Lena

Jacqueline Woodson is the 2018-2019 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature

The companion to the Coretta Scott King Honor-winning I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This, now available in paperback.

At the end of I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This, Marie's friend Lena and her little sister Dion run away to escape their abusive father, leaving Marie full of longing and readers full of questions. Now those questions are answered.

After cutting off all their hair, Lena and Dion leave one evening as the sun sets. Disguised as boys, they set out in search of their mother's family. But will they ever make it? Whom can two young girls trust? They can't afford to make even one mistake.

Now, Lena tells what happened to the two girls out in the world, and of their search for a place to belong and the home they dream of and deserve.