Crossing Jordan

Rating:
Summary: Cognitive Dissonance and Crossing Jordan
Review: "Freedom dreams, they was always hid in plain sight for anyone who knew how to look and how to listen." (Fogelin, pg.36). Cass, the main character in Adrian Fogelin's Crossing Jordan, frees her mind of prejudice by ignoring a fence that separates her from Jemmie, the young African-American girl who moves in next door. Although hesitant about befriending a black girl, Cass shares mutual interests with Jemmie, and soon a strong bond between the girls emerges. Cass's family, especially her father, deplores blacks, and projects his hatred openly to the rest of the family. In the beginning of the book, Cass also holds negative ideas about African-Americans, but changes as she surrounds herself with Jemmie, and Jemmie's family. The Cognitive dissonance theory provides a platform for understanding the psychological dynamics that Cass encounters when confronted with cultural biases. Defined, cognitive dissonance "is said to be a state of psychological discomfort or tension which motivates efforts to achieve consonance." (Woodward & Denton, pg.160). This occurs when an inconsistency exists between a person's actions and acquired knowledge. There are two ways to reduce dissonance; a person must either change his beliefs or alter his behavior. The dissonance Cass experiences is a direct result from her beliefs instilled by her father, and the increasing amount of time she enjoys spending with Jemmie. She admires Jemmie's running ability, and reading skills, but still sees Jemmie as black girl, and retains stereotypes that blacks steal and lie. When Jemmie is accused of stealing candy at the local grocery store, Cass says, "maybe she did do it, Daddy always said for black people, stealing's as easy as breathing." (Fogelin, pg.45). She defends Jemmie, and tells Andy, the store clerk, "Jemmie is my friend, she doesn't have a thing that belongs to you." However, Cass is uncertain about Jemmie's innocence. She says, "I turned her pockets inside out to show the clerk he was wrong, but as I did it I felt ashamed. I wasn't any better than Andy. I knew Jemmie, and I still hadn't been sure." (Fogelin, pg.46). As the two girls are retelling the story to Nana Grace, Jemmie's grandmother, Cass says, "My smile felt pasted on. If Nana Grace could see into my heart, she would know that when Andy accused Jemmie of stealing I hadn't really trusted her. I had to check her pockets to be sure." (Fogelin, pg.50.) What Cass experiences is known as Post-decision dissonance. This occurs when an important decision is re-evaluated, because the significance is such that a person will look for alternative options in order to achieve consonance. The stealing incident is the turning point in the book, immediately after Cass changes her beliefs about African-Americans. This leads to her state of consonance. Previous to this experience, Cass's actions and knowledge, conflict. Before the grocery store scene Cass says, "I thought maybe I'd give Jemmie my magazines to read when I was done, as long as she promised to give them back." Even when Jemmie's family first moves in, Cass refers to them as "those people", and assumes the absence of Jemmie's father meant he was just another "black" man running around on his wife, and abandoning his family. As time passes, loving and respecting Jemmie and her family change Cass's beliefs regarding African-Americans. Cass can now spend time with Jemmie with no discrepancy between her actions and knowledge, because her newfound knowledge dramatically changes her beliefs. Cass also reduces dissonance by changing her actions. Initially, Cass is reluctant to be-friend a black girl. Instead of walking together to the racetrack, Cass meets her there, and tells Jemmie to leave a few minutes ahead of her. Cass tells Jemmie, "you can't come over here", (Fogelin, pg28.) referring to her house, and only communicates to her through a hole in the fence. As their friendship deepens, Cass lets Jemmie come to her house, even with the fear of her father still in place. By the end of the book, Jemmie asks Cass "will things be different when school starts, will we still be friends?, you know kids are gonna say stuff about us." Cass, without hesitation, replies, "of course we'll be friends, we're not gonna let anything stop us." (Fogelin, pg.93). Cass finally reaches a state of consonance by changing both her beliefs and her actions as the story concludes." The Cognitive dissonance theory provides a clear explanation for the resolution of Cass's uncertainty. Simply stated, a person remains unsatisfied in a state of confusion, and will naturally either ignore the problem, or alter a belief, which will lead to a behavioral change. Cass's friendship with Jemmie overpowers her initial bigotry, and allows for her extreme shift in beliefs and behavior by the end of the book.

