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Opinion
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Quotes
Add a Quote"It's because we black and we kids and he's black and he's just a kid-even though he's twenty-three--and every single song he be singing is telling us a little bit more about what could happen to us and how the world really don't care..."
"And then it made sense to me - crazy-fast sense in a way it hadn't before. D walked out of her own life each time she stepped into one of those other places. She got off the bus or walked up out of the subway and her life disappeared, got replaced by that new place, those new strangers - like big pink erasers." pg 18
Summary
Add a SummaryThis is a compelling story about three 11 year old girls living in Queens, New York who experience a variety of changes in their lives as they progress from childhood to womanhood. The two girls, Neeka and the narrator, meet D Foster who changes their world as they listen to the lyrics of the motivational artist known as Tupac. Together these girls grow up together helping each other out just like all good friends do.
This book is an informative book for children to learn to be a follower before a leader. Three friends come a long way from following the strong influences Tupac had on their lives.
This book is about 3 young girls that become friends. D is a foster child who has different privileges than the other 2 girls such as being able to roam. These girls become closer as the books goes on because of their connection to Tupac. Tupac influences them to get things together and D finds peace within herself after Tupac surviving from a shooting. D soon leaves the girls to go back with her mother which is around the time Tupac is shot a second time and dies. The girls have lost their biggest idol.
Comment
Add a CommentThis book was very interesting.
every good
This is a great book for students ages 12 and up. This is a great story that talks about family , friendship, and the importance of a strong community. Readers will be able to relate to this because of how relevant these issues still are today. And the use of Tupac is great as well.
I do not recommend this book for children under 13, the book reflects on the lives of two best friends whom life is change by the acquisition of a new friend name D Foster. The new friend will open the girl’s eyes to a world of rap music and Tupac Shakur a rapper from the nineties. Through music, the main characters will develop a new sense of their lives and how Tupac music relates to every struggle the girls go through in their personal lives. The book has references to crime, drugs, homosexuality and other topics that the parents need to study before reading it to children. This book has many life experiences making it a really good read, but not for young children.
I really enjoyed reading this book because it presents real life situations. This is a book that I feel teens should be introduced to and be required to read. It is a good read to let teens see what it is like to live in the real world without/with experience any of the situations.
I recommend this book for reading because of the realistic feeling that readers are able to get while connecting their real life situations to it. This literature allows readers to explore life that is different from their own. Tupac was a great legend, it is said that he caused several divisions in the real world, either you liked him and his creative art or either you despised him and didn't like what he stood for. Either way this book opens minds, possibilities and explores how to deal with difficult situations compared to the real world.This book addresses several real life issues that a lot of teens can relate to such as foster care, prison, racism and homophobic issues. It's an easy read piece of literature and there is so much life in this book.
We never learn the name of the narrator, who tells how she and her best friend, Neeka, became fast friends with D Foster when they were 11 years old. "The summer before D Foster's real mama came and took her away, Tupac wasn't dead yet." The girls call themselves 'Three the Hard Way' and relate strongly to Tupac and his music. "By the time her mama came and got her and she took one last walk on out of our lives, I felt like we'd grown up and grown old and lived a hundred lives in those few years that we knew her."
Neeka appears to have a crush on D, although this interpretation relies on very subtle clues because the narrator is unaware of it. One of Neeka's older brothers, Tash, is flamboyantly gay and call himself a sister. Tash is in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Themes of intolerance and injustice are central to the story.
The main readership for this novel is probably girls in Grade 5 to 7, but this is a novel I will also recommend to older teens and adults. Anyone who enjoys a bittersweet coming-of-age story with insights into the complexities of human behaviour.