Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson is the story of a black girl named Frannie. Frannie comes from a loving family where her father spends much time working, a mother who has had miscarriages, and a deaf brother named Sean. Frannie also has a friend named Samantha whose father is a preacher and often encourages Frannie to attend church. Frannie always refuses and says she has better things to do. She refuses because she feels God might be to blame for her mother's miscarriages and brother's deafness. There is also Trevor, who is the class bully and of course everyone is afraid of him.
One day, a new boy comes into class and Trevor names him "Jesus Boy" because he's white and has long hair. This doesn't bother him one bit and always seems to remain calm. All along the the story, Samantha is more and more convinced that "Jesus Boy" could actually be Jesus returning to earth in the flesh. Frannie starts to question herself about his existence in this black school, when he should be attending the white kid's school across the highway. Maybe he is the real Jesus. It's not until one day, that Trevor and him get into a fight that Jesus Boy admits that he is not white because his parent's adopted him (black). Jesus Boy tells Trevor he might just be jealous of him because he at least has a father, unlike him. This makes Trevor cry. He is no longer considered a bully, but in Samantha's mind he might be the real Jesus, since Jesus wept while on earth. This brings new light into Frannie's thoughts, that things don't always seem what they are, and that all of us have problems we must deal with everyday. We just need to figure out how we are going to deal with them when they head our way.
This book really kept me thinking as I read it. Was he really Jesus? Who was this kid? I'm just glad he stood up to Trevor and made me realize that some days we might be almighty and other days we might be the vulnerable one. Always be ready for what life throws at you,... all of us...
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