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jenmangler's review against another edition
3.0
Lena is the kind of character that just breaks my heart and makes me angry at the world because it has been terrible to her. But then Woodson comes along and patches the breaks in my heart and helps remind me that while the world can be a horrible place, it can also be a place full of kindness and hope.
panda_incognito's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book for an Edwards Award winners group project in my Materials for Adolescents class. I volunteered to cover this title, since it is a sequel and I was willing to read both books. I got the first one, [b:I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This|272337|I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This|Jacqueline Woodson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309198423l/272337._SY75_.jpg|592972], from the library, and I read this title through Open Library.
This story follows Lena and her younger sister after the events of the previous book, which ends with them running away to escape their sexually abusive father. Lena is in middle school, and the younger sister is only eight. The fact that they were able to hitchhike together is a testament to just how long ago the late nineties really were, and the book is an interesting time capsule in terms of past social norms and analog communication.
Some elements of the book would have pushed credulity even at the time, but overall, the book is realistic and possible, and Jacqueline Woodson writes in a way that makes all of the events and conversations seem very real. She is especially talented at writing dialect in a way that enriches the story instead of seeming forced. All of the characters in this book seem like real people, no matter how briefly they appear, and Lena's introspection is honest and authentic throughout. I admire how well Woodson wove common reactions to abuse into the story without ever making it seem like a PSA.
This book is appropriate for middle school readers and older. Woodson mentions very little about the abuse itself, and the book is never graphic. She focuses on how the abuse has impacted the girls, especially by making them grow up too fast, and the deeply compassionate story ends on a hopeful note. Some readers might find the ending too convenient, but it is appropriately foreshadowed and is certainly probable, even though such stories do not always end so happily in real life.
Since this book is very dated, I am not sure if it would interest current teenage readers. However, even though there are many other books about abuse available on the market, many of them include graphic details and more triggering content. This is a safe alternative for younger children and sensitive readers who need to see themselves in Lena's experiences or learn about them as part of life.
This story follows Lena and her younger sister after the events of the previous book, which ends with them running away to escape their sexually abusive father. Lena is in middle school, and the younger sister is only eight. The fact that they were able to hitchhike together is a testament to just how long ago the late nineties really were, and the book is an interesting time capsule in terms of past social norms and analog communication.
Some elements of the book would have pushed credulity even at the time, but overall, the book is realistic and possible, and Jacqueline Woodson writes in a way that makes all of the events and conversations seem very real. She is especially talented at writing dialect in a way that enriches the story instead of seeming forced. All of the characters in this book seem like real people, no matter how briefly they appear, and Lena's introspection is honest and authentic throughout. I admire how well Woodson wove common reactions to abuse into the story without ever making it seem like a PSA.
This book is appropriate for middle school readers and older. Woodson mentions very little about the abuse itself, and the book is never graphic. She focuses on how the abuse has impacted the girls, especially by making them grow up too fast, and the deeply compassionate story ends on a hopeful note. Some readers might find the ending too convenient, but it is appropriately foreshadowed and is certainly probable, even though such stories do not always end so happily in real life.
Since this book is very dated, I am not sure if it would interest current teenage readers. However, even though there are many other books about abuse available on the market, many of them include graphic details and more triggering content. This is a safe alternative for younger children and sensitive readers who need to see themselves in Lena's experiences or learn about them as part of life.
hissingpotatoes's review
4.0
CW: sexual abuse
Whatever I felt was missing from the first book (I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This), this sequel made up for completely. It was heartbreaking, and I was completely invested in Lena and her sister Dion making a better future for themselves, though they never should have needed to in the first place. The people they met who helped them infused a very dark situation with hope.
Whatever I felt was missing from the first book (I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This), this sequel made up for completely. It was heartbreaking, and I was completely invested in Lena and her sister Dion making a better future for themselves, though they never should have needed to in the first place. The people they met who helped them infused a very dark situation with hope.
readingsiren's review
3.0
It was a quick read, filled with emotion and the struggles of being forced to grown up at a very young age.
afterwhat's review
3.0
This one is the companion book to I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This, which I finished yesterday. I wasn't quite as moved by this one, for whatever reason, although Lena's sister, Dion, was a super-fantastic character who I adored.
So, in this one, Lena and Dion are on the road. They're hitch hiking, pretending to be boys when they're picked up by a man, and walking away from a ride whenever their instincts say to, which is a lot of the time. They're cold, tired, hungry. They have only the vaguest thread of a destination, and when it comes right down to it, they're just little girls who desperately want to have a place to go home to, people to make that home for them.
This one, like I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This is a story of strength and hope and really, it's about good people, and how they're everywhere, though you wouldn't know it until you need them.
So, in this one, Lena and Dion are on the road. They're hitch hiking, pretending to be boys when they're picked up by a man, and walking away from a ride whenever their instincts say to, which is a lot of the time. They're cold, tired, hungry. They have only the vaguest thread of a destination, and when it comes right down to it, they're just little girls who desperately want to have a place to go home to, people to make that home for them.
This one, like I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This is a story of strength and hope and really, it's about good people, and how they're everywhere, though you wouldn't know it until you need them.
butyougotmysoul's review against another edition
5.0
An amazing follow-up to a wonderful book. Had just the sort of ending to make you cry, but in a good sort of way.
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