Book Review for I HADN'T MEANT TO TELL YOU by Jacqueline Woodson

Book Review by Allie Davis

MLIS 5653 Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Woodson, Jacqueline. 1994. I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This. New York: Bantam Double Day Dell Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0440219604

Connect with the Author 
http://www.jacquelinewoodson.com/

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
      Jacqueline Woodson says on her author website that, " I wanted to write a novel about friends and in it, I wanted to show how destructive racism and classism can be.  I also wanted to write about the "secret" in the book-to say to young readers-'Don't be afraid. You are not alone.'" Considering that this particular novel is a story that directly addresses racial prejudices, a reader might expect to see an African-American protagonist who is suppressed by a White antagonist.  Quite the opposite is true.  This story takes a direct turn from the "norms" of the minority experience.  One of the main characters, Marie, is the daughter of a Black, upper middle-class professor who has participated in the Civil Rights Movements and possesses prejudices of his own.  The other main character, Lena, is a poverty-stricken, poor "White-trash" girl who is sexually abused by her father.  Marie's father has his own reasons for wanting her to avoid mixing with any White person, mainly for fear of her being hurt.  He tries very hard to make it up to Marie that her mother left, leaving him as a single parent, although he is not portrayed as a dead-beat dad. Interesting enough, the dead-beat dad is Lena's father who uses her after her mother dies of breast cancer.  However, there is an equal amount of good vs. bad in this novel.  Marie looses her best friend because she befriends Lena.  Her father eventually comes to understand that there are good people in every race, and Lena is not going to hurt Marie.  Lena learns that there is another way of life, a good, peaceful life that she desperately yearns for.  In discovering that, she realizes that she has to strive to make good grades to make a productive life for herself and her sister, Dion.  The interaction of these characters throughout the whole book is best described as beautifully haunting.  They learn that true friendship looks beyond the skin and clothing and sees the heart, even when the heart has been broken. 
     Woodson chooses Chauncey, Ohio as the setting of I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This primarily because of its large population of African-Americans.  The school is mainly Black, the social clubs are Black, etc., so it seems very odd when a White family moves into town, even if they are just a poor migrant family.  Lena Bright has accepted her fate and has tried her best to keep her sister away from her father's "touch," but she desperately longs for love and friendship, enough not to be intimidated by lack of acceptance from most of her school.  Marie, however, is drawn to her, and willingly throws away the popularity that has been her driving force until now. Marie helps advocate change in Chauncey, both at school and at home. 
       The main African-American cultural value that I see present in this novel is that of remembrance and pride in one's heritage.  On more than one occasion, Marie's father addresses what he has faced during the protests and sit-ins of the Civil Rights Movement.  He is the way he is because of what he faced, and he wants more for his daughter.  This is quite natural, but in his memory, there is still the hurt and pain of what it was like before, and he is unwilling to part with those feelings until several months have gone by and Lena continues coming to his home. The first instance of him questioning his value system is when Marie asks him what the difference is in using the "N" word and calling someone "White Trash."  He tells her he doesn't like her using the "N" word and agrees that there is no difference in the terms; "White Trash" just gives us someone to hate (Text page 28).  Finally though, he too, sees through Lena's surface, and realizes that she is not a threat, rather she needs something much more from them than he comprehends.  This modern day setting does not lend to stereotyping in language or dress, but rather sets the perfect stage for an excellent opportunity to portray humanity at its finest: the willingness to lay down prior prejudices and see people for who they really are, Black or White.
       In my opinion, overall, the themes of sexual abuse and incest override the theme of racial prejudism.  Lena becomes central to the plot even though the story is told in first-person from Marie's point-of-view.  Through Lena, Marie learns that life goes on, and that her life (even though she hurts because her mama left) is not as bad as it seems when compared to other people's experiences.  She learns who she is, and she matures in many ways from just a typical teenager concerned with looks and appearances, to a young lady concerned for the well-fare of others.  She learns to appreciate what she has and to love her father for who he is.  And in the end, she finally realizes that her mother is not coming back. 

AWARDS  

• Young Hoosier Book Award; Nominated for Award in 2006 
• Iowa Children's Choice Award; Nominated for Award in 2006
• Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award; Nominated for Award in 1996
• Jane Addams Children's Book Award; Nominated for Award in 1995
• Coretta Scott King Honor Book

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

• Horn Book Magazine, "Twelve-year-old Marie, who comes from the well-off African-American community of her Ohio suburb, is still reeling from her mother's sudden departure two years earlier.  She develops an unlikely friendship with Lena, a poor white girl who has also lost her mother, and the two forge a strong bond. Yet Lena has a sadness that runs even deeper than Marie's: she confides that her father has been sexually abusing her.  Woodson's characters are deftly drawn, whole individuals; her spare prose and crystal images create a haunting novel." (C) 1994.
• Voice of Youth Advocates, "...When Lena, who is "poor white trash," moves into Chauncey with her father and sister Dion, Marie is draw to her, perhaps because of her pathetic, unkept look.  Marie defies her friend Sherry and her racially biased father to become best friends with Lena, and to share her horrifying secret.  The girls each fill the emptiness in their lives differently, but their friendship benefits them both; they learn to be accepting of others, no matter what their color, and to help each other through rough times in their lives. When Lena and her sister decide to leave, Marie is disappointed, but the lessons she has learned from their friendship and exposure to a different way of lire are with her forever.  The books reads like poetry; it is beautifully written and hard to put down.  Highly recommended." (C) April 1, 1994
• School Library Journal, "Despite differences in race and economics, Lena and Marie become friends when they discover that neither of them has a mother at home.  Lena's mother is dead, and Marie's has left for the lure of greater individual freedom.  As the friendship grows, Lena trusts Marie with a secret that both shames and enrages her...This Coretta Scott King Award-winner provides a moving illustration of the bonds that exist among friends." (C) June 1, 1999.

CONNECTIONS

Use as an introduction to biographies, African-Americans, racial prejudice, incest, parent/child relationships, sexual abuse, friendship, divorce, bullying, and violence.

https://www.tes.com/lessons/k_w4LgWz1OpnDw/i-hadn-t-meant-to-tell-you-this-lena
https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=10161

• Create character maps of Marie and Lena.
• Research Chauncey, Ohio.
• Rewrite the ending to include what happens with Lean and Dion when they leave Chauncey.

Other Jacqueline Woodson titles to read:

• Brown Girl Dreaming; ISBN  069812944
• After Tupac and D Foster; ISBN 1423398084
• Beneath a Meth Moon; ISBN 1455854549

Gather more sexual abuse titles:

·       Lyga, Barry. Boy Toy  ISBN  10547076347

·       Weeks, Sarah. Jumping the Scratch  ISBN 0060541113
·       Block, Francesca Lia.  I Was a Teenage Fairy.  ISBN: 0060277483