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After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson
G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2008

 Publisher recommended age 10 and up.


Summary

Two 12-year-old best friends meet a girl visiting their block in 1995 Queens, New York, and they quickly become "Three the Hard Way".  They bond over rapper Tupac Shakur's music and learn how brief connections can change us forever.

Language

  • Cursing includes "shut the h*ll up", a variation of "b*tch", "bad*ss", "broke*ss", "big*ss".
  • Potentially offensive language includes "butt", "Nee-groes", "crap".

Sexual Situations

  • One character remembers a first kiss.
  • One girl's older brother is homosexual and is referred to as "a queen", "sissy", "homo".
  • A reference is made to the HIV virus among gay men.

Violence

  • The shootings of Tupac Shakur are a main theme.
  • The girls mention the fear of rape when encountering a dark park.
  • A gay character is beaten by his "boyfriend".
  • The same character later defends himself against homosexual overtures in prison by cutting the aggressor "in choice places."

Drugs/Alcohol

  • A brief mention of smoking cigarettes.

Race Issues

  • The main characters encounter "white people" on the train traveling to visit the jail.
  • There is a discussion about all the different races of people in jail.

***SPOILER ALERT***

  • One main character's absent mother is revealed to be a white woman.

Religion

  • Church is mentioned.
  • One girl discusses her mother's interest in crystals, the afterlife, and meditating.

Politics

  • There are brief mentions of the injustice of young black men being pursued by police officers and put in jail without reason.

 

 

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