I chose VOYA code 4Q because the quality of this book is great, but not without some lapses. The writing captures the characters and the author even portrays the racist father in such a way that the reader can empathize and understand him. That's a hard thing to do. At times, though, the falls over into the cliche category. I chose 3P because I'm not sure the subject matter will really entice a lot of young adults.

The central plot line of this book is the development of a friendship between two 12-year-old girls. The girls become friends when Jemmie's family, a black family, moves in next door to Cass's family, a white family, in Tallahassee, Florida. The friendship is founded on the girls' mutual love for running. The girls read aloud to each other from Jane Eyre. They work through the novel together and provide their fresh teen/tween commentary on it. The novel explores not only Cass's white father's racism against the family moving in next door -- he builds a fence as soon as he hears a black family bought the place -- but also Jemmie's black mother's preconceived ideas about the white family that built the place. I agree with the School Library Journal review, which states, "The rationale behind bigotry is well fleshed out and delicately examined, but sometimes feels a little over done. Nevertheless, the characters are believable and the story line is sensitive and honest."

This book is really a work in its own right, an exploration of racism and racial bias. The book provides a tie-in to and contemporary criticism of the Charlotte Bronte classic, and does a good job of creating interest in it. I read Jane Eyre ages ago, but it was good fun to have the plot revived for me in this way. Crossing Jordan uses the classic work as a way of bringing the girls closer. Young adult readers will gain exposure to the classic, and the novel will pique their interest in the classic. Crossing Jordan cannot be critiqued based on its faithfulness to Jane Eyre. It's a different story entirely, but one that incorporates the classic to achieve its own literary ends. ( )

YALSA Best Books for Young Adults 2001. RGG: Sweet story about two girls who overlook the color of each other's skin to become best friends and help the adults in their lives overcome their racial biases as well.

I liked this book most for the back-and-forth repartee between the two young woman protagonists, Cass, white and poor, and Jemmie, her new African American neighbor. They are believable, likeable, life-affirming, funny, and perfectly paired, as friends and as an amazing track running team dubbed Chocolate Milk. They read Jane Eyre to each other, and stumble over its meaning with each other, through a fence Cass' dad put up between their houses when he heard the new neighbors were Black.
The book is not edgy. It's not going to surprise you, even if you can't guess the exact details of the denouement. There will be a race, maybe. But it's a good-hearted book taking on a subject, race-relationships, that needs more attention. On a more basic level, it's a book about a great friendship. ( )

In the book Crossing Jordan, an Afriacan American family moves next to a white family. The white family are racists and build a fence to avoid them. The white family has a daughter named Cassie and she looks through a knothole at the family as they move in. The other families daughter, Jemmie, sees her and Cassie challenges her to race at a nearby track. They quickly become friends and relize that they have a lot in common. Their families find out that they are friends, but that is not going to stop them. They make thier families realize that it doesn't matter what color you are, we are all the same. In the end the families are friends and have dinners together occasionally.

Two things separate Cass and Jemmie: race and a high fence built by Cass's father to separate them from their black neighbors. However, neither is a high enough obstacle to their friendship. During the hot summer in Tallahassee, Cass and Jemmie share their passion for running while linking their families together. Fogelin's book is fast-paced, with funny dialogue and an emotional ending. Recommended for ages 11-14.

Awards: VOYA 2000 Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers; ALA (Yalsa) Best Books for Young Adults 2001; IRA 2000 Notable Books for a Global Society (honor book); 2003 National Book Festival title for Florida; numerous state awards, including Garden State Young Readers Ward, the Georgia Children's Book Award, and the Pennsylvania 2001 Young Adult Top Forty. ( )