Shattered (Bluford High Series #12)

We are so excited to have been introduced to the Bluford Series. It is a wonderful series of books about teens in a predominately black school. The books are really short and can be read in three or four days or even sooner. Shattered is about a girl named Darcy Wills. She dates this guy named Hakeem who has a stuttering problem. Hakeem left Bluford to move to Detroit for a short while and then returned to Bluford. Darcy found out that he had another girlfriend but she didn't mention to him that she had been seeing another boy, who tried to rape her, but her Dad came to her rescue just in time. This is a secret that they kept from each other, but their best friends, Tarah and her boyfriend, Cooper, knows about it but promises to stay out of their boyfriend/girlfriend drama. When Darcy found out that Tarah knew about Hakeem's girlfriend, she became angry with her and felt that she betrayed her so she called off their friendship. Finally, Darcy came clean and told Hakeem about the boy and the near rape and Hakeem and Cooper went over to the boy's house where Hakeem had fought him. If it wasn't for Darcy being there to break it up, the boy could have really been badly hurt. Meanwhile, Darcy's parents have troubles of their own. Her father is a reformed alcoholic. He had left his wife and Darcy and her sister, Jamee for a younger woman. When that didn't work out, he came back to his family and began drinking again when he got laid off from his job as a salesman for a men's clothing store. Darcy's mother is pregnant again and is having a lot of health problems. She has to end up taking on longer shifts at the hospital in the ER where she works as a nurse. They have a lot of financial woes and Darcy's father feels bad that his wife is working longer hours. When she is rushed to ER herself, the doctor puts her on bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy and it puts the family in even deeper strain. Darcy's dad takes on a job as a taxi-driver and begins to drink again. When Darcy and Jamee finds out, they keep it from their mother. Ultimately, their Dad attends AA and quits drinking again and cleans up his life for himself and his family. Back at Bluford . . . Darcy and Hakeem are back together again. This was a very good book. Because the books are short and the stories are good, we read other series in the Bluford High series. They are all excellent and highly, highly, highly recommended. It really depicts what high school is really all about in a black community. The best of the best in teen fiction. Teen novels don't have to have cussing and sex in order to be good and interesting. Guess what? There is no cussing or sex in the Bluford series and it is the best in teen fiction reading!!! The premise of the story is: Have an open communication with your boyfriend and trust each other. Never jump to conclusions until you hear it from him first. Also, let your parents work out their own problems, but be there for them.