Just Another Hero (2009) is the final book in the Jericho Trilogy by Sharon M. Draper. Jericho, Kofi, November, Arielle, and Dana have faced tragedy and other ups and downs of life and high school since junior year. When a school shooting occurs, could these friends handle another potential tragedy?
Summary of Just Another Hero
Sharon M. Draper takes a look into the home lives of Arielle and Kofi. November returns to school after giving birth to her daughter Sunshine. Kofi has been accepted to MIT, but now he worries about how he will pay for it, and what will happen to his parents after he goes away to college. Kofi is also determined to kick an addiction to pain killers with Dana’s support.
It takes a series of events for Arielle to realize the errors of her ways and be welcomed back into her circle of friends. Jericho and Olivia have a strong relationship and they are the envy of everyone at their high school.
Suspicion grows when a string of thefts occur at school. Someone is also purposely pulling the fire alarms. Crazy Jack is the number one suspect for these fake fire drills, and continues to add to the chaos. However, people just ignore him and brush his antics off as normal. Osrick continues to be harassed by bullies, and the bullies decide to post the videos on the Internet.
Eddie returns from juvenile detention and creates tension amongst everyone especially for Dana and Kofi. Everyone grows tired of the fire drills and thefts, and Osrick comes up with a plan to catch the thief. When Crazy Jack shows up to class with a gun, everyone fears for their life.
A Look Back at Arielle Gresham
When we first meet Arielle in The Battle of Jericho, she seems like a girl who only cares about clothes and popularity. After the death of Jericho’s cousin Josh, she abruptly breaks up with him. She wasn’t there to support him in his time of need.
In November Blues, she criticizes November for being pregnant. Arielle also gives Olivia a hard time when she becomes friends with Jericho. She even spills food on Olivia in the cafeteria on one occasion. She doesn’t understand what Jericho sees in Olivia. Olivia may not be a size two like Arielle, but Jericho appreciates her for what she is on the inside instead of looking at the superficial. Arielle is embarrassed when her boyfriend Logan is arrested at school for distributing drugs to children.
In Just Another Hero, Arielle finds herself alone and her friends won’t even talk to her. Sharon M. Draper takes readers into Arielle's home life. On the outside, Arielle seems to have it all, but she lives an unhappy home life. Arielle and her mother are held accountable for every penny they spend. Arielle hates her stepfather Chad and how he treats her. After Arielle accidently spills coke on the carpet, Chad cuts off her allowance. When Arielle gets a credit card without permission and her iPhone is stolen, Chad forces her to get a job to pay him back. Chad also takes the car away from her mother after she gets into an accident. He punishes his own wife even though it wasn’t her fault. The downside to getting the job is that Arielle can’t keep her own money and has to hand over every single penny she earns to Chad.
One day, when Arielle arrives home with her friends, she discovers the place she once called home was completely empty. Arielle and her mother were left with nothing but the clothes on their back. They had to move into a homeless shelter because they had nowhere else to go.
Arielle has come a long way since the beginning of the series. At first she was superficial and untrustworthy. She only cared about herself and how she looked. I think readers will question if she really got what she deserved. Fortunately, Arielle saw the error of her ways and what was more important in life. Due to her character growth, she was able to mature as a person.
Source:
Draper, Sharon M. Draper
Just Another Hero
Atheneum /Simon Pulse
2009
(ISBN: 10-1416907017)
