Blended by Sharon Draper

 

 

  1. Blended by Sharon Draper

A: Bibliography

Draper, Sharon. 2018. BLENDED. New York, NY; Simon & Schuster. ISBN 1442495014.


B: Plot Summary

Isabella is an eleven year girl who is learning to navigate her new life as she copes with her parents’ divorce. One tricky hurdle that Isabella must jump through is the circumstances of her race. Her mother is white and her father is black. Isabella struggles to feel accepted and understood. As the story progresses the reader is able to see how Isabella’s struggles and difficulties begin to affect her in a negative light. 


C: Critical Analysis (Including cultural markers)

This book is one that I think many people would be able to relate to. Children of divorced parents would be able to relate to Isabella. Bi-Racial children would be able to relate to Isabella. Even just preteen girls could relate to Isabella. Because of this, this novel would be an excellent addition to any library. 


At times, the content displayed in this novel can be deep and serious, while other times it can be light-hearted and silly. Isabella discusses other’s reactions to her and her friends and family. Unfortunately, racism and unequal treatment is apparent in this reaction and told through an innocent child’s eyes. 


Overall, I would recommend this book for all children to enjoy. As stated above, many would be able to relate to some aspect of Isbella and her life. If a child were not able to relate, there would at least be a moment of growth, knowing that the reader is exposed to the understanding of how racism affects those being unfairly treated.


D: Review Excerpts

Publishers Weekly: “Timely and genuine, this novel chronicles a biracial girl’s struggle to define her identity and find her voice amid personal and societal expectations.”


Kirkus: “A book that offers readers a stark look at the apartheidlike reality that exists for black people in America.”


Simon & Schuster: “Eleven-year-old Isabella’s blended family is more divided than ever in this “timely but genuine” (Publishers Weekly) story about divorce and racial identity from the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Out of My Mind, Sharon M. Draper.”


E: Connections

Look for these other books for young people with an African American girl as the main character:


Thomas, Angie. THE HATE U GIVE. ISBN 0062498533


Thomas, Angie. ON THE COME UP. ISBN 0062498533


Draper, Sharon. OUT OF MY MIND. ISBN 1416971718

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

If I Ever Get Out Of Here by Eric Gainsworth

Image
If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth   A.            Bibliography Gansworth, Eric. 2005. New York, NY; Scholastic. ISBN 0545417317   Plot Summary Taking place in the 1970s, this story uses the songs of The Beatles to portray the story of Lewis, an American Indian teenager that is growing up in a time (and place) where his Native American heritage is underappreciated and sets him apart. This coming of age story uses themes of young love, friendship, family, and bullying to tell the story of how despite all the odds, Lewis is able to find some semblance of normalcy and happiness.   Critical Analysis (Including Cultural Markers)             The cultural markers of this story come in the reactions of others to Lewis and his lifestyle. The mistreatment of Lewis can be seen time and time again, all because he is of a different cult...
Read more

Infographics: Information in Picture Form

Image
   Just as the title suggests, infographics are simply images with statics and numbers thrown in. It is generally something that someone can read by just glancing at. Infographics are a good way of informing the public or getting your point across about a certain topic. When creating your own infographic , there are many programs available online to help. For the purpose of this post, I will be comparing three different websites; Easelly , Piktochart , and Infogram , to see which (in my opinion) is easiest and most user friendly with creating an infographic .    All three programs that I played around with to create an inforgraphic required me to create an account. As such, I don't anticipate much Spam mail coming from these sites, however that is a subject for another day. Let's see how each one of these programs stacked up. Easelly ( http://www.easel.ly/ ) This site is terrific because it already has created infographics where one can go in and change the...
Read more

Gingersnap by Patricia Reilly Giff

Image
Gingersnap by Patricia Reilly Giff Bibliography Giff, Patricia Reilly. Gingersnap . Wendy Lamb Book s, 2013. ISBN 0375838910. Plot Summary Jayna is an orphan and has only her older brother Rob to rely on. Rob has been called to the war in the Pacific, and Jayna is left with only her landlady, Celine. Jayna decides to go to New York and try to find any possible family. After finding a French cookbook with a photograph of a bakery among Rob’s things, Jayna goes in search of the Gingersnap bakery. Once there, she finds much more than she could have imagined. Jayna finds answers to her questions, acceptance, and most importantly, family.  Critical Analysis The different recipes scattered throughout the story that related to particular moments in the story add to a unique spin on the story. For example, on page 122, there was a recipe titled “Waiting Soup” that appeared just as Elise mentions that Jayna can stay with her until Rob comes home from th...
Read more