--- description: Find out why 'If You Come Softly' by Jacqueline Woodson is on TIME's list of best YA books of all time. title: 'If You Come Softly' Is on TIME’s List of the 100 Best YA Books image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4bae429b0e090bb/698a1bb2b3fce3b0900c82a7/if-you-come-softly-best-YA-book.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Aug 11, 2021 # If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  [Jacqueline Woodson](https://time.com/5935434/brit-bennett-jasmine-guillory-jacqueline-woodson-interview/ "undefined") has had a remarkable career. A 2020 MacArthur “Genius Grant” honoree with a National Book Award, five NAACP Image Awards and four Newbery Medals, she has spent the past three decades publishing[ celebrated literary fiction](https://time.com/5680996/jacqueline-woodson-red-at-the-bone/ "undefined"), poetry and, most famously, a wide variety of books for children and teens. _If You Come Softly_, a Romeo-and-Juliet variation published in 1998 and set in New York City, is a particular highlight of her young-adult output. Fifteen-year-old protagonist Jeremiah, a gifted Black boy from Brooklyn, feels painfully out of place as a new student at a posh Manhattan prep school. That is, until he finds love at first sight with a white, Jewish classmate named Ellie. Woodson infuses their romance with the emotional urgency that defines her work and a prescient sense of social justice_,_ zooming in on topics such as[ white privilege](https://time.com/5846072/black-people-protesting-white-people-responsible-what-happens-next/ "undefined") and[ police violence against Black youth](https://time.com/5848318/black-lives-matter-activists-tactics/ "undefined")_. If You Come Softly_ helped paved the way for a new generation of politically aware, best-selling YA books from authors like[ Angie Thomas](https://time.com/5875827/author-angie-thomas-time-100-talks/ "undefined") and[ Tomi Adeyemi](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888211/tomi-adeyemi/ "undefined"). —_Judy Berman_ **Buy Now:** _If You Come Softly_ on[ Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780142415221 "undefined") |[ Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142415227/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0142415227&linkId=7a30d4209799479e13cb85dfffd3babf "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6084565/if-you-come-softly/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6084565/if-you-come-softly/"},"headline":"If You Come Softly","datePublished":"2021-08-11T11:41:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:52:48.034Z","description":"Find out why 'If You Come Softly' by Jacqueline Woodson is on TIME's list of best YA books of all time.","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6084565/if-you-come-softly/","keywords":["Books","list","best YA books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4bae429b0e090bb/698a1bb2b3fce3b0900c82a7/if-you-come-softly-best-YA-book.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4bae429b0e090bb/698a1bb2b3fce3b0900c82a7/if-you-come-softly-best-YA-book.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6084565/if-you-come-softly/","name":"If You Come Softly"}}]}] ```