Draper, Sharon M. Double Dutch.

DRAPER, Sharon M. Double Dutch. Simon & Schuster, Atheneum. 183p. c2002. 0-689-84230-9. $16.00. J

Double Dutch, for those who don't know, is a way of jumping rope that demands a high degree of skill and energy. The friends in this YA novel are 8th graders who are on a team competing in the world championship for Double Dutch, which (unfortunately for them, since they want to travel) happens to be in their own hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. Delia, Yolanda and Randy are the three main characters in the novel (Randy helps out managing the team). Delia worries that she will have to pass a standardized test before being allowed to participate in sports, and she has the ghastly secret that she is unable to read. (Obviously, she is smart about covering up this deficiency, yet in the end she has to reveal the truth.) Randy lives alone with his father, a truck driver, and takes care of himself when his father is on the road. Unfortunately, the father hasn't called or come home in weeks and Randy is afraid he has deserted him. Randy, like Delia, is hiding the truth. Yolanda, on the other hand, is known for telling whoppers, so no one actually believes her stories. She is imaginative, a good loyal friend, and a survivor--as we see when a tornado hits their middle school. Also, she frequently provides comic relief.

The tornado, the competition, the fate of Randy's father, Delia's revelation that she cannot read--these are the elements of the fast-moving plot. It's good to have a story about urban YAs of color that is realistic without being too depressing. These young people have adults in their lives who care about them and they are all part of a supportive community. They are smart and strong and younger YAs will enjoy reading about their lives.