by Renée Watson
First published 2017
Jade has seized every chance her mother told her to take. She earned a scholarship to a private school where most students are white. She shows up for Saturday test prep sessions. She believes escaping her neighborhood means escaping poverty. Then comes an invitation to Women to Women, a mentorship program that claims to help "at-risk" girls. Jade sees through the euphemism. The program targets black girls from poor areas. She doesn't want their pity or their assumptions about what she needs. Her assigned mentor shares her race but not her understanding. Jade realizes she might teach these successful women something about making real change in communities they've left behind. She must decide whether to accept help that feels like judgment or forge her own path to success.
Genres: fiction, african-american, contemporary, young-adult
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: United States
Period: 21st-century
264 pages · Hardcover · Bloomsbury USA Children's