Blended

Blended is a 2018 novel by veteran young adult fiction writer and lifelong educator Sharon M. Draper. In it, she explores the impact of both racism and divorce on adolescents through the vehicle of a precocious and talented 11-year-old, Isabella Badia Thornton, who narrates the novel. Izzy struggles with her sense of identity; her father is Black, her mother White. That struggle deepens as she experiences first the impact of her parents’ divorce and then, in quick succession, both parents deciding to remarry. At the same time, she is forced to confront the ugly reality of racial insensitivity, racial profiling, and police brutality. The novel contributes to the growing body of YA novels that discuss issues that directly impact the lives of their teenaged readers.

This study guide uses the 2018 first edition hardcover release from Athenium Books.

Plot Summary

The novel is narrated by the protagonist, Izzy, in 77 short chapters that alternate between accounts of events during Mom’s Week and Dad’s Week. Izzy’s family profile is complicated. Her parents are divorced. Her mother, who is White, works as a server at a Waffle House; her father, who is Black, is a high-powered corporate attorney. Because the parents live in the same town, according to the custody agreement, Izzy spends alternating weeks with each parent. Each Sunday, the handoff at the mall, what Izzy calls The Great Exchange, is civil and restrained. Both parents are involved in new relationships, the father with an upscale interior decorator, Anastasia, who has a son four years older than Izzy named Darren, her mother with a down-to-earth manager of a bowling alley, John Mark Metzker. Izzy is unsure over her expanding family but finds a friend and confidante in Darren.

Izzy is dedicated to the piano and dreams of being a professional pianist. She has shown much promise and is now preparing for a major recital performance of Muzio Clementi’s daunting Sonatina in C Major. The piece challenges Izzy, but she practices every day, determined to master the intricate fingering and the complicated rhythmic structure of the work.

In school, Izzy enjoys friendships with both Black and White classmates. Izzy is just beginning to realize the implications of her blended identity. However, when a well-intentioned teacher introduces the difficult narrative of American racism, Izzy begins to see the dimensions of racism in the history of her country. Imani, a Black friend, challenges the bigotry of Logan, a rude and small-minded White classmate, during a heated class discussion. Later, Imani finds a noose hanging in her gym locker.

The noose sends shockwaves through the school. Counselors are brought in. Teachers talk about diversity and the importance of respecting others. Izzy, for the first time in her young life, realizes that she is and is not Black. The metaphors of music and the concept of harmony that have given her a way to understand her blended identity now seem unworkable. When school security escorts Logan out of school a few days later, Izzy understands the seriousness of racism.

That reality is brought home to Izzy when she and Imani go to the mall to look for a dress for Izzy’s recital. On a whim, the two girls venture into a high-end dress shop just to see the styles. After a few moments, the two notice a security guard following them. In the ensuing confrontation, the guard politely suggests that the two girls are in the wrong place and that they should leave the store. Because she is Black, Imani realizes what Izzy, with her exotic caramel coloring, does not. The store sees them as Black kids and thus as a shoplifting threat.

Despite the pressure from both of her parents scheduling their marriage ceremonies for the same weekend, Izzy maintains her focus on her piano recital. At her father’s house, Izzy finds old sheet music of blues and boogie-woogie music, styles that have long expressed Black identity. Izzy plays through one piece, “Bumble Boogie,” and loves the wild syncopations and liberating rhythms, but her focus stays on Clementi.

The day of the recital arrives. Darren agrees to drive a nervous Izzy to the recital hall. They stop for ice cream, and after getting back in the car, Darren is told to pull over. Police yank him from the car and accuse him of robbing a bank next to the ice cream shop. Darren denies it but is handcuffed and forced to the ground. When word comes that the robber was a White man, the cops release Darren. Izzy reaches into her jacket for her cell phone to call her father, and a cop, thinking the girl may be reaching for a gun, shoots at Izzy. The bullet passes through Izzy’s arm.

Izzy is rushed to the hospital. She will recover; the wound is not serious. The confrontation with police, however, becomes national news. Izzy’s parents, feuding over their competing marriage ceremonies, agree to compromise for their daughter. Izzy’s piano teacher arranges for Izzy to participate in another recital. As Izzy prepares to leave the hospital, she understands what the piano long ago taught her: how harmony is only achieved through the tricky interplay of black and white keys.