Feathers

Published in 2007, Jacqueline Woodson’s Feathers is a middle grade historical fiction novel that explores the complexities of race, hope, and belonging through the eyes of Frannie, a sixth-grade girl in the 1970s. The arrival of a new boy who is different from everyone else in her all-Black school challenges her understanding of the world around her and sparks deep reflections on faith, identity, and the barriers that divide people. The novel won the Newbery Honor Medal and the Coretta Scott King Honor and explores themes of hope, community, and belonging.

This guide refers to the e-book edition published by Puffin Books in 2009.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of death, child death, pregnancy loss, racism, ableism, bullying, and mental illness.

Plot Summary

In January 1971, a light-skinned boy joins Frannie Wright-Barnes’s sixth-grade class at the Price School in New York City. Frannie feels drawn to the boy’s tranquility, but a bully named Trevor tells him that he shouldn’t be at the school because he appears to be white. Trevor’s estranged father is white, but he tries to hide this fact and attacks anyone who questions his ethnicity. Trevor nicknames the new student “the Jesus Boy” because of his long hair. Frannie is astonished to learn that the new boy knows sign language, which she learned because her older brother, Sean, is deaf.

The next day at school, Trevor is absent because he broke his arm after jumping out of a swing. The new student asks his teacher, Ms. Johnson, to call him Jesus, sparking a class debate about Jesus Christ’s race and whether he’d belong at the Price School. The Jesus Boy starts to cry and explains that his family didn’t belong on the white side of the highway and that his father told him that people would be kinder in their new neighborhood. Ms. Johnson gently guides the upset student out of the room, and his classmates sit quietly, deep in thought. That afternoon, Frannie walks home with her best friend, Samantha Brown. Samantha suggests that the Jesus Boy might actually be Jesus Christ. Although Frannie thinks the idea is absurd, she envies the strength of her best friend’s faith.

Frannie’s mother has physical and mental health challenges connected to pregnancy loss, so the 11-year-old is concerned when she learns that her mother is pregnant again. The next day is Saturday, and Frannie goes to the local recreation center to watch Sean play basketball. The Jesus Boy is also at the center, and she begins to bond with him. Trevor tries to start a fight with the Jesus Boy, but he leaves abruptly when he sees that the Jesus Boy’s father is Black.

On Sunday, Samantha asks Frannie to go with her to her father’s church, OnePeople Baptist. This conversation prompts Frannie to realize that she doesn’t fear death because the losses of her infant siblings are a constant presence in her home. Eventually, Frannie agrees to accompany Samantha to church because it would mean a great deal to her friend and because she wants to experience the hope that religion brings Samantha.

On Monday, Trevor antagonizes the Jesus Boy and calls him white. The Jesus Boy retorts that neither of his parents is white, unlike Trevor’s absent father. Trevor tries to punch him but falls and lies crying in the snow. Frannie and the Jesus Boy help the bully get back on his feet. The experience causes shifts within the sixth-grade class. The students no longer fear Trevor because they’ve seen him cry, and they realize that the Jesus Boy is as human and complicated as they are because he hurt someone. This realization proves painful for Samantha, who wanted to believe that the Jesus Boy was Jesus Christ incarnate. When Frannie returns home on Monday evening, she’s relieved to see that her mother is feeling better.

On Tuesday morning, the Jesus Boy tells Frannie that he feels guilty about talking about Trevor’s father. He theorizes that the bully might heal bit by bit by taking his pain out on others. The next day, Samantha and Frannie have another conversation about the Jesus Boy. Samantha remains dejected that their new classmate isn’t Jesus Christ, but Frannie has a personal epiphany in which she decides that everyone has a little bit of Jesus inside them that motivates them to act with compassion and hope.

On Friday, the Jesus Boy asks Frannie to go to the recreation center with him that weekend, and he smiles when Frannie accepts his invitation. Samantha wonders if the boy was trying to ask Frannie out, but Frannie explains that he just wants a friend because he’s the new student. Samantha still wishes that the Jesus Boy were Jesus Christ because she feels that this would vindicate her religious devotion. Frannie shares that she also craves reassurance that her hopes aren’t in vain. In particular, she would like to ask Jesus about the baby her mother is expecting. The girls hold hands as they walk the rest of the way home.

One morning, Frannie sees her mother and brother bathed in sunlight after weeks of dark, snowy weather. She cherishes the beauty of the moment and imagines how she’ll spend the day. Frannie considers going to the recreation center to watch Sean play basketball and play pinball with the Jesus Boy. She hopes that one day, Samantha will befriend the Jesus Boy and see that there’s a piece of Jesus inside of him. Frannie climbs onto her mother’s lap and rests her head on her shoulder. She feels the baby kick. Sean teases Frannie, but she reminds him that she’s still the youngest in the family for now. Frannie closes her eyes and basks in the sunlight’s warmth, thinking that each moment is an opportunity for hope.