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If You Come Softly

by Jacqueline Woodson

First love in a divided world

Regular price $13.38 USD
Regular price $22.30 USD Sale price $13.38 USD
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Paperback New English

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AlbakiReads Editorial

First love in a divided world

Set in a Manhattan prep school, Ellie and Jeremiah’s relationship brings together two teenagers from different backgrounds: Ellie is Jewish, and Jeremiah is Black. Their private sense of connection meets the wider pressures of racism and social difference, placing first love alongside questions of self-awareness and moral consciousness. This edition also includes a new preface by Jacqueline Woodson.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Young adult readers interested in first-love stories shaped by social barriers.
  • Readers looking for fiction that addresses racism and identity in a school setting.
  • Readers interested in relationships across differences of religion and race.

Themes

First loveRacismIdentity and self-awarenessSocial differenceSchool life

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

ONE OF TIME'S 100 BEST YOUNG ADULT BOOKS OF ALL TIME - From the National Book Award-winning author of Brown Girl Dreaming comes a beautiful, timeless tale where first love encounters the daunting barriers of racism.

"Ever so gently open[s] up issues of racism, self-awareness, and moral consciousness."--BCCB

From the moment they bump into each other in the crowded hallway of their Manhattan prep school, Ellie and Jeremiah know they fit together, even though she's Jewish and he's Black. They come from such different places, but to them that's not what matters. They have something private and apart from the rest of the world. But the rest of the world might not see it like that . . .

Jacqueline Woodson's moving story of star-crossed lovers is as relevant today as when it was first published twenty years ago, and this anniversary edition contains a new preface by the author.
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