Fogelin, Adrien. Crossing Jordan. Atlanta, Georgia: Peachtree Publishers, 2000. Woodward, Gary, and Robert Denton. Persuasion and Influence in American Life. Prospect Heights, Illinois: Waveland Press, 2000.

Rating:
Summary: A terrific story!
Review: Cass Bodine is having a lousy summer,until new neighbors move in next door.Her father had heard that these new neighbors were African-Americans, and because of his predjudice immediatly puts up a fence.when the new neighbors move in and see that a fence has been put up, they quickly dislike their new neighbors' from their ignorance. As Cass Bodine watches her new neighbors through a knothole in the fence, she is spotted by Jemmie Lewis. Seeing her long legs and build Cass challenges her to a race and the girls quickly become best friends in secret.Brought together by their love of reading the book Jane Eyre and running entertains the girls. But when their families find out, they forbid the girls from seeing eachother. Read Crossing Jordan and find out how an almost fatal accident brings the families together and what great accomplishment Cass and Jemmie make together. Crossing Jordan Is a fantastic book!I highly recommened it!

Rating:
Summary: Crossing Jordan
Review: Crossing Jordan by Adrian Fogelin is a very good book. Cass is the girl who lives next door to Miss Liz. Miss Liz has died and the new neighbors are colored and Cass's dad is building a fence just because of that reason. Cass finds out that Jemmie, the girl vext door is her age. Cass and Jemmie start to become good friends. One day Cass challenged Jemmie to a race. Cass was the fastest girl in school but Jemmie was just as fast. Secretly everyday after Cass's dad left for work Cass went over to Jemmie's house and they played and talked. One day Cass's dad got hurt and came home from work early. Cass was over at Jemmie's house. Cass's dad forbids Cass to talk to Jemmie and go to her house, Jemmie's mother does as well. Will Cass and Jemmie be friends again to find out read Cross.ing Jordan

Rating:
Summary: Black and White, Together
Review: Crossing Jordan is a powerful story of friendship between Cassie Bodine, a Caucasian girl, and Jemmie Lewis, an African American girl. They are drawn together by their competiveness in running and a love of reading. From the beginning Cassie and Jemmie's friendship is beset by the prejudice, pride ,and cultural beliefs of their parents. Once it is revealed that the girls are friends , they are forbidden to see each other. Through a turn of life-threatening events, and struggle the parents learn that long held notions of people are insignifigant in a time of need. As a librarian, and mother of a ten-year-old, I'm always looking for good books to read with my daughter. We liked this book because the characters are vivid and lively. At the same time, the book used classical literature in a way that made it fun. As a parent , I feel this book is a must read because it provides a positive platform for the discussion of prejudice, ethnicity, and friendship.

Rating:
Summary: crossing jordan
Review: Crossing Jordan is a powerful story of friendship between Cassie Bodine, a Caucasian girl, and Jemmie Lewis, an African American girl. They are drawn together by their competiveness in running and a love of reading. From the beginning Cassie and Jemmie's friendship is beset by the prejudice, pride ,and cultural beliefs of their parents. Once it is revealed that the girls are friends , they are forbidden to see each other. Through a turn of life-threatening events, and struggle the parents learn that long held notions of people are insignifigant in a time of need. As a librarian, and mother of a ten-year-old, I'm always looking for good books to read with my daughter. We liked this book because the characters are vivid and lively. At the same time, the book used classical literature in a way that made it fun. As a parent , I feel this book is a must read because it provides a positive platform for the discussion of prejudice, ethnicity, and friendship.

Rating:
Summary: Crossing the Fence
Review: Crossing Jordan, by Adrian Fogelin is an exceptional book. It is a book that deals with the barriers that are put into place to separate people who are different from one another. The book is geared toward an audience between the ages of 9-12 years old, but is appropriate and applicable for people of all ages. The issues of prejudices and relationships among those of different races are realistically portrayed to the reader in the book Crossing Jordan in a way that is heart warming and emotional.
Cass Bodine a 12-year-old Caucasian girl lives with her family in a small neighborhood in Tallahassee, Florida. The home next door to theirs has been sold to an African American family. Cass's father immediately decides to place a fence in between their two yards. The African American family has not even moved in yet, and the barrier has already been put into place. "The For Sale sign on the house next door had hardly been up a week when Mama told us she'd heard that a black family had bought the old Faircloth place. Daddy brought his fist down on the table... `Place is gonna go downhill,' he said" (1).
Cass's father continues to make negative statements about the new African American neighbors whom he has never met. Cass wonders if the things her father is saying are true, but she does not know what to believe. She has been watching the neighbors, and they seem normal to her. When Cass meets one of her neighbors, a friendship blossoms and continues to grow throughout the book. Jemmie Lewis is one of the African American children that lives next door to Cass. Jemmie is 12-years-old, and she has many things in common with Cass. Both girls love to run, and enjoy reading. Both girls also have one parent who feels that African Americans, and Caucasians should not interact with one another.
Nevertheless, the two girls continue to be secret friends. They do not understand the feelings that their parents have because they are able to look past skin color and see the wonderful people that they are. Nana Grace, Jemmie's grandma encourages the girls to continue being friends because she thinks it is wonderful that they do not see the difference in their skin color as a problem
The entire book deals with Cass and Jemmie trying to overcome the negative feelings toward the friendship that they have developed. Eventually, both of their parents realize that they have been spending time together, and make them stop seeing each other. Through a traumatic experience, the families are eventually brought together. It is not easy for the adults to overcome their prejudices, but they begin to realize that they are wrong. It is very significant that the book ends with Cass's family "crossing the fence" and eating dinner with the Lewis family at their home. The barrier is finally broken, but it has not been an easy task.
The book Crossing Jordan is a book that applies directly to many people's lives. I have never experienced the sort of prejudice feelings that the characters of Mr. Bodine and Mrs. Lewis have. I do, however, realize that these feelings are still prevalent today among many people. Crossing Jordan is a great example for all readers that the barriers placed in between groups of different people can be broken. Cass and Jemmie did not have a problem with overcoming the barriers. They were able to recognize that even though their skin color was different, they still had a lot in common. Cass and Jemmie are a good example to people of all ages. Both children and adults need to realize that the racial barriers that people put into place are foolish.
Crossing Jordan is a realistic book. While the author wants to portray to her readers that prejudices and barriers between races are wrong, she also realizes that they may be hard to break down. Jemmie and Cass did not have a problem with the barrier; they just found a way around it. But, for their parents the task was not quite as easy. Breaking down the barriers that separate people can be difficult. Fogelin is not trying to allude to the fact that it will be easy, she is simply saying that it is possible. Crossing Jordan gives the reader hope that while racial prejudices and barriers are hard to overcome, they are not impossible to overcome. The book sends messages of hope and of perseverance, while recognizing that the task is challenging.

