Jade is a Black teenager from a poor Portland neighborhood who commutes to a mostly white private high school on scholarship. She makes art from scraps, collaging paper and fabric into portraits, and she is tired of being treated as a charity case. When her school pairs her with Maxine, a successful Black alumna, in a mentoring program called Women to Women, Jade is skeptical. She wants real opportunities, not advice from someone who seems to have forgotten what it costs to get out. Watson writes in free verse and short chapters, keeping Jade's voice direct about race, class and colorism.
Teen readers who feel they are always being helped instead of heard will recognize Jade. The book also suits anyone interested in how art, friendship and honest mentorship can let a young person speak on her own terms.
Inward-looking, clear-cut and thought-provoking; an easy read.
Best for readers like The Empathetic Explorer. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2017
- Language
- EN
