Forged by Fire is a novel for young adults written by Sharon M. Draper. It is the second book in the Hazelwood High trilogy, which focuses on the lives of high schoolers in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was first published in 1997 and won the Coretta Scott King Award. Forged by Fire focuses on the life of Gerald Nickelby, a young African American boy, and his struggles with physical and emotional abuse.

Plot Summary

Gerald lives with his mother in Cincinnati, Ohio. His mother, Monique, is an addict who beats him and neglects him. One night, Monique leaves him home alone and three-year-old Gerald accidently sets a fire in the apartment. After the fire, the family decides that Gerald will live with his mother’s aunt, Aunt Queen. Monique goes to prison for abandoning her son.

Six years go by, and Gerald enjoys his new life with Aunt Queen. However, on his ninth birthday, Aunt Queen tells him that his mother has been released from prison and would like to see him. Although Gerald is reluctant, he reunites with his mother and meets her new husband, Jordan, and their daughter, Angel; Monique was pregnant while she was in prison. Gerald does not get along with Jordan, but he quickly warms to Angel. Monique asks Gerald if he would like to live with them, which upsets Gerald. He doesn’t want to go with them. Aunt Queen can tell that Angel has been neglected while living with Monique and Jordan, and she decides to take in both children. However, Aunt Queen is in poor health and wheelchair-bound with arthritis. She dies of a heart attack before she can confront Monique.

Gerald goes to live with Angel, Monique, and Jordan. He and Angel refer to his mother and Jordan by their first names. Jordan is very abusive. He often hits Monique and Gerald, and he’s sexually abusive towards Angel. When Gerald and Angel confront Monique about Jordan’s abuse, she’s defensive and quick to deny it. Gerald and Angel quickly become each other’s allies.

Having no one else to turn to, Gerald talks with his classmate’s father, Mr. Washington. He tells him about the abuse he and his sister have experienced at home. Jordan is then arrested, brought to court, and sentenced to a few years in prison. Monique remains resentful of the children for sending Jordan to prison. Six years go by, Angel takes dance classes and finds it very therapeutic, and Gerald joins the basketball team. However, Gerald and Angel come home one night to find Jordan sitting on the couch. He’s out of prison and determined to move back in.

Monique is thrilled that Jordan is back and urges her children to see how he has changed, but Gerald and Angel are skeptical. One night, Monique goes to pick up cigarettes for Jordan and is hit by a car. She survives, but it takes her a long time to recover. She becomes addicted to pain pills, which Jordan supplies. Gerald’s friends from the basketball team, Rob and Andy, get into a car accident. Rob does not survive the crash, and Gerald is distraught.

Not long after the funeral, Jordan comes home drunk and tries to assault Angel while she’s home alone. As they wrestle, a couple of hot dogs Angel put on the stove begin to burn, and the entire apartment catches fire. Gerald returns home from a basketball game and sees smoke coming from the apartment. He rushes upstairs and finds Angel and Jordan in the smoke. Gerald and Jordan fight in the apartment, and Gerald tries to lead Angel out. As Gerald and Angel head out the front door, they notice a large object blocking the doorway, and they go over it before passing out.

Angel and Gerald wake up in an ambulance with Monique. A police officer tells them that Jordan slipped and fell during the fire and died. Gerald realizes that Jordan was the object blocking the door, which saved their lives since they did not inhale the smoke overhead. With Jordan gone, Monique, Gerald, and Angel ride toward the hospital and plan for a new chapter together.