Darkness Before Dawn

Sharon M. Draper

Apr 2011 · Hazelwood High Trilogy Book 3 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

Hope shines in the face of fear in this conclusion to Sharon M. Draper’s award-winning Hazelwood High trilogy.

In her senior year, things are finally looking a little brighter for Keisha. Still haunted by the suicide of her ex-boyfriend, Andy, she finds comfort in the attentions of the new track coach, twenty-three-year-old Jonathan Hathaway, the principal’s son. How can Keisha not be swept off her feet by a tall, dark, handsome “lemon drop wrapped in licorice” who treats her like a woman, not a girl?

But suddenly this intoxicating relationship takes a frightening turn, and Keisha is once again plunged into the darkness she’s fought so hard to escape. Will Keisha ever be able to find her way back into the light?

Ratings and reviews

Loved it. Her writing is poetic and purposeful at the same time. I experienced loss in Jr. high too, so some of the events came home to me. A beautifully written coming of age tragedy, about life, loss, love, and perseverance.

I love how Sharon Draper encouraged strong friendship bonds through both trials and triumph. I think her message is very powerful focusing on 9 young friends as they went through their everyday lives and still manged to move in despite if their ups and downs. The main characters never forget the ones they lost and kept a strong memory of them both. Being a young teenager I could very well relate to the events in the book and I learned from them as well. This is definitely a five star book.

I love rereading this book. I recommend this book to any teens or young adults in high school who dealt or deal with the topics talked about in this book, death suicide rape leaning to deal with grief. this book is a 10 out of 10 for me.

About the author

Sharon M. Draper is the New York Times bestselling author of Out of My Mind, Blended, and Out of My Heart. She’s won Coretta Scott King Awards for Copper Sun and Forged by Fire and multiple honors. She’s also the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award honoring her significant and lasting contribution to writing for teens. Sharon taught high school English for twenty-five years and was named National Teacher of the Year. She lives in Florida. Visit her at SharonDraper.com.