Fall Secrets

The first volume of a new series follows the adventures of four girls at their first year at a performing arts junior high school, during which Jessie, a spirited young African-American girl, explores racial differences and hides a painful secret. Original.

Grade 5-7-As Jessie Williams enters the Oakland Performing Arts Middle School, she must deal with pressure to perform academically, her jealousy toward her older sister, Cass, and the difficulties of working in a small group at school. The girls who make up the "Fours" all have hidden problems that affect their group dynamics, but they manage to work cohesively on class projects, including performing at a local home for senior citizens. Always in the background are the devastating effects of the Oakland/Berkeley fire that both traumatized and mobilized the whole community. Bolstered by her loving family and a boy at school who makes her feel special, Jessie is able to confront her own insecurities. Despite workmanlike writing, stilted dialogue, and some heavy-handed messages, there are some interesting things happening here. The characters are well drawn and, while readers may question the girls' need for secrecy about their problems, they will recognize the pressures of adolescence and exult in Jessie's determination to forge a new relationship with Cass, who's been having her own problems, and her growing pride in her African American heritage.
Marie Orlando, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport,
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 5-7. Jessie Williams has a lot on her mind. She's started at a middle school focused on the performing arts, where she can persue her dream of becoming an actress, but it's hard to do drama and keep her grades up. Making friends at a new school can be dicey, too, and Jessie is also worried about her grandmother's Parkinson's disease, her father's wobbly business, and her sister's problems with her boyfriend. Jessie also occasionally flashes back to the Oakland fires, a year earlier, that almost destroyed her home. Clearly, this book has way too much going on, and it lacks some badly needed humor to leaven it. There's a stiffness here that not only cripples the plot, but also affects the characters. But Jessie's major worry is one rarely touched on, and its the main thing that makes the book interesting. Jessie is dark-skinned like her mother, but her sister, Cass, is light-skinned and has straight hair. And despite Jess' talents, she is jealous and thinks she's not as good as Cass. There is continuous dialogue throughout about color, what it means, and what people let it mean, particularly within the African American community. The attractive cover will pull readers in; the honest discussion will strike a responsive chord. Ilene Cooper