries to determine who she is within her own family even as she’s beginning to realize that she has a preconceived identity in society.

Izzy loves both of her parents, but she feels

like there’s no room for her. Her parents divorce in the beginning. Her father moves away but then returns as a well-paid lawyer. Now she lives one week with mom and one week with dad. These are two very different lives. Mom works at the Waffle House and dates John Mark, who is a super great guy. He loves Izzy and her mother. They all bowl together and just enjoy being together. Dad has a beautiful house in a nice area and dates a talented designer who has a son. Anastasia loves Izzy like a daughter and her son, Darren is seriously the perfect brother. Obviously, both homes are full of wonderful people who love her completely. Going from house to house makes her feel like she’s always being who each parent wants her to be and the world that exists at that particular house instead of just being herself.

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

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LibraryThing member HeidiSki

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 fired. (Amazon)

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LibraryThing member AMQS

Sharon Draper's amazing middle grade novel Out of My Mind is a favorite of both students and teachers, so I knew I would be in good hands with Blended. And that knowledge was comforting, because things got REAL. As in, I had to stop listening when I sensed something coming because I knew if I kept

listening I would be trapped in my driveway. And then I worried about the characters all night. And when I did continue the next day I arrived at school a runny-nosed mess from ugly crying in the car. But I trusted Sharon Draper wouldn't do something too awful to me, and my trust was rewarded.

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.

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LibraryThing member ewyatt

Isabella, or Izzy, depending on which house she's staying in and which parent is addressing her, is part of two families but feels torn by fighting between her parents. Both parents have supportive partners. The book covers a lot of ground in a short volume. It deals a lot with Izzy's feelings

about her parents and their divorce. It has a racial incident at school. Tension builds around Isabella's big recital and then bam! action from out of the blue. The book delves into what it is to be black in America a bit as well as what it is to be biracial.

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LibraryThing member HeatherLINC

I haven't read anything by Sharon M. Draper since "Fish Out of Water", which I loved, and I found "Blended" to be just as good. Isabella is such a relatable character with a delightful sense of humour. However, life for Isabella can be difficult as she tries to find her own identity. To make

matters more complicated she is the child of a white mother and black father, and often has to deal with racial taunts. Sundays are especially hard when she is exchanged from one parent to the other.

"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.

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LibraryThing member SamMusher

Easy for kids to relate to

LibraryThing member jennybeast

This is, quite clearly, The Hate U Give for younger kids -- it's also a moving story about an 11 year old girl struggling to find her way between her divorced parents bickering (1 black and affluent, 1 white and poor, both devoted to her and insistent about their custody time), and an artist's

story -- Izzy/Isabella is a talented pianist, who devotes herself to musical practice. Lots of great stuff in here, from the early conversation about lynching that leads to school unrest, to the engaging characters and their different concerns (dueling weddings, great new older brother, racial tension at the mall), to the shocking denouement, and the light moments of kids growing up/crushes.

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LibraryThing member bell7

Isabella feels pulled in two different directions - her mother is white, her father black; her mother calls her Izzy, her father Isabella; and their custody agreement means she lives in a different house every week.

Izzy tells her story as a middle school girl navigating school, friends, racism, and

complicated family in chapters headed "Mom's week", "Dad's week" or sometimes "Exchange Day" to orient where she is as the year progresses. It deals with a lot of big, complicated but important topics that kids deal with in a sensitive way.

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LibraryThing member Jennifer_Long

I was looking for a good book to recommend to students of divorced parents. I got that and so much more with this book. Sharon Draper creates really likable characters, and yet she does it in an economical way. This is a quick read whose structure, going back and forth between mom's week and dad's

week, gives you a sense of her unsettled life. Izzy tells it like it is. A strong book choice for tweens who will connect with Izzy's love of mall shopping and slime making.

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