Rating:
Summary: Crossing the Fence
Review: Crossing Jordan, by Adrian Fogelin is an exceptional book. It is a book that deals with the barriers that are put into place to separate people who are different from one another. The book is geared toward an audience between the ages of 9-12 years old, but is appropriate and applicable for people of all ages. The issues of prejudices and relationships among those of different races are realistically portrayed to the reader in the book Crossing Jordan in a way that is heart warming and emotional.
Cass Bodine a 12-year-old Caucasian girl lives with her family in a small neighborhood in Tallahassee, Florida. The home next door to theirs has been sold to an African American family. Cass's father immediately decides to place a fence in between their two yards. The African American family has not even moved in yet, and the barrier has already been put into place. "The For Sale sign on the house next door had hardly been up a week when Mama told us she'd heard that a black family had bought the old Faircloth place. Daddy brought his fist down on the table... 'Place is gonna go downhill,' he said" (1).
Cass's father continues to make negative statements about the new African American neighbors whom he has never met. Cass wonders if the things her father is saying are true, but she does not know what to believe. She has been watching the neighbors, and they seem normal to her. When Cass meets one of her neighbors, a friendship blossoms and continues to grow throughout the book. Jemmie Lewis is one of the African American children that lives next door to Cass. Jemmie is 12-years-old, and she has many things in common with Cass. Both girls love to run, and enjoy reading. Both girls also have one parent who feels that African Americans, and Caucasians should not interact with one another.
Nevertheless, the two girls continue to be secret friends. They do not understand the feelings that their parents have because they are able to look past skin color and see the wonderful people that they are. Nana Grace, Jemmie's grandma encourages the girls to continue being friends because she thinks it is wonderful that they do not see the difference in their skin color as a problem
The entire book deals with Cass and Jemmie trying to overcome the negative feelings toward the friendship that they have developed. Eventually, both of their parents realize that they have been spending time together, and make them stop seeing each other. Through a traumatic experience, the families are eventually brought together. It is not easy for the adults to overcome their prejudices, but they begin to realize that they are wrong. It is very significant that the book ends with Cass's family "crossing the fence" and eating dinner with the Lewis family at their home. The barrier is finally broken, but it has not been an easy task.
The book Crossing Jordan is a book that applies directly to many people's lives. I have never experienced the sort of prejudice feelings that the characters of Mr. Bodine and Mrs. Lewis have. I do, however, realize that these feelings are still prevalent today among many people. Crossing Jordan is a great example for all readers that the barriers placed in between groups of different people can be broken. Cass and Jemmie did not have a problem with overcoming the barriers. They were able to recognize that even though their skin color was different, they still had a lot in common. Cass and Jemmie are a good example to people of all ages. Both children and adults need to realize that the racial barriers that people put into place are foolish.
Crossing Jordan is a realistic book. While the author wants to portray to her readers that prejudices and barriers between races are wrong, she also realizes that they may be hard to break down. Jemmie and Cass did not have a problem with the barrier; they just found a way around it. But, for their parents the task was not quite as easy. Breaking down the barriers that separate people can be difficult. Fogelin is not trying to allude to the fact that it will be easy, she is simply saying that it is possible. Crossing Jordan gives the reader hope that while racial prejudices and barriers are hard to overcome, they are not impossible to overcome. The book sends messages of hope and of perseverance, while recognizing that the task is challenging.

Rating:
Summary: A terrific story!
Review: I'm 13 and started reading "Crossing Jordan" this summer as part of my summer reading program. When I started I planed on taking a month to read it. I started it and found that I couldnt put it down. I have only a few more chapters to go and can't wait to find out what happens. (its only taken me about two days to read 14 chapters) Crossing Jordan has something about it that makes you never want to stop reading it. The characters are very realistic. This is not one of those books that you start reading and can predict the ending. I love this book and would recomend it to anyone that is looking for something to read. (I mostly read only mysteries, but though Crossing Jordan isn't a mystery book, I find I can't take my attention from it even when I'm not reading it!)

Rating:
Summary: For the most part, pretty good
Review: This novel had a good focus but far too many things seemed a little far-fetched to me. The things that went on almost seemed impossible. Other times, however, things seemed understated. It is however a good balance of humor and the hard facts of life, with well-developed characters (slightly stereotypic unfortunately), and a good overall voice and tone. Unfortunately, at the same time as the author told her own story, she also gave away the entire plot of Jane Eyre. That disappointed me slightly.