Search Results for: blog when the road ends jean thesman

The Road to Paris – Nikki Grimes

Paris Richmond is an eight-year-old girl who has already seen more of her fair share of difficulty in her life. The daughter of a black mother and a white father, she has darker skin but blonde hair, which gains her curious and often critical looks from people she meets. What’s worse, though, is the fact that her mother is an alcoholic and her father hasn’t been seen for years. Neither has her brother Malcolm’s father. These two children wouldn’t know what to do with a full-time father in their lives. When the Department of Family Services finds out just how … Continue reading →

When the Road Ends – Jean Thesman

In “When the Road Ends” by Jean Thesman, Mary Jack is a twelve-year-old who has spent her entire life in the foster care system. Passed around from home to home, she’s never had any constancy in her life until now, having been placed with Father Matt and his wife. Father Matt is a well-meaning man of the cloth – his heart’s in the right place, but he doesn’t often have the courage to follow through. His wife is an unkind, unfeeling woman who complains endlessly about all she has to endure, and Mark Jack finds herself taking up a lot … Continue reading →

“Aging Out”: No Home for the Holidays

In this season where so many of us try to go “home for the holidays”, an often-invisible but increasingly large group of young adults literally has no home to go home to. A report released this year by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative says that the number of children “aging out” of foster care (turning 18 before being adopted or safely reunited with family members) has increased by 41% in the last ten years. Picture a teen-ager you care about—a son or daughter, nephew or niece, neighbor, supermarket clerk, whomever. Now imagine that on his … Continue reading →

Whirligig – Paul Fleishman

“Whiligig” is a very thought-provoking young adult novel. Bruce Bishop is sixteen and determined to play everything right in his new private school. He concentrates on wearing the right clothes, knowing what to say to the right people, and always being “cool.” Coolness is very important to him, and as the new guy, he’s got to play it for all it’s worth. One night a friend invites him to tag along to a party, but forgets to tell him that there’s a theme – everyone is supposed to wear either all black or all white, so they can play a … Continue reading →