Narrator Joniece Abbot-Pratt delivers a dynamic listening experience of a book originally published 25 years ago. When 14-year-old Gayle becomes pregnant again, her mