Keesha has found a safe place to live, and other kids in her neighborhood gravitate towards her. She learns their stories, their trials, and their triumphs.
Publisher’s Description
An unforgettable narrative collage told in poems
Keesha has found a safe place to live, and other kids gravitate to her house when they just can’t make it on their own. They are Stephie – pregnant, trying to make the right decisions for herself and those she cares about; Jason – Stephie’s boyfriend, torn between his responsibility to Stephie and the baby and the promise of a college basketball career; Dontay – in foster care while his parents are in prison, feeling unwanted both inside and outside the system; Carmen – arrested on a DUI charge, waiting in a juvenile detention center for a judge to hear her case; Harris – disowned by his father after disclosing that he’s gay, living in his car, and taking care of himself; Katie – angry at her mother’s loyalty to an abusive stepfather, losing herself in long hours of work and school.
Stretching the boundaries of traditional poetic forms – sestinas and sonnets – Helen Frost’s extraordinary debut novel for young adults weaves together the stories of these seven teenagers as they courageously struggle to hold their lives together and overcome their difficulties.
Genre: Contemporary, short stories
Representation:
Gender:
Cis boys: Harris
Sexual Orientation:
Gay/Queer: Harris
Romantic Orientation:
Homoromantic: Harris
Race/Ethnicity:
Black: Harris
Trigger warnings: abuse, teen pregnancy, arrest, family rejection, homophobia, abuse, sexual assault/rape