L. Divine

The main character and the setting are interesting, and I appreciated the insight into black women and their power as dancers (this part was really well-done), but I cannot recommend this book because of the way that it represents trans people. The murder is on-page, at the beginning of the book (which is fine) but was perpetrated by a trans-femme person with severe mental health issues. There's no positive representation of trans people and perpetuates a dangerous trope that being trans show more equates to being dangerous or unhinged. show less

Jayd, an African-American girl at a snooty, mostly-white school, just wants a drama-free junior year. Naturally, the year is anything but that! She tangles with her former bff, Trecee, and struggles to get over her crush on KJ (who dumped her for Trecee). Feather-lite and PG-rated (except for language)the book succeeds at capturing black slang and culture and portraying Jayd, with all of her head-strong faults, as a woman of conviction and values.

Pushin' is the twelfth book in the Drama High series that takes place in Compton, California. Jayd, the protagonist in the story has special powers to see visions in her dreams, communicate telepathletically with her mother, and calm others through her mind all while trying out for the cheering leading squad and the school play.

The series' name Drama High is pretty accurate. Every chapter possesses some type of dramatic event. As someone who can't stand unnecessary drama, the jam-packed show more plot line got a little exhausting. I think this is a great series for students who are looking for a plot centered around a strong female cast.
I like Jayd. She's strong in her values and a hard worker despite coming from two parents who don't really put her first over their own dysfunctional personal lives. I don't think her unconditional love for her friends sends the best message to teen readers. Jayd's female friends many times do not respect Jayd, but yet Jayd is willing to put up with a lot of drama from them, when in reality most adolescents would be better off if they didn't surround themselves with their "friends" negative energy.
Despite any hangup I might have with the relationships among the characters, I have to admit, I am curious what will happen to these characters as the storyline continues into the next book in the series. show less

Best friends are like family, you should never want to trade them for anything. L. Divine did and awesome job with this book. A theme for this book is friends may come and go but, if you really love your “best friend” you would want to fix the friendship. It also had a lot of high school drama that most boys and girls go through in high school.

L. Divine has a great series of Drama High books. After, I read one I couldn’t wait to pick up the next one and read it. They were juicy, with show more a lot of detail and anything that makes a great book. Jayd, is the main character in the book. She is smart. Sassy, and a sixteen-year-old girl from Compton, California. She also deals with a lot of drama in her life.

In this book , Jayd’s two best friends are going at it. After, Nellie got crowned as homecoming princess, she had really been feeling herself. When she starts hanging with the group full of stuck-up white girls known as the ASB, and starts to become one of them and she temporarily leaves her crew. When Jayd finds out what the ASB is planning to do to her home girl Nellie, Jayd has no other choice but to try and stop them with our without Mickey.

L. Divine is an African American author. She has a master’s degree in African American Studies and Educational Psychology from UCLA. She is also from Compton, California just like the main character Jayd. She also donates her time and books to schools in her area or teenage girls.

I think this book was wonderful. I can promise that if you read this book you would never want to put it down for anything. Some parts were even funny. I would recommend this book to teenage girls who love drama. I would also recommend it to girls that like romance. I think this is by far on of my favorite book series. show less