I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This

Jacqueline Woodson

In Chauncey, Ohio, there is a prominent black side of town and a poor white side of town. The children of Chauncey know where they belong and not to challenge the social norm. Marie, a popular black girl, shuns the new white girl Lena Bright. By some twist of fate, these two unlikely friends become inseparable. Their common bond: each can keep a secret. When Lena reveals her secret, Marie is placed between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Should she tell Lena’s secret with the hopes of rescuing her new friend, or does she keep Lena’s secret keeping her promise?

Woodson’s tale is simple, but addresses many advanced themes and issues. Middle school students (6^th and 7^th grade) would have no problem reading this. My only hesitation would be parents’ reactions to learning that their children are reading/learning about sexual abuse. Despite this potential hurdle, this book is a beautiful jumpstart to talking about accepting others (especially those of different backgrounds). I would expect that one could have in-depth discussions about secrets, abuse, bullying, acceptance, and middle school issues without much prompting. Because the characters are in middle school, students should have no issue connecting with the situation.  

Push, By: Sapphire

This heartbreaking, extremely graphic novel recounts the story of Precious Jones, a sixteen-year-old African American girl living in Harlem in the late 1980’s. Precious is illiterate, obese, been impregnated twice by her father, and suffers from continual sexual, emotional, and physical abuse from her unemployed mother. Sapphire’s debut novel begins with Precious being transferred to an alternative school after her high school learns of her second pregnancy. There Precious is finally nurtured – accumulating reading and writing skills and for the first time, interacting with individuals who love her, support her, and whom she can call friends. Additionally, Precious is eventually moved to a halfway house, finally separated from her abusive mother, where she is forced to reflect upon her life and forge a path into the future.

Overall, this book in unsuitable for a middle school context both in its themes and in its level of teachability. Even for the experienced, “cultured” reader, the novel, while powerful in its depiction of human survival in the face of relentless abuse, is so graphic that it could potentially cause harmful effects. Although there is significant language and sexual terminology, Sapphire also details the incestuous abuse experienced by Precious. While this novel would never work as a “whole-class” activity, having the book in a classroom or school library would be valuable. While some students would be wholeheartedly uncomfortable with the content, others would find strength and inspiration through it. Also, the novel is written in Precious’s dialect and through her journals written at the alternative school, a way that would be appealing as it can be read quite rapidly.