Feathers

By Jacqueline Woodson

A mysterious new classmate challenges Frannie's understanding of hope and identity during a transformative winter.

3.7/5 Goodreads · 7,895 ratings

160 pages

$8.99Save 5%

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Bookroo's summary

Frannie navigates a winter of change, questioning hope and identity when a mysterious new boy arrives at school. As she grapples with her brother's deafness, her mother's fears, and her friend's growing faith, Frannie learns to see beyond appearances. Who is this boy everyone calls Jesus Boy, and what does he reveal about her own desires? In a world of unexpected surprises, Frannie discovers the power of looking beneath the surface and holding onto hope. Will she find the answers she seeks, or will the questions lead her to new understandings?

From the publisher

“Hope is the thing with feathers” starts the poem Frannie is reading in school. Frannie hasn’t thought much about hope. There are so many other things to think about. Each day, her friend Samantha seems a bit more “holy.” There is a new boy in class everyone is calling the Jesus Boy. And although the new boy looks like a white kid, he says he’s not white. Who is he?

During a winter full of surprises, good and bad, Frannie starts seeing a lot of things in a new light—her brother Sean’s deafness, her mother’s fear, the class bully’s anger, her best friend’s faith and her own desire for “the thing with feathers.”

Jacqueline Woodson once again takes readers on a journey into a young girl’s heart and reveals the pain and the joy of learning to look beneath the surface.

**”[Frannie] is a wonderful role model for coming of age in a thoughtful way, and the book offers to teach us all about holding on to hope.”—Children’s Literature

“A wonderful and necessary purchase for public and school libraries alike.”—VOYA