Choosing Joi: An Adoptee’s Journey and Finding Belonging

When Joi sees yet ANOTHER bad movie on TV about an adoptee, she decides that it’s time for her to tell the story about her adoption. The perfect opportunity comes at school when her group is asked to do a play about Family. But standing up for your truth, and fighting the world’s image of you, is tough to do all by yourself, and Joi soon feels discouraged when her idea is shot down. Things change when new boy Elijah arrives, and Joi finds out they have something unique in common. Can Joi fix their friendship when it is tested and stay true to herself?

I wasn’t expected, I was selected…

Joi has always known that she was adopted. She’d always been told that her birth mother loved her but hadn’t been able to take care of her. But it’s hard for Joi to keep believing that truth when the only stories she sees about adoption are negative and even harder when her classmates believe those stories, too. When Joi’s idea for a class play is made fun of by a mean boy, Michael, Joi is torn between fighting to tell her truth or bowing to peer pressure. She is dreading class until she meets new boy Elijah and finds out that he is being fostered. However, her new friendship with Elijah is in jeopardy when Michael, the bully, eavesdrops on their conversation and uses Elijah’s private story in the play. After Elijah keeps avoiding Joi, she finally confronts him to try and tell him the truth. But Elijah lashes out in anger and says things that shake Joi to her core and make her question who she is and where she belongs. Feeling alone, Joi almost gives up her dream of sharing her story. But love always heals, and with the help of her mom, Joi is inspired to be open and make her truth heard.