Janelle Battle, p. 46 to Tyrone, p. 64 Summary

In "Janelle Battle," Janelle is in love with Devon Hope. He is beautiful, but she is fat. Lupe says she has a pretty face and is smart. Janelle likes Devon because he is different from the other jocks because he reads poetry. Janelle cannot believe she reads poetry aloud; it is like acting on stage. The students stand in front of a video camera. Mr. Ward turns the lights off and turns them on when the poet is ready. Janelle says she can become somebody else and say anything she wants as long as it is in a poem. Janelle wishes she was not fat and she wishes to be beautiful. She wants people to see her beauty. Her poem entitled "Inside" discusses her fat as a shell, but at her core, she...