Review: Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson



Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Woodson, Jacqueline. 2007. Feathers. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group. ISBN 9780399239892

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

“Hope is the thing with feather

that perches in the soul,

And sings the tune-without the words,

And never stops at all.”

-Emily Dickinson

That poem sticks with Frannie, a young girl growing up in 1971 New York and a sixth grader in Ms. Johnson’s classroom. After her mother’s multiple miscarriages and her brother Sean’s deafness and subsequent difficulties, hope is hard for Frannie to find. The appearance of a new student, dubbed “Jesus Boy” by his classmates for his pale skin and long hair, shakes up Ms. Johnson’s class. Frannie and most of her classmates are African American and “Jesus Boy” is white. Frannie befriends the new boy, and must deal with criticism and teasing from Trevor, the school bully. She must also tend to her newly pregnant mother while being scared of another miscarriage, and be sensitive to her brother Sean and his desires to fit in with the hearing population. Eventually Frannie and her classmates learn that appearances aren’t everything, and Jesus Boy is a welcome addition to “their side of the highway.”

3.      CRITICAL ANALYSIS

      Frannie is a typical young girl growing up in post Vietnam New York. She faces many of the family and friendship problems typical of any middle school child, with the addition of racial tensions. Frannie also has to deal with her brother Sean’s deafness and the reaction people have to him. The descriptions of the characters are rich in detail and contain many cultural markers familiar to African American literature. Frannie describes the difficulty of maintaining African American beauty standards by her mother’s attempt to straighten her hair, which is usually in braids or an Afro, and the smell of her grandmother’s coconut hair grease. She also describes the differences in her darker skin color in comparison to her brother and mother’s lighter complexions. Sean is described as handsome, but girls are not interested in him because he can’t hear. Woodson emphasizes the differences between Frannie and her wealthier classmate Maribel, who does not get free lunch like the other students.

      Food is used in Feathers both in a celebratory was and as a sign of status and wealth. Frannie and her brother know their mother is recovering from her exhaustion during pregnancy when she begins making fried chicken for the family. At the house of Frannie’s friend, chicken is not available for dinner when money is tight, a circumstance remarked on by Frannie to the family’s embarrassment.

      Language is used in an interesting way in Feathers, because not only is this a young adult novel with African American protagonists, but it is also a historical novel based ion the 1970’s. Frannie uses many slang terms such as “cat” for person, which she describes as “jive talk.” Frannie’s environment is described as generally happy and loving. She and her brother listen to Jackson 5 records in their home, as Sean attempts to teach her dancing skills. Woodson addresses religion, and the hopefulness people can feel once they leave church.

     

      Jacqueline Woodson takes an interesting approach in Feathers that focuses on a predominantly African American school, and how the students react towards a new student who is white. Trevor, the class bully, has an African American mother and a white father that lives “across the highway.” The introduction of a white student from across the highway angers Trevor, and causes him to bully the new student and Frannie, who comes to the student’s rescue. Happily, Woodson avoids raising the issue of inter-racial dating relating to Frannie’s blossoming friendship with Jesus Boy, instead approaching the scenario as normally as any middle school flirtation should be approached.

      Despite heavy themes such as racism, disabilities, religion, bullying, miscarriages, and self-esteem, Feathers emphasizes that there is always hope even in the darkest days.

4. AWARDS & REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Newbery Honor Award

Starred review in Publisher’s Weekly: “She raises important questions about God, racial segregation and issues surrounding the hearing-impaired with a light and thoughtful touch.”

Starred review in School Library Journal: “With her usual talent for creating characters who confront, reflect, and grow into their own persons, Woodson creates in Frannie a strong protagonist who thinks for herself and recognizes the value and meaning of family.”

5. CONNECTIONS

* This young adult novel can be used in a variety of ways: in a discussion regarding race, deafness, hope, religion, etc.

* Teacher’s Guides to Jacqueline Woodson’s books: http://us.penguingroup.com/static/images/yr/pdf/tl-guide-jacquelinewood.pdf

*Other books by Jacqueline Woodson:
Locomotion. ISBN 9780142415528
Peace, Locomotion. ISBN 9780142415122
After Tupac and D Foster. ISBN 9780142413999
Beneath a Meth Moon. ISBN 9780399252501
Hush. ISBN 9780142415511