Darkness Before Dawn

Hazelwood High #3

by Sharon M. Draper

He's a "lemon drop wrapped in licorice": tall, dark, handsome, and as smooth as his silk shirts and leather jacket. He can discuss everything from art to world events, he's traveled the world, and he owns a Jeep, a condo, and a jazz CD collection. But best of all, twenty-three-year-old Jonathan Hathaway, the new track coach and the principal's son, has his golden eyes set on Keisha Montgomery.

In her senior year of high school, still recovering from the suicide of her ex-boyfriend, Keisha's thrilled to have someone treat her like a woman rather than a girl. As Jonathan tells her, she's a butterfly ready to try her wings — much too mature for high school boys, whose only deep thoughts are words from rap songs. Jonathan makes her feel alive again; he seems like the answer to all her dreams and the cure to all her nightmares.

Gifts wrapped with silver ribbons begin to mysteriously appear on her doorstep, and Keisha is swept off her feet. But events take a terrifying turn, and suddenly darkness overwhelms her life.... As Keisha struggles to put her world back in perspective, she learns the power and the danger of silence, and discovers the secret gifts that had been waiting for her all along.

Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, African American, Contemporary, Teen, School

Audio Cassette

First published February 1, 2001

About the author

Sharon M. Draper is a professional educator as well as an accomplished writer. She has been honored as the National Teacher of the Year, is a five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Literary Award, and is a New York Times bestselling author. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A girl named Keisha is on the track team, and her new coach is a young twenty three year old man named John Hathaway who is the principal's son. This was after the death of Keisha's ex-boyfriend. Keisha is attracted to John because of how he makes her feel, he makes her feel like an adult and not a little girl. So they're relationship started getting more intense and Keisha thinks he's the perfect boy for her until something happened one night. John invites her to hr house to have "dinner", and when she walks in she fell more in love with him. He had scented candles set up all around the house and she loved it. So they were sitting on the couch and then they started kissing, and it got more intense and Keisha didn't like where the situation was headed. She had to stop him and tell him she's not ready for it. So John got angry and when she felt like there was something wrong she headed towards the door, and right before she could even escape he slammed the door back shut so she couldn't leave. Right then he attacked him and Keisha fought back. Finally, after all the fussing she cuts his face with a neck.
I think this book is good for anybody who likes to read about drama and likes suspense. This is a very capturing book and it can keep you busy reading when you're bored. This could also let people know that when there is an obstacle in your life you should try your best to forget and live life the best you can. The way Keisha overcomes her fear of what happened and to go back to school, it was very brave of her

[Jesseca Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading all three of the books, I felt like I'd known the characters forever and it's heartbreaking that there's no more. I am so sad that the story is over...

[Emily Olson · Rating 5 out of 5]

i really liked the book and how i could easily imagine how the characters looked, sounded, and where they were. i also knew that near the end johnathan was going to do something bad because it was already creepy to me that he was the coach and wouldn't leave keisha alone. i honestly have no idea why keisha didn't just go with leon instead, even though leon was also kind of creepy with his entire bulletin board of pictures of her. i was happy when edna came back to help keisha, because edna was probably one of the coolest characters.

[Anna Francesca · Rating 2 out of 5]

If the other books in the Hazelwood High series had the vibe of Law & Order for Teens, this book is the Lifetime Movie of the Week edition. It is predictable and melodramatic. I'd only suggest it if a reader became ultra-attached to the characters in the first two books and wanted to know what became of them. Otherwise, one would do better to imagine their futures than to spend time reading them here.

[Sadi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read the reviews of Tears of a Tiger and people have said that Dawn before Darkness was a much better book. I completely disagree. I feel it’s the opposite. It’s terrible.

This book took so long to get to the point, and when it did get to the point, it was a huge fail because there was nothing building up to it. It felt stalled. I felt like Jonathan wasn’t even a character in the book, but just someone Keisha noticed here and there. He’s never shown any depth, not like Leon. We see that Leon is a funny childish kid, then we learn that he’s not always fun and games, and there’s character development. But not for Jonathan, and he’s the main character! All we learn is that his mom was terrible and boo hoo, bad childhood, but that’s not even explored any further after it’s mentioned, so I don’t understand why that was even brought up.

