I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This

Rating:
Summary: It was ok.....
Review: I liked the book and everything, but I as expecting a little more. It didn't really tell you anything. You'd want to know exactly how Lena and Marie must've felt, but it didn't really tell you in much detail. It did have a lot of questions that annoyed me as well because it didn't seem "real". You'll know what I mean when you read it. There are other books out there that'll tell you a lot more idea and feeling, so I only rated it 3 stars.

Rating:
Summary: subject matter is controversial but necessary in this day
Review: I read this book for a college lit. class and was disturbed by the emotional affect I felt. This is a great book about race relations and children who loose a parent but the subject of sexual abuse does not provide an answer for children who might be experiencing the same abuse as Lena. The book is rated at a fourth grade level however I am not sure that an average fourth grader would understand the problem of sexual abuse. A good understanding of the whole social issue of sexual abuse must be explained to a child before reading this book. I would hate to see a child who is experiencing sexual abuse read this and come up with the solution of running away from their problems. This could be a good starting point for discussion on possible solutions for Lena's problem.

Rating:
Summary: Wow. This is a real eye-opener to the real world!!
Review: I read this book three times in one day. It touched my heart so deeply that I began to feel the pain of losing a parent. I absolutely loved this book. It just shows how judgement of character is not about looks.

Rating:
Summary: Some Secrets Must Be Told
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book, but wished Marie would have told someone Lena's secret. I feel that some children who read this book would get the impression that keeping secrets from adults can be a solution to the problem. Lena was sexually abused by her father and Marie kept that secret. Lena is a poor white girl and Marie is a middleclass black girl. These two girls establish a wonderful friendship and share the loss of their mothers. Lena's mother died from breast cancer and Marie's mother left the family two years ago. I feel the author did a nice job with racial relations and reaching children who have lost a parent. However, I would like to have seen her describe deeper feelings and solutions for children who experience sexual abuse. I was hoping for Marie to eventually tell the secret to an adult and Lena realizes that she was a true friend for doing so. In the end Lena finally decides to leave with her younger sister Dion so her father cannot touch either of them ever again. Marie is very upset Lena is leaving and tries to convince her to stay and tell the cops and things could be different. Lena says she cannot and will write her soon. The bond that Marie and Lena established will last forever. This book is rated for 4th grade to junior high level. Due to sexual abuse not be explained in depth, I feel fourth and fifth grade may be too young to understand the book unless the teacher does beforehand.

Rating:
Summary: Some Secrets Must Be Told
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book, but wished Marie would have told someone Lena's secret. I feel that some children who read this book would get the impression that keeping secrets from adults can be a solution to the problem. Lena was sexually abused by her father and Marie kept that secret. Lena is a poor white girl and Marie is a middleclass black girl. These two girls establish a wonderful friendship and share the loss of their mothers. Lena's mother died from breast cancer and Marie's mother left the family two years ago. I feel the author did a nice job with racial relations and reaching children who have lost a parent. However, I would like to have seen her describe deeper feelings and solutions for children who experience sexual abuse. I was hoping for Marie to eventually tell the secret to an adult and Lena realizes that she was a true friend for doing so. In the end Lena finally decides to leave with her younger sister Dion so her father cannot touch either of them ever again. Marie is very upset Lena is leaving and tries to convince her to stay and tell the cops and things could be different. Lena says she cannot and will write her soon. The bond that Marie and Lena established will last forever. This book is rated for 4th grade to junior high level. Due to sexual abuse not be explained in depth, I feel fourth and fifth grade may be too young to understand the book unless the teacher does beforehand.

Rating:
Summary: I Hadn't meant to tell you this
Review: Jacqueline Woodson has used good taste in confronting the issue of child abuse. She presents two girls from very different backgrounds and bring them together to form a beautiful friendship.

Maria and Lena share a common bond of the lost of their mothers. The book is a must read for young adult audiences.

Rating:
Summary: to short
Review: not as bad as some books, but bad all the same. It would make a good book, if it took up about anouther 200 pages. it might be becouse i read alot, but this book was to short to be worth reading

Rating:
Summary: A thought provoking book
Review: Set in Chauncey, Ohio, a run down area for many black families. In the first few days of school, MArie a popular black girl and her friend Sandy encounter a new girl named Lena. Lena is not the cleanest or the most popular girl, in fact, she has no friends. Sandy hates Lena right from the start, and to make matters worse, Lena's white in an all black school! Lena forms a friendship with Marie which makes Sandy very jealous and tears them apart. Marie's mother left her and her father, and Lena's mother is dead. They talk a lot about their mothers, and Marie says how much she misses her. Lena is just the opposite and isn't very concerned about her mother's passing. Marie's father is prejudiced against whites and he doesn't want Marie to get hurt. Their friendship grows and Lena tells the big secret that she's been hiding. Lena tells Marie about her plans to run away and take he sister Dion with her. I didn't like the story very much since I'm a guy, but it would be a great book for girls or guys in touch with their feminine side. What is Lena's big secret you might wonder? What makes Lena want to run away? Read this book and you can find out for yourself.

Rating:
Summary: The Chauncey, Ohio Crib
Review: The book is about a young girl at the age of twelve named Marie has a friend that is in the same grade as her and how their friendship gets them closer together in a mostly an all African American school in Chauncey, Ohio. At the age of four Marie's mother left to be alone and go around the world to make her dreams come true. Every once in a while in the book she would mail Marie and her father a post card with a picture on the back that she drew of where she was at. One day at school in history class a new girl came and the teacher introduced her to the class and her name was Lena. The teacher gave her a seat over by Marie and at lunch they started to talk to each other and became friends.

I like the book because it talks about to kids getting to know each other and how both of them have no mother because something happened to them that changed their lives and once they found each other as friends. It is really sad how one mother died of cancer and one left because she wanted to go to other places in the world and become somebody in the world. If I was a judge of this book and give it a scale from one to ten on how good it was, I would give it a ten because it was really good in a way that it would make someone happy that would be interested in it.

Rating:
Summary: Truth hurts
Review: The books is set in modern day Ohio about two girls one white one black. The tables have change in which the black girl is the one who is well off and the white girl is very poor. The book is written from Marie's view. She met her through school where the first day she sat next to her. The book deals with a very sensitive subject about abuse which Lena's dad does to her. The abuse though is slightly touched upon.I believe the author really touched the heart with this book it was very sad but yet it's stuff that happens every day highly recommend great for book discussion for children pertaining to race relation and possible an introducion to knowing about abuse.