What does a gray-haired white woman know about drama in today’s urban high school? That’s what I thought after shockingly learning Anne E. Schraff is the author of A Matter of Trust, one of the books in the popular Bluford High School. Her books are really interesting to read because of the different topics and themes that the novels cover. Some of the themes in A Matter of Trust are betrayal, struggle and stressful situations. A Matter of Trust is about how sisters overcome being abandoned by their father, living with a mother who works long hours and struggle to keep their grandmother out of the nursing home.
The setting of this book would be modern time in a metropolitan area. The story starts off strong when Darcy’s and Jamie’s father abandons them without a warning. This loss triggers tension in the family. For example, the sisters begin to argue all the time. The protagonist is Darcy and the antagonist is her little sister Jamie. Darcy’s little sister Jamie is in junior high school, and Darcy attends Bluford High School. The plot is full of details and drama about how Darcy is having problems with her best friend and stress at home because her mom was barely home. The author included so many details that I could actually visualize everything that was happening in the story. In addition, the novel is suspenseful. On top of all Darcy’s home problems, some suspicious man is following her. Who could it be?
My favorite passage is when Darcy encourages her boyfriend to participate in the talent show. Darcy wanted her boyfriend to try out with her because he can sing and knows how to play the guitar very well. I liked the way the author showed Darcy trying to get her quiet boyfriend out of his shell.
This book is worth reading because I believe the author describes exactly how high school drama is and how stuff goes on at home. This book affected how I view high school because the drama in this book happens in my reality every day. I agree with the author’s character and plot choices in the novel because these are real situations. I would recommend this book to teens who are interested in conflicts, tragedies and boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. “A Matter of Trust” is packed with text-to-world connection because these situations happen to a lot of teens in our society.