Darkness Before Dawn

Darkness Before Dawn

Author	Sharon M. Draper
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Hazelwood High Trilogy
Subject	Date Rape
Genre	Realistic fiction
Publisher	Atheneum Books
Publication date	1 Feb 2001
Media type	Print-
Pages	272 pp
ISBN	0-689-83080-7
Preceded by	Forged by Fire

Darkness Before Dawn is a realistic young adult novel written by author Sharon M. Draper in 2001. The novel is the third and final installment in the Hazelwood High Trilogy. It depicts the story of an eighteen-year-old African American senior Keisha Montgomery, who is attracted to the twenty-three-year-old track coach Jonathan Hathaway.

Plot summary

Eighteen year old Keisha Montgomery is still recovering from her ex-boyfriend, Andy Jackson's suicide after she broke up with him. While having the support of her friends and family, she still finds it hard to move on. She joins the track team and there meets Jonathan Hathaway, the twenty-three-year-old coach, and principal's son. During a track meeting, a girl named Rita Bronson, begins arguing with Jonathan. He denies what they were talking about and after shouting some choice curse words, she runs into the woods never to return to school.

Over time, he begins to smooth talk her and they finally become a couple. Her parents disapprove of him being five years older and forbid her to see him. Against their wishes, she continues to see him discreetly. Her friends attempt to warn her about his true ways but she refuses to listen to them. Leon Hawkins, a friend with feelings for Keisha, also tries to warn her.

Ignoring everyone's warnings, she uses Leon to cover up her tracks when Jonathan asks her to the Valentine's dance. After the dance, Jonathan takes Keisha to his apartment and he attempts to engage in a sexual moment with her. After seeing her refusal to 'cooperate', Jonathan attempts to force her with a knife. Keisha cuts him and eventually manages to escape. She seeks the help of a homeless woman named Edna who sees her running in the snow(Keisha helped Edna earlier in the book). She takes Keisha in and defrosts her and gives Keisha a phone to call her parents.

Finally safe in her home, she tells her parents her experience and apologizes. She also notes her refusal to attend school, as she feels ashamed. After two weeks of absences Rita comes back and tells her she has experienced some of the same things as Keisha but she didn't escape. Later Mr. Hathaway tells her that he has resigned and that Jonathan did come to him that night. He then sent him to live with relatives in a different state and tried to pick up another teenage girl. That girl then pressed charges and landed him in jail for thirty years. Feeling relieved that Jonathan is in jail and comforted by her true friends she returns to school and Keisha graduates with the rest of her friends.

Characters

• Keisha Montgomery- the main protagonist of the story, who's upset about her ex-boyfriend Andy's suicide and spends time with Jonathan Hathaway, but he attacks her later.
• Jalani- a transfer student from New York and nice friend of Keisha and Rhonda. She cares a lot about Gerald
• Rhonda - Keisha's best friend who is there for her throughout the story. She and Tyrone enjoy being together
• Tyrone - Rhonda's boyfriend who's really close to her
• B.J. Carson- Tyrone's best friend, who's short and wants to be a preacher
• Gerald - another one of Keisha's friends who takes an interest to Jalani
• Angel - Gerald's younger sister, who's a freshmen and a dancer. She passed out during dance class because she doesn't eat much
• Kiara Joyelle Leila Victoria Washington- Rob Washington(deceased)'s fourteen-year-old sister and Angel's best friend, another freshmen. She decided to change her name from Kiara to Joyelle after Andy's funeral because she missed him and Rob so much
• Monty - Andy's seven-year-old younger brother, who's also upset about his death, but still has fun with Keisha and her friends
• Leon Hawkins- Keisha's classmate who's a real prankster, and has feelings for her, and considers her a close friend
• Rita Bronson- a girl who was attacked by Jonathan Hathaway like Keisha. She was on the track team and disappeared after her fight with Jonathan during practice
• Jonathan Hathaway- the 23 year old track coach and principal's son, who's very attractive to Keisha and attacks her with a knife in the middle of the story

Reception

• 2002 Top 10 Young Adult Library Services Association Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers^[1]

Kirkus Reviews wrote "This series appears to be an attempt to carve out a niche of the high-school problem-novel market for African-American teens; it’s a pity this offering only complements the banality so often found in this genre."^[2]

References