The Dear One [Library Binding]

Jacqueline Woodson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 11, 2008

Feni is furious when she finds out that her mother has agreed to take a fifteen-year-old pregnant girl into their home until her baby is born. What kind of girl would let herself get into so much trouble? How can Feni live under the same roof with someone like that? Her worst fears are confirmed when Rebecca arrives: she is mean, bossy, and uneducated. Feni decides she will have nothing to do with her. But it’s hard not to be curious about a girl so close to her in age who seems so different. . . .

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Feni's visitor Rebecca, 15, comes from Harlem, is pregnant and is sleeping in Feni's room. It's almost too much for the 12-year-old to bear: she sees little enough of her corporate-executive mother without having to entertain her friend's daughter. Feni is determined to dislike Rebecca--until she realizes that the older girl's toughness is just a facade that hides a strong, nurturing young woman. When Rebecca's baby is born and she prepares to leave, Feni is faced with the unexpected prospect of losing her new friend. Peopled with strong African American female characters, this paradigm for understanding between social groups is written in a warm, rich style that creates an immediate intimacy with the players and issues. Woodson's deep understanding of and concern for the role of black women in society is evident as she eloquently introduces the reader to teenage pregnancy, alternate lifestyles and adoption in her moving, powerful story. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Second-novelist Woodson (the well-received Last Summer with Maison, 1990) gives thoughtful consideration to the impact of a pregnant teenager on the 12-year-old daughter of a friend who takes her in. Afeni (Swahili for ``Dear One'') is still coping with her grandmother's death and her parents' divorce when her mother invites Rebecca, 15, daughter of a childhood friend who now lives in Harlem, to share their suburban home until her baby is born. Rebecca finds it as hard to deal with a group of caring women (which includes recovering alcoholics and a lesbian couple) as Afeni does to share her room with a stranger whose concerns are her boyfriend and the baby she's about to give up. Still, in their time together the two form a bond that enables each to grow in understanding and love. Minimal plot, but the characterizations are rich, warm, and memorable; Woodson draws a frank, realistic picture of a community of African-American women who thrive while bravely confronting a myriad of problems and life situations. Though the writing is occasionally a little slapdash, this is a strong, original, and life-affirming book. (Fiction. 12+) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Library Binding: 160 pages
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439516901
• ISBN-13: 978-1439516904
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,810,738 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jacqueline Woodson's awards include 3 Newbery Honors, a Coretta Scott King Award and 3 Coretta Scott King Honors, 2 National Book Awards, a Margaret A. Edwards Award and an ALAN Award -- both for Lifetime Achievement in YA Literature. She is the author of more than 2 dozen books for children and young adults and lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Dear One is a moving, powerful book -- a must read!, June 6, 2000

By 

C. Rainfield (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dear One (Paperback)

Feni, a 12-year-old, does not want her mother to let Rebecca, a 15-year-old pregnant girl from Harlem, stay with them. But her mother insists this is something she must do, for her old school friend (Rebecca's mother).

Feni and Rebecca do not get along at first. Rebecca seems in awe of the middle-class luxuries that Feni takes for granted, and Feni resents and is angered by Rebecca's pregnancy. However, Feni and Rebecca gradually learn to respect and even like each other.

There is a great feeling of an extended family in this book, with Feni's mother, Feni's mother's best friend, Marion, Marion's partner, Clair, past reminences of Fenni's loving grandmother, and telephone conversations with Feni's father all providing a large net of love. Although the adults show their love differently, and Feni is not always sure of it, you get the feeling that this is one very loved child...and that that love and respect give her a solid base to accept and become close friends with Rebecca.

The Dear One was intense, moving, and powerful. I couldn't put it down. The relationship between the two girls was very believeable, and the issues of teenage pregnancy, lesbianism, and class difference were dealt with incredibly well and with great insight. I highly recommend this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars All about friendship, July 1, 2008

By 

D. Williams "cool teacher" (Wisconsin USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Dear One (Paperback)

Afeni (which means "the dear one" in Swahili) is a 12-year-old girl dealing with the tragic death of her beloved grandmother and her parents' divorce.

When Rebecca, the daughter of her mother's childhood friend, comes to live with Afeni and her mother, Afeni is not pleased. Rebecca, 15, is pregnant, and Afeni is sure they will have nothing in common.

At first, the girls clash, but they slowly become friends. Through a cast of strong female characters, Woodson takes on such weighty issues as teen pregnancy, adoption, and the divide between the haves and the have-nots. There is not much plot, but the relationships are rich and believable.