Strong, black female

One major theme of the book is the strong, black female. Lorene begins the book as a girl who is scared to go to St. Paul's School. It is an unfamiliar world of white people. Yet, she wants to go. Once there, she holds onto her black identity and shows herself to be a strong, black woman. When the white girls make prejudiced comments, she stands up to them. She makes herself heard, even if her answers are not popular. She gives herself a voice when she runs for student council and wins the vice presidency. She gains political power at the school, even helping her black friend Jimmy get out of serious trouble. Her voice is heard on student council and in the choir and school plays. Lorene does not shy away from the challenge; instead she finds her strong, black female voice from within...