If You Come Softly — Jacqueline Woodson

IT STARTED, LIKE MANY THINGS START, WITH A GLANCE. . . .

Jeremiah and Elisha. Miah and Ellie. Those are their names -- but words are fragile and illusory. They could both tell you about the moment they first saw each other, in the crowded hallway at Percy Academy, the private school they each unwillingly attend; they could track the days and the moments until they were alone, together, and kissed for the first time. A first love is special and rare -- but the world around Ellie and Miah doesn't see it like that. All they see is this: Ellie is Jewish. Miah is black. And, to the world, the word "love" means nothing.