It’s apparent that Jonathan is bad, no thanks to the blatant constant reminders from her parents and friends telling her, and it’s never proven wrong, so when he attacks her, it’s no surprise and it’s quite obvious. It felt frustrating, because I felt like the ending could have had a great effect if it was built up correctly, if Jonathan would have had some more layers to him. He felt so cliche and generic. Like the characters in those wattpad books with the title “Pregnant with my abusive boyfriend.”

And the attack was the first thing that happens. And after that the story ends. I mean, great for Keisha for not going back to him, but there was no continuation of it and it felt empty and was executed way late in the book if you ask me. And because it was late in the book, it was expected, which brought the quality of the book down even more.

The most annoying thing about this book was the constant reminder of how bad he was. Even Keisha was like “Aw, you’re not good for me.” from the first chapter. It felt more like tell than show. With every character constantly reminding us that Jonathan was bad, the book just felt pointless, because there was no surprise, no good hook at the end, nothing that showed he was bad, just this wide known belief and gut feelings that was asserted so strongly and made apparent to the reader, and it doesn’t give the reader room to think of their own assumption. It’s just “Jonathan bad.” Thumbs up.

And they didn’t even have a reason to say he was bad, only because he was older and “smooth.” He never displayed any action or behavior that proved he was bad. He just had “that look in his eyes” lmao. And everyone had that same opinion lol nothing else, no variety. It felt so forced and just spoiled the book for me. At some point I was just turning pages like “Okay when is he gonna hurt her?” because I had nothing else to expect, nothing else was giving for me in the book. Not even the little side romance with Leon, which was stale. Keisha don’t even like the dude and has no reason to, because she never gets to know him that much either. I was expecting them to connect at some point, but all that was given was that flower shop scene and even then there was nothing more.

I also don’t like how Andy wasn’t incorporated much into the story. It’s like at some point she completely forgets about him. That wasn’t realistic for me. Like it says in the description that she’s grieving but it’s really not shown at all that she is. In reality she just looks rebellious and hardheaded because she wants an older dude, not because she’s missing her old love.

Ugh, terrible. Honestly the worst book in this series. Tears of a Tiger and Forged by Fire are the champions.

[Debi Kolbi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is one of the book that takes place in hazelwood high #3. The antagonist of this book keisha. she used to be andy's girl friend on hazelwood #1. she was so angry after his death.

[Karissa Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a really great teenage book. It follows after the book Tears of a Tiger, but the main character is now Keisha Montgomery. This book follows her life and her new situations. In Tears of a Tiger, her boyfriend Andy kills himself after drunk driving and killing his bestfriend. In this book is shows Keisha trying to recover from Andy's death, which is hard for her even with support from family and friends. While taking her mind off of things she joins the track team where the coach and pricipal's son, Johnathon Hardaway, starts to see Keisha. Her parents do not want her to date him but she continues to see him. Everyone tries to warn Keisha about what kind of guy he is, but still she does not care. So finally one night, on a date between the two, he takes her to his appartment and tries to have sex with her. Keisha does not want to and Johnathon gets mad and tries to kill her. She tries to run away and calls her parents from a phone who came from a person she ran in to. She tries to apoligize to her parents and now feels so ashamed where she refuses to go to school anymore. Her friends try to comfort her and tells her he does not work there anymore. Thankfully she returns to school and continues on to graduate. This book is very touching and is very emotional. I would definetly recommend this book!

[Jeannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is Keisha's senior year and she is still recovering from the suicide of her boyfriend, Andy, last spring. (See Tears of a Tiger, Hazelwood High , #1). The new track coach is so different from the boys she knows. He's a twenty-three-year-old man who has seen the world. When he take an interest in her, she feels important. There are warning signs, but Keisha is just so happy to feel good. This book discusses what it is really like to be grown up and how predatory people can take avdantage of a vulnerable young person. Sharon Draper handles this cautionary book very well. It is definitely for the older teens and will lead to a good discussion and perhaps reach a young person who is or has been in a date rape situation.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book in my opinion wasn't that good. It seems like a really good book when you pick it up but the story drags a lot. The book has a very interesting plot. Keisha, the main character, has just lost the life of her boyfriend and now has to cope with her last year of highschool. With such an interesting and tragic plot, i expected this book to be alot better. Its almost too much of an easy read, to me it has an adult plot but its almost a second grade read.

[Jena (lit_editions) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another heavy issue...I'm surprised the Dad kept his composure the way he did.

Keisha pissed me off, but I got the allure, I'm happy that she had a different outcome, but I wish she would of truly did something about it...

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Darkness before Dawn
Sharon M. Draper
276 Pages 1230 Avenue of Americas New York, NY 10020
Simon and Schuster Children Publishing Division $5.99
ISBN: 978-0-689-85134-6

Imagine your boyfriend and you are fighting over the fact that he still is stilling mourning over his dead best friend. You understand his pain, but you are tired of him not giving you the attention you desire. You storm out crying--breaking up with him. Then everything else is a blur.

Keisha Montgomery, a senior, thought that everything would be better after the funeral of her boyfriend, Andy’s best friend, Robbie. She knows that Andy has been through a lot and she encourages him to join the School Show. Andy accepts and proceeds. During the show, Andy did an inappropriate strip – don’t worry his pants were still on but that made Keisha flip. She stormed out breaking up with him.

In Darkness before Dawn, Keisha-still upset at Andy-discovers something over the phone with her best friend, Rhonda; that her ex-boyfriend was suicidal. Keisha cries and cries, frightened if all of her beloveds were going to disappear like Andy and Robbie. While she takes care of Andy’s younger brother, Monty, she meets her new track coach, a twenty three year old, Jonathan Hathaway, the principal son. Would Keisha be able to fall back in love with the tall handsome coach?

Extraordinary and capturing, this book showed me, how unfortunate people’s lives can be. Lucky, Keisha was a strong woman who fought for her rights and her dignity. This realistic fiction novel, symbolizes the brave women that survived these horrible incidents. Not saying it’s a good thing, but those incidents help those unfortunates to grow and show the fortunate of the lives of girls all over the country.

Draper’s style of writing imprisoned me with her sorrowful words. She creates a journal in my head;containing the feelings of Keisha’s words burn. Every Page, every word, shows her steps in recovering after being sexually abused. Reading her emotions makes me, want to bring Andy back to protect her. But what’s the fun in that?

Just like the title, Darkness before Dawn, the darkness devours the light; her bright future gets demolished by her darkness past. Can Keisha’s light overshadow her dark past or will her dawn-future- die just like her beloved Andy and Robbie?Either way, Keisha, grows or her life would never be the same again.

[Stephani]

this book really went even more deeper into teen's feelings on death , well in this case two deaths in 1 year , this book connects to the book "tears of a tiger " if you had read my other review on that book you would have seen the grief these kids had to go through , but in this book andy had took his own life , and his ex-girlfriend which they had broken up a few days before , really had to feel more pain then andy did when his friend robert had died , she didn't know what to think robert was her friend also and now andy had taken his life , because everything was going wrong in his life , he couldn't cope with any of that. in this book it really goes into , different feelings with one person , her as a girlfriend , best-friend and was almost like a big sister to Andy's little brother which had found him dead , Andy's girlfriend felt as if she had to be strong for everybody , because nobody knew how to react she mostly felt like she had to be strong for his little brother , because his little brother really didn't understand , in the mix of all that Keisha lost herself , didn't really speak to anybody and when somebody did or when she spoke to someone she just broke down , she was to busy holding up for others she didn't really look at her feelings and how bad she really was hurting , Keisha really did love him . this book dives really deep into the hearts of teen girlfriends , ex-girlfriends , feelings and hearts and how they really don't seem really there , for example Keisha comes back to her senses but really doesn't believe it , she more denying his death , and she loses herself all over again and finds comfort with her a coach , this is anyway this book expresses ways on her girls find comfort with someone that really doesn't understand what the whole thing. her friends remind her that there's no reason to run away from the problems and that there all dealing with the same thing . this book i redmond if anybody wants to tear a bit and understand what these teen girlfriends have to deal with when a lost comes across .

[sadsappysuckers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Out of all 3 Hazelwood High books, this one definitely let me down the most. The story is from the early 2000s, and that's visible in the characters and how they act, speak, and just go on with their lives. It lacks the longevity that a lot of books contain, but the plot is interesting enough to make up for it. However, I feel like every story was addressed in a different way and for far too long. There's so much different things happening at once, so it's hard to remember the actual plot. I feel like Keisha's story could've been addressed in more depth, but I guess the other parts sorta line up. It's weird. Not only that, one of the biggest issues for me was how the main antagonist, Jonathan Hathaway, was portrayed. His character is so flat, so boring, so predictable. There was no connection between Keisha and Hathaway. The character was so predictable, you could've ended this book 45 pages in and it would be more interesting than stretching that out. I wish there was a moment of, like, any sort of emotion in Hathaway, because his character just sucked so much. Not only that, he's still part of most of the book. There's an incident at the end (spoiler) where Hathaway brings Keisha to his apartment and tries to sexually assault her, and then he's gone in an instant. It seemed so weirdly placed. I feel like it should have been pushed forward a bit, but it seemed like we still didn't know enough about his character. I feel like this book is something you should skip. Go read the first two, and then maybe pick up this one if you wanna finish the series, but it's definitely not the best and def let me down.

[Elida · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elida Almaraz
Title:Darkness before dawn
Author:Sharon M. Draper


Darkness Before Dawn by Sharon M. Draper is a about a girl named Keisha who's sad after the loss of her boyfriend Andy. Keisha can't get over the fact that Andy commited suicide. It is her senior year and she's hoping for a better start. However it isn't unitl she meets the principal's 23 yeasr old son when things start changing.
I liked this book I feel like I can make a text to world connection because there has been cases in which girls fall for a teacher and dont usually say something about it.I feel that Keisha was able to handle the situation right. Keisha started falling for her teacher but once she saw that he wanted to take advantage of her she was able to get out of thast situation.
What I liked about the book was that Keisha always had people that had her back when she needed it. What surprised me was that Keisha wasnt the only victim but there were other girls that had gone through the same thing.

[Trevor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was about a girl named kisha. She was dating Andy who killed himself because he was super depressed. She had to live on and remember those thoughs which made her sad and she never wanted to date anyone again. But later on she met a guy name Jonathan Hathaway he was the perfect man had everything she ever wanted. Come to find out he was a rapist who tried to lure young girls in to his apartment which he did to Kisha. She cut his face and got away with luck but that just made it worse for her. Later on she was depressed about the Jonathan thing and didnt go back to school for 2 weeks she was so imbarresed about it. Although she was sad she went back to school and lived on with he life to finish off highschool and go back with her friends. In the end she became a speaker in the Graduation and left the bad memories behind her to life a happy life.

I choose this book bacause it was the last one in the series and i wanted to finish it up.

[Fatima Omar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book.The fact that Keisha thought Johnathan was a good guy then he completely changes up on her. Johnathan is a psychopath and its a good thing that he has been sentenced to jail for 30 years. Keisha thought that the flowers and necklace was from Johnathan when it really wasn't. i like how Leon never brought it up even they were from him. the crush he has on her is so adorable. When Jalani was new and they brought her into there little circle shows what great friends they are. I was completely shocked to find out that Rita was almost raped by Johnathan also.It was normal they was she isolated herself from everyone after what happened.Edna,the old woman that found her when she ran away from Johnathan,was very special to Keisha. This book is really interesting to read and so are the other books by this author. Keisha graduated as class president,shes going to college, and Johnathan is serving time in prison. Perfect way to end the book.

[Lauren Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 3rd and final book of the Hazelwood High trilogy. It’s about a girl Keisha who after not being with Andy anymore, decides to try to get back out there with dating and enjoy her senior year. The principal’s son and new track coach Jonathan Hathaway,23 is new on the scene and catches Keisha’s attention. They befriend each other and hang out until the hanging out goes to far. Does she escape? Rereading this series again was like I was back in middle and high school all over again. I just didn’t realize how heavy the content was. Sharon Draper writes so well, you’re LITERALLY there and feeling every emotion that the characters are feeling. This series has taught me to question everything and look out for the people closest to you. Highly recommend! I mean it’s Sharon Draper. She’s doesn’t miss.

[Jeni Enjaian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read much better books by Ms. Draper than this one. From page one (well...not page one exactly but as soon as Hathaway was introduced) I knew exactly what was going to happen. The only reason that I read the pages in between was to add another book to my list for 2014 and make my reading goal. I hoped that the characters would show some growth in between and make up at least partially for Draper's utter lack of imagination and way too spelled out foreshadowing. I was not in luck. I would avoid this particular book of hers. Hopefully this is just a one off. (I'm reading another one that is much, much better.)
I do not recommend this book.

[Maggie Mattmiller · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't love the writing. So often I love the feeling that I've figured something out (even if the author gave me some serious hand holding), but in this book, it was all so in your face, so obviously stated, so many times, that it almost ruined the feel of having pieced it together and figured it out. You can't feel good about inferencing or predicting because it's so obvious. I did care about the characters though, and wondered how they'd piece together.

Not a book (or series) I'd rush out to tell people about, but it's also not a book (or series) that I feel I wasted time reading.

[Shelby H · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is about a girl named keisha and how is is doing after her ex boyfriend andy's and andy's best friends death, keisha senior year and everthing is going good for her she has a lot of friends, she is looking at college and she is talking to a guy named jonathan hathaway but not ever thang is right with him.
i like how it pull's you in and won't let you go
if you like books on love, family and friend then you will like this book

[Aleigha (LeighLee) Marie✞❀❦ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 stars

Summary:
"Darkness Before Dawn" is the third and final novel in the Hazelwood High series by Sharon M. Draper. The series follows the ups and downs of a group of close friends who go to Hazelwood High. In the first two books, the characters grapple with child abuse and the devastating consequences of teen drinking.

[Jakalah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is close to my heart. I read this book in 2006 or so and I still love and remember it. I think Sharon Draper writes books for young black girls like me and it shows in the stories. It is relatable and emotional all these years later. I would recommend this book to anyone old enough to read it and mature enough to understand the material.

[Erin O. · Rating 2 out of 5]

My least favorite of the series.

[Dylan Bustos · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was my least favorite of the series. Probably just because it's Keisha's perspective. I thought Andy and Gerald's narration was more deep. I just don't like Keisha's personality.

[ChuChi Mone'T · Rating 2 out of 5]

a little too slow paced for me. I grew bored and skipped over the irrelevant details to just finish the book.

[Elizabeth]

It wasn't that good

[L. J. · Rating 1 out of 5]

TBA

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about teenage issues.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful conclusion to the Hazelwood High Trilogy 🥹

In 2008, my best friend at the time read this book and I was far from interested.
As I read this book as a 30 year old, I’m actually kind of glad that I waited to read this book. I probably would have admired the “relationship” Keisha had with Jonathan Hathaway. Because he was much older, I would have been just as impressed as Keisha, but the end would have had me just as shook as I am today.

Reading this at the age I am now made me look back on my own life. Thankfully, I was never in a situation like this with Keisha, but I was subject to online predators who told me I was mature for my age and whatnot.

Keisha was only 18 being groomed, manipulated, and almost raped by someone who was 5 years her senior. Yes, she was of the legal age, but 22 year old Jonathan Hathaway knew better.

Having to go through all of that whilst still grieving the deaths of Robbie & Andy is sooo heavy & so very confusing.
My heart goes out to Keisha and Rita. For the girls who got away and for the girls that didn’t.

I immediately knew something had happened to Rita and I’m glad it was revealed toward the end of the book.

It was absolutely beautiful to read through the kids graduation. It reminded me of my own high school years.

You know how every class at high school has “the incident?” These poor Hazelwood High students have had far too many 😭 but they prevailed, persevered, & healed TOGETHER 😭😭😭

I wonder how they are today.
What did they grow up to be?
Did they have children? What did they TELL their children?

So many questions, but I’m also okay with Ms. Draper not giving us a follow up. The trilogy is perfect as is.

This book kept me on my toes. Had me on edge. Every last emotion I could experience, I experienced reading this book. And the entire trilogy.

[Jia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: this is not a 5 star book, genuinely is more of a 4 or a 4.5. But this book propelled me into a love of reading at a young age that I would not have otherwise had imagined possible had I not read this book when I did, so it will always be a 5 star book for what it is in my memory. Will not be counting this as my first 5 star read of the year lol.

While not nearly as dark as its predecessors, this book definitely has a tendency to deal several meticulously placed gut punches, some of them even without trying, especially as you begin to witness the way that Jonathan lures Keisha into his twisted web. You almost feel helpless as this all unfolds and there’s nothing you can say or do—like a fly on the wall, in some ways. Reading this book at the target age it absolutely terrified me; reading this book as an adult, it made me angry. It’s absolutely insane that situations like this can even happen in real life, yet they do, all the time.

Keisha is probably the protagonist I have the strongest opinions about. Is she a perfect protagonist? No. Is she the most fleshed out protagonist? Also no—I think that medal goes to Gerald. However, she did have the most growth and was the first of the trio to have a dedicated healing journey. She is opinionated and strong-willed, but she is flawed in the ways that I was at eighteen—thinking I know everything about everything when I most certainly do not, but she never comes across as spoiled or rude or vindictive like she does in the first book. She definitely grew on me as a young teen.

Overall, I feel like this is a series that could teach a lot of people a lot of things. Especially if you find that you take things for granted.