Double Dutch. - book review

Black Issues Book Review, July-August, 2002 by Lynda Jones

Sharon Draper's real-life experience as a teacher informs her stories about troubled teens. In her latest novel, Double Dutch, the two-time Coretta Scott King Award-winning author addresses how painfully important appearances are to young adults. The story, set in Cincinatti, Ohio, focuses on Delia and Randy, good friends who attend the same middle school and have a love for double Dutch. Both kids are keeping unbelievable secrets that could have devastating effects on their future. Delia can't read, and Randy's father has been missing for weeks.

The author uses an upcoming double-Dutch championship as the backdrop for the novel. Delia is on her school's double-Dutch team, and being a talented jumper makes her feel like she's successful at something. Randy, whose mother abandoned him long ago, helps out the team to keep his mind Off his missing father.

While Double Dutch examines the lengths kids will go to protect themselves, the book also examines the roles parents must play in a child's personal and academic development. Can a parent really be too busy at home and in the workplace to notice that her child is illiterate?

When Randy and Delia finally reveal their secrets, both teens are met with satisfying conclusions. Draper's Double Dutch winningly captures middle-school student's anxieties, replete with peer pressures, dealing with bullies, and their desire to belong. These are themes that all young readers will relate to.

--Lynda Jones is a BIBR associate editor.