I HADNT MEANT TO TELL YOU THIS by Jacqueline Woodson is the story of the unlikely and very deep friendship of Marie, an African American twelve-year-old with her own group of friends, and Lena, a White girl new to the school.  Lena tries to make friends from the start, but Marie is reluctant.  Marie has been raised by a single father who "wasn't too keen on white people" because of the conflicts that he had had with racist whites in his life.  As Marie and Lena grow to be friends, Marie is alienated from her old circle as a traitor.  Lena and her little sister Dion, are from a poor family living on the dirty side of town.  Marie, who was voted best dressed, cant understand why Lena doesnt take better care of herself.  When the truth comes out, Marie is in disbelief.  Lenas father sexually abuses her.  Marie struggles with this knowledge and the swear she made not to tell while she carries her own burden concerning her mother.  Maries mother left the family to travel the world and be unattached.  She corresponds with Marie through poetic, sometimes indistinguishable postcards.

They way Woodson writes about the relationship between the two girls is a fresh perspective.  Many a story tells the tale of a noble White girl befriending the lonely Black girl.  Here the morality story is turned on its ear.  This story is about friendship, not moral obligation.  Marie does not always seem noble.  In fact, she is downright mean at the beginning and even calls Lena whitetrash.  Her character is so human in her struggles with preconceived notions and new ideas.  Marie battles the disapproval of her father and the scorn of her former friends.  They even go so far as to call the girls WT, Whitetrash and UT, Uncle Tom.

The girls speak in a familiar tone, as two girls that age might.  The friends say, That white girl thinks shes bad, and mean bad as a teenager might.  Lena uses grammar associated with a lower socioeconomic class, like, Chauncey aint far from nowhere.  Even Dion brings in some color, with phrases like, He probably gonna tear your behind into twenty pieces.

The relationship between the two girls is complex.  The reader understands Maries anger at Lena for not wanting to turn in her father.  But when Lena explains why, the reader is torn, just as Marie is.  The two girls share a bond over missing mothers, and reading the story, it truly seems that they are kindred spirits.

In the end, this story is not about making friends with people of other racial backgrounds.  It seems more to be about friendship in spite of racial differences, not only the skin color, but also upbringing, and communitys standards.  It is the story of two girls who needed each other, no matter what the color of their skin or their income level.  I HADNT MEANT TO TELL YOU THIS is a Coretta Scoot King Author Honor Book.