In Forged by Fire, by Sharon Draper, Gerald Nickelby, as a young boy of only three years has been abused by his drug addict of a mother.  One night Gerald’s mom left to resupply her cocaine.  Gerald rushed upstairs in a panic.  He found, and grabbed his mother’s lighter.  He played for a while, but finally he set the house on fire.  Gerald had awoken in the hospital.  Aunt Queen (who is in a wheelchair) came to take care of him.  Gerald lived with her for the next six years.  On Gerald’s ninth birthday his mother had been dismissed from her charges of child abandonment.  Later that day Aunt Queen dies, forcing Gerald to go and live with his mother (Monique), abusive stepfather (Jordan), and his new sister (Angel).  Gerald catches Jordan molesting Angel. Will Gerald’s love for Angel prevail over Jordan’s hate?
            I liked the novel, because it was written in a first-person-point of view and that towards the end she threw in a couple pages from Tears of a Tiger, her first award winning novel of the Hazelwood High series.  What made me keep reading was the conflict between Jordan and Gerald.  The detail Sharon Draper put in the book made me feel like I was right in the middle of the argument.  Also the Man vs. Fate conflict she used is great.  Another literary quality I enjoyed was the point of view.  I liked that I got to know the detail of how Gerald felt.  I recommend this book to people who enjoy the realistic-fiction genre.