If You Really Loved Me

Urban Underground #4

by Anne E. Schraff

Destini Fletcher hates Tubman High from day one. When Tyron Becker singles her out, Destini is thrilled to be a part of Tyron's crowd. But he scorns her budding friendship with Alonee, Jaris, and Sami, and mocks her attempts to earn good grades. Do her excuses for Tyron's increasinly brutal behavior and bad attitude put her at rish?

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Young Adult

181 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Anne Elaine Schraff grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. She received both her bachelor's and master's degrees from California State University at Northridge and taught high school for ten years.

Anne paid her way through college by writing short stories for magazines. Since college she has written hundreds of stories and over eighty books including historical fiction, biographies, science books, and her favorite, fictional books for young people. She is published as both Anne Schraff and Anne E. Schraff.

Her background, which she describes as "multicultural, lower middle-class neighborhood, including African Americans, Mexican Americans, Arab Americans, and Filipino Americans," is her greatest inspiration when writing.

Reviews

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book I read is "If You Really Loved Me," By Anne Schraff. It's about this girl named Destiny that does not have so much confidence on herself, and she thinks so little of her self. She looks at other girls and wonders why can't she be like them, why can't she have a boyfriend like the rest. It's her high school year and yet she has no one to share her love. Her life isn't so great either, but she meets this guy the one she falls deeply in love, but it wasn't what she expected. In my opinion this book I kind of liked because it lets me see things in a different aspect, not just the way young teenagers see it, sometimes you have to cherish the little things god gives you because sooner or later that fairytale you live in will not end in a happy ending. I do recommend this book to you all, the ones who like books that are some what that we can relate to in some way, a book where the narrator is around our age group, and or if you once fell in love with the wrong person.

[RileyV · Rating 5 out of 5]

Destiny isn't popular, or pretty like the other girls. She's just boring old destiny. But one day when a popular boy named Tyron smiles at her, her world goes upside down. After that day it's not long before they started dating. Destiny thought she was the happiest she had ever been, he bought her necklaces took her to dances, what more could she want? But will Tyron's angry roots get the best of him? Find out in If You Really Loved Me.
My favorite part is when Tyron is taken away to anger management far away and destiny realizes that he was never any good for her and she deserves better than him.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes drama and romance with a twist.

[Edith]

I think this book is really good so far this book has a lot of good parts and i can really relate to Destini she has a lot going on in her life her trying to keep up with her grades.And her mom constanly getting down her back telling her she need to keep up with her grades and wats going on in her life her mom is having trouble with her job and she has got gtrouble with school if she dont make up her grades she will fail and she is so excited to have a boyfriend that dont even treat her rite.and her mom says that she i way too young to be thinking about boys and she just want her mom to be happy for her but her mom tell her that he is not good for her but she is so in love that she dont see that untill he pushed her for talkin to another dude.

[bjneary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of the Urban Underground series, I liked Destini, who was really hard on herself as not being as pretty, smart and having nice clothes as her friends at Harriet Tubman High. She dislikes school, her teachers and her classes. Until she meets Tyron who is her first boyfriend and gives her such good feelings of love that she overlooks his faults of anger. It is after Tyron hurts her two times that Destini realizes she can't change Tyron and has supportive friends and and a mother that Destini breaks free. Recommended.

[Tyla]

I recommend this book. It's really interesting and can teach lessons in life.

[Katrina Pacheco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this book five stars. The reason I gave it five stars is because when I started reading the book it went right to the point. I'm interested in those kinds of books because it starts off with the problem and throughout the book shows how Destini solved her boy problems.

[Calli · Rating 4 out of 5]

good but confusing

[Janiyah]

I plan on reading this whole series

[Shaela]

It was very emotional, I cried at the end. looking forward to reading more of her books. First one I've read so far. Just getting started!

[Abdi Mohamed]

In her 2010 book If You Really Loved Me, Anne Schraff tells the love/abusive storyof Tyron Becker and Destini Fletcher. Destini is really self-critical as not being as intelligent, beautiful , and being as fancy as her peers at Harriet Tubman High School. Destini despises Harriet Tubman High, the faculty, and her classes. Up until she meets Tyron Becker, a popular boy and a football star. Tyron becomes her first boyfriend. He gives her high-quality emotional state and such care that she pardons his anger and abusive action towards her. After Tyron hurts Destin two times, she realizes that she can’t manipulate his exasperation.

The abusive relationship of Destini and Tyron is best seen when “Tyron began twisting Destini’s arm behind her back.” The author uses situational fatefulness to show how abusive their relationship was. Destini screamed loud enough for the American History to hear and come out. The police came and took away Tyron.

Taken as a whole, I thought the message of the book was influential. Although, I did not like how the author practically gave away the ending in the back of the book. A case in point of practically giving away the ending can be seen below.

“His bitter jealousy and nasty temper makes her an easy target.”

This arrangement is an example of how he more or less gave away the ending in some sort of way. However, I highly recommend this book, it will hook you from the moment you first started to the end.

[Victoria Waddle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Destini Fletcher hates everything about school at Harriett Tubman High except the opportunity it offers for meeting guys. Destini, a junior, has never had a boyfriend. She thinks of herself as plain and of her clothes as boring. She worries about being too fat although she’s in the slim range (size 6).

Destini’s mom doesn’t want her thinking about boyfriends. She wants her to do well in school and become ready for college.

When Tyron notices her, Destini falls for him fast. Although her teachers have been telling her she’s smart and should apply herself in school, it is only after she finds some happiness in a new relationship that she does apply herself and study. She is more cheerful and starts to help around the house. At the same time, a girl from school, Alonee, gets Destini to go to an overnight camp out to help underprivileged kids. Destini enjoys being a ‘big sister’ to one of the girls.

But problems arise. Tyron thinks that helping the kids is stupid—that those kids are just juvenile delinquents. He also makes fun of some nice people at school and seems to follow all the directions of his friend Marco, who has money, but is a jerk.

So Destini is confused about who Tyron really is. But when Tyron starts showing signs of jealousy and rage, she has the more serious concern for her safety. Is Tyron an abuser of women like his father?

NOTE: Reposted on my blog School Library Lady.

[Mackenzie O'connell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Destini didn't have good looks, wasn't skinny, wasn't the richest girl ever. Her mom worked as a maid at a clinic and her father wasn't in the picture. Destini never had a boyfriend but always wanted one. She thought a boy would never love her but one day she met someone. His name was Tyron. He was best friends with Marko. Tyron was poor and didn't come from a good family. Marko and his dad looked after Tyron. Tyron was so loyal to Marko and did whatever Marko said to do. One day, Destini lied to Tyron because she wanted to help kids from the church. When Tyron found out he hit Destini. Her lip was cut and bruised. Destini lied to everyone about it and herself. She thought it was because Tyron loved her. One day, Tyron got so mad at her for "cheating" that Tyron hit her as hard as he could. Teachers saw it happened and saved Destini. They sent Tyron to anger management to get help. Then Destini's father died. She was very sad and spent all her college money on his funeral. Then her uncle gave her an envolope with money in it. She opened it and saw it was from her dad. She had enough money to go to college. Her and her mother lived happy.

[Hayley Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book I have read, If You Really Loved Me by Anne Schraff, is a really good book. This book is about a girl named Destini Fletcher, who life has always been an outcast. She doesn't have any friends, does badly in school, and has a hard time at home. But that all changes when she meets Tyron Becker. He's a football star and everybody loves him. But when Destini and Tyron started to go out, Destini see's the true side of him.

I would rate this book 4 stars because yeah it was a great, heart pumping book, but there were a lot of boring parts that I thought had no intention of contributing to the story. I would recommend this book to girls because it can teach them to watch out for who they date. They may seem sweet and kind on the outside, but on the inside they could have a deep, dark, secret.

[Farrah Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is mainly about a girl named Destini who doesn't have a lot of confidence in herself, she looks at other girls from her school and wishes she could be like them. Though she has a lot going on in her life, like her relationship with her dad who was never there for her and being able to keep up with her grades so her mom could be proud of her. One day she meets this guy named Tyron from her school who ends up being her boyfriend. They start off all good until he punches her and dominates her for thinking she was talking to other guys but she is to blind to notice until one day she had enough. She had to let him go everything went good for her after she started doing good in school and after her dad dies he leaves her & her mom wit some money for them.

[Ahmed Ali Mohamed]

Destini is 16, and she is suffering from self-esteem issues. She is frustrated because she doesn’t think that she compares favorably to her peers, and with her inner turmoil, she is having difficulty concentrating on her schoolwork. She longs for a boyfriend to make her feel special, and she keeps ignoring her mother’s advice to just take things as they come, and to accept that she is special in her own way. When Tyron Becker starts talking to her, Destini is thrilled! Here is the chance she’s wanted to have a boyfriend and to find some happiness. When they start dating, Destini begins to question if having a boyfriend is really the key to happiness.

[Berenice Rojas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The principal character is Destini, she attendance school she have a sad life in moments she don't had a much money so not have much personal things ,nice clothes so is deepresing in sometimes and dislike her class a not have excelents grades but in a new time her goal was a good grades principal in history class. After know a Tyron a boy in the school and he was her first boyfrind, but unfortunately not was the best experience.

[Dina A · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book and the author.I think that it could probably teach something,like who you hangout with and like who you choose to be your partner and who you could trust.This book is really descriptive simple which i like because i really don't like when there is like a lot of information all over the place and confusing. what i found annoying though is that Destini complains too much which got on my nerves,but overall this was an awesome book.

[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well paced, kept my interest and very real. Destini turned out to be a strong girl and do what is right for herself and her parents even though her dad was a loser. She finally realized, with help from a respected teacher, that education can get you somewhere else that may be better.

[Diana]

I think is a good book, I recommender that book because is so fine. It is about a girl her name is Destine her are in hight school she is junior year. She want to be change her personality because she say nobody love her because she clothing is old fashion.

[Terri Chancellor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like the Saddleback books about Tubman High School. "If you really Loved Me" is one book in the series about a girl named Destini who seems desperate to get a boyfriend. Once she does, the story unfolds to reveal all of the issues a relationship at the young age of 16 might entail.

[Julie (Let's Read Good Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite some flaws with one-dimensional characters and pacing issues, I thought this was an engaging read. Review to follow

[Jackelyn]

This bookis short but very interesting it has a way of captureing the reader..they are short but good

[Amadou · Rating 5 out of 5]

it so funny that she thinks that she is so ugly

[Hayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far this book is really good I think she can find someone better then tyron but oh wells I can't wait till I finish!!!

[Kylee · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is a really good book you should read this .there are also other books written from the auther Anne schraff

[Raven King · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an interesting book that had a twist to it.

[Ysabelle Cadiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this book

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story overall but written very poorly

[Adrianni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book because is so good