The Dear One [Mass Market Paperback]

Jacqueline Woodson (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Dell (1993)
• ASIN: B000HNQYQY
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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 (Mass Market 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.