Heaven

Heaven
by Angela Johnson
Realistic Fiction
Scholastic, 1999

Summary: Marley, a 14 year old girl, lives a perfect life in Heaven, OH. She thinks it’s a perfect life, that is, until she realizes that her mom and dad are not really her parents. She discovers that her beloved uncle, Jack, is really her father. Upon the discovery that her life has been a lie, Marley starts out on an unexpected journey to find her identity. Marley’s anger forces her to see flaws in all of the beauty that once existed. In dealing with the pain in her life, she decides to take one day at a time and each day brings new realizations. She realizes that everyone deals with pain, that the word perfect is misunderstood, and that her flawed life has led her to Heaven.

Themes: Identity, Family, Friendship, Survival

Rationale for Use:

-Realistic characters and plot.

-Complex themes that adolescents can relate to.

-While the plot is complex, the story moves quickly and keeps you hooked until the end.

Content Area Connections:

Social Studies:

Geography – Throughout the story, various U.S. cities are mentioned, allowing the audience to learn more about the main character’s all around journey of self-identity. Students could piece the story together using a U.S. map. They could mark all of the cities and use relative location and cardinal directions to describe where the characters have traveled in order to get to Heaven.

Era Study – Students could list clues from the story to find a time frame that the story took place in. Listing types of transportation, communication, family life styles, and social issues, students can make connections to what they know about various time periods in our history and try to determine the time setting.

Possible Problems or Concerns: Language and plot are objectionable at times.

~Bridget Mansfield