The characters in this book are convincing individuals, thoughtful and strong. A piece of wisdom from the book -- just because you love someone and they change your life doesn't mean you can box them up and keep them with you forever. ( )

As a teacher I really appreciated this book, but the audience with whom I read it (reluctant/struggling female readers) did not give it very high ratings, probably because the book is based on themes of relationships, friendships, seeking a greater purpose in life, and courage rather than on action. The author writes beautifully and will answer students' emails. She has a web site. ( )

Reviewed by Grandma Bev for TeensReadToo.com

Woodson's engrossing story contains a lot of big issues, but the main theme is about friendship, and how unexpected changes come into our lives as we are touched by others.

AFTER TUPAC & D FOSTER is a tension-filled story of how two twelve-year-old girls meet an outsider and become friends with her. "D" is a foster child, and has adopted "Foster" as her last name. Abandoned by her mother, D Foster is searching for something that is missing in her life...perhaps a sense of belonging and permanence. The other two girls begin to explore the city with her, all of them searching for their "Big Purpose" in life. All the girls have their own set of family issues, and their own approach to solving these problems.

All three girls are great fans of the rapper, Tupac Shakur, and are dismayed when he is shot. They examine the meaning of his rap lyrics as they apply to their lives as African-Americans living in Queens, New York, and find that they have much in common with his ideas.

When D's birth mother shows up to reclaim her daughter and take her out of the lives of the other two girls, you can't help but hope that her life will be better this time -- while fearing that it will be a rerun of her past history.

Racism, homosexuality, and incarceration are touched upon in this slice-of-life story. Every teen can find something to relate to in this emotional story of how teens cope with life. There isn't a great deal of suspense, but Ms. Woodson's writing style is absorbing, and makes you wish the story was longer. It does give you cause to reflect on how your own friends and acquaintances have changed your life. ( )

I am not a Tupac fan but enjoyed seeing how others viewed him and his music. I thought the book was beautifully written. How do three girls deal with growing up, friendship, and their families -one in foster care, and one in a big family with two sets of twins, a basketball hopeful and a homosexual brother, and one as an only child in a single parent family? How do they feel the year Tupac is shot and one friend's mother comes and takes her away? ( )

Maybe Tupac wasn't as gangsta as I thought. This book gives some insight into his appeal, as well as into the lives of a foster child and her friends. ( )