Isabella spends one week with her dad and his girlfriend, the next week with her mom and her boyfriend. She hates it. She really hates exchange day when she switches. She feels like nowhere is home, she’s always visiting. And her parents, one who is white and one who is black, don’t get along. Tensions between the families get worse when both parents decide to remarry — on the same date. Add to this troubling race issues like the noose in her friend’s locker or when she and her stepbrother are pulled over because of he’s black and in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sharon Draper writes a story that captures Isabella’s feelings of division as she searches for who she is in her own story.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this book. This is the first book I have read by Sharon Draper and I look forward to reading more. After teaching middle school for 18 years I found the story and main character easy to relate to and believable. Isabella's parents are divorced and she goes back and forth between the two on a weekly basis. Isabella is biracial with her dad being African American and her mom being Caucasian. The book did a good job of addressing issues surrounding divorce, being biracial, prejudice, police profiling and police brutality. This book would be a great addition to any middle school or YA library.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. Having been around middle schoolers for about forty years of teaching, I think one of the strengths of this book is that Draper really caught some of the thought processes of a sixth grade girl. There were a few loose ends left-- no further mention of Logan, and the book ends before some anticipated big events can happen. Some stereotypes are rightfully smashed, some are reinforced. I could see this having a sequel.

The child of a divorced white mother and black father, Isabella dislikes her weekly move from one home to the other. She is also coming into a clearer understanding of the societal implications of her racial make-up. Both parents plan to remarry during the course of the book, further complicating Isabella's life. The most compelling portion of the plot occurs when her parents' quarreling induces her to run away. The resultant parental distress causes the adults to reassess their own immature behavior.

Isabella's concerns about identity and her place in the world will resonate with many readers.

Sharon Draper is a beloved author & this is another one that definitely needs to be added to library collections. After I started reading this story, I found it hard to pull myself away. At times I just wanted to give Isabella a big hug. I am glad she had good friends in the story to help her deal with her family mess. Through she struggles throughout, she learned some valuable lessons both about herself and the world around her.
A good recommendation for youngers who are interested in The Hate You Give.

There are kids who NEED this book. Kids with the same questions, insecurities, and struggles as Isabella. Draper presents an authentic character and very real, very terrible events. I especially recommend it for kids who want to read “The Hate U Give” but aren’t quite ready yet.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

After I started reading this story, I could not put it down! At times I just wanted to give the main character a big hug. I am glad she had good friends in the story to help her deal with her family mess. Throughout her struggles, she learned some valuable lessons both about herself and the world around her.

Sharon Draper continues to do a great job writing about tough subjects in a way that will appeal to middle graders. Blended attempts to cover a lot of ground: divorce and blended families, bullying, racial prejudice, and even violence. Ultimately it was too much for one short book. The reader is left without any closure, and events that occur in the last few chapters are not given enough time to flesh out. Still, middle grade readers will like this book.

Sharon Draper continues to prove herself as one of the best middle grade writers of the age. Blended perfectly captures middle school growing pains as well as many of the large societal issues tweens are tackling on a daily basis. Divorce and ensuing custody issues, children's right to choose, racial profiling, bullying, police brutality, intersectionality, budding romance--it's all here. Izzy is a heroine for EVERYONE.

Isabella’s parents are divorced, and not very amicably either. Izzy splits her time with her mom and dad-one week at a time with exchange day exactly at 3 pm on Sundays. What her parents don’t see is how their fighting affects Isabella. Isabella has many friends and blends her time with each parent quite smoothly. When an incident at school brings up the hot topic of race relations, Isabella begins to wonder about her own mixed race. Is she black or white or both? She has never thought about it befor. She simply was. She experiences numerous racial slights after the school incident- some unintentional but realizes they all hurt. The story is superbly told- bringing out the many issues issues succinctly yet with emotion. Readers feel Izzy’s pain and anger over her parents animosity and confusion and anger over escalting race relations. An excellent story for todays difficult world.

Sharon Draper is a master storyteller and this book is no different. Fabulous book that needs to be in every library for middle grade students.