‘There’s this poem,’ he Jeremiah said, ‘that my moms used to read to me.
"If you come softly
as the wind within the trees.
You may hear what I hear.
See what sorrow sees.
If you come slightly
as threading dew,
I will take you gladly,
nor ask more of you."

***
By the cover, " If You Come Softly" by Jacqueline Woodson seems like your usual melodramatic romance novel with two lovesick teens all over each other. But, I guess you can't judge a book by it's cover ( pun intended). If you begin reading the book, you will soon find that it's not your conventional love story. This story is about two teenagers named Ellie and Jeremiah who both come from wealthy backgrounds ( Ellie dad is a surgeon; Jeremiah's father is a famous director and his mother is a well-known author). As they begin to get to know each other, they eventually fall for one another. But here's the problem for their family: Ellie is Jewish and Jeremiah is African American. Although most of their friends seems to approve of their love, their families don't understand.
This book is told in both Ellie's and Jeremiah's point of view, switching from Ellie to Jeremaih on each chapter. Ellie is a shy, introverted fifteen year old girl that is dealing with a couple of issues. She is struggling to trust her mother, Marion, after she twice abandoned Ellie and her family. Ellie is having a difficult time forgiving her mother because she believes that her mother will leave again and never come back. Ellie is also very lonely since she is the only child : her twin brother and sister were ten and her older brother and sister were already in college when she was born. Jeremiah is an intelligent but often confused fifteen year old boy dealing with his prestigious parents much publicized divorce, feeling alone (he is also the only child), and coming to terms with being a black boy in a society where your not always accepted.

Although the book is somewhat short, its really good (warning: This book is kind of like a modern-day "Romeo & Juliet", so prepare for a little crying). I love that the book isn't exclusively a romance book;it discusses issues like abandonment, divorce, loneliness, and accepting not only others, but yourself. I enjoy the fact that it refers to time- how it doesn't wait for anyone , so you should do what makes you happy so that you wont live a life of "what if's". What I enjoyed most out of this book is that it demonstrates that love can happen between anyone of any race... love doesn't pertain to color.