| I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This | 
 enlarge | Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Publisher: Puffin
Category: Book
List Price: $5.99
Buy New: $2.20
You Save: $3.79 (63%)
New (38) Used (12) from $1.67
Avg. Customer Rating:  30 reviews
Sales Rank: 294481
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 128
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 4.3 x 0.4
ISBN: 0142405558
EAN: 9780142405550
ASIN: 0142405558
Publication Date: June 8, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
Two girls: one white, one black; one abused, one protected, both missing their mothers. An unlikely friendship ignites between the two, and, in sharing their differences, both of their lives are transformed. Jacqueline Woodson won a Coretta Scott King Honor for this moving, tightly written tale of friendship, racism, and loss. In a starred review, The Horn Book calls it a "haunting and beautifully poetic novel."
Product Description
Twelve-year-old Marie is one of the popular girls in the prosperous black suburb. Shes not looking for a friend when Lena Bright, a white girl, appears in school. But the two girls are drawn to each other. You see, both Lena and Marie have lost their mothers. On top of that, Marie soon learns that Lena has a terrifying secret. Marie wants to help, but is it better to keep Lenas secret, or to tell it? Their friendshipand Lenas survival may depend on her decision.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
 Heart-felt July 3, 2008
Lena and Marie touched my heart with their sad tales of their unfortanite parent battles which they are losing seeing as Lena's mother died, Marie's mother abadoned her, and Lena's dad sexually abuses the poor girl. Their means more then anyone realizes and thats the magic of the story; what friendship can do and whit it can withstand.
way to go woodson !!!!! June 12, 2007
This is my first Jacqueline Woodson book and I really liked it ! the story made me cry at some points but I laughed at others it was a very good story though the dialogue was hard to understand but then I realized it is very easy to understand towards the end !!! If you like books that are realistic fiction this is the book for you !!!!!
 Twists on Concepts February 23, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Marie is a popular and well dressed black girl living a good life alone with her father. Her mother left years earlier to experience life and to find herself. She only corresponds by postcards sent from locations around the world.
Lena is a sad and very poor white girl who moves into town in the middle of the school year. Marie is asked to show her around a bit. Marie is shocked to find that she actually likes Lena, even though her best friends make fun of and shun the poor girl. Lena also has no mother; her mother died of breast cancer, leaving Lena and her little sister alone with their father.
In spite of herself, Marie finds herself drawn to Lena. She overcomes the prejudices her father has planted in her about white people, and she overcomes the ridicule of her friends in order to become close to this new girl who so desperately needs her friendship. But then Lena tells Marie a terrible secret, and Marie must decide whether to keep it or not.
This book has a couple of interesting twists--first, a girl living with her single father, when it is more common for the mother to be the single parent in stories. The reversal of racism was also intersting, with the black characters looking down on the white characters. I liked the evolution of Marie, as she became more confident and realized she didn't need her old friends.
I didn't like that Lena's situation was never portrayed as a crisis. The girls should have known that something should have been done, and Marie should have known better than to keep Lena's secret.
I Definitely Meant To Tell You This... May 18, 2006
This book was very well written. I enjoyed all aspects of this book. It had its parts that would make me cry, and its parts that would make me laugh, but the whole story was intriguing. The way the author wrote it so that each individual character had their own way of speaking and their own unique dialect made it easier to relate to one or more of the characters. I found myself sympathizing with all the characters at very different times. I felt as though the girls' father was no only a bad man, but one who made excuses for the cruel and inhumane things that he did to his own children. If I were the main characters friend, I would probably have asked someone for help, or gotten help for them myself. One other thing I liked about the book was the fact that neither of the girls had mothers. This shows very well that it doesn't matter the color of your skin or the amount of money in your pocket, all people are equal and can have the same problem or conflict, but each person has their own way to deal with it.
Reality May 12, 2006
I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This is a very honest and touching book. In this piece of literature a black girl in Chauncey, Ohio named Marie meets a white girl named Lena. When Lena moves to Ohio and goes to Marie's school. When Lena tells Maria a shocking secret, Marie tries to ignore reality and can't face the truth until she loses who makes her remember. She remembers in the end that no one is born with a perfect life...just like her.
This book is very good and once you start reading you feel like you can't stop. It faces issues that people try to neglect everyday. Such as racism, abuse, and other domestic problems. An example of this is when Marie's friend, Sherry, and Marie's father call Lena "white trash", because she isn't as wealthy as the [black] people in her neighborhood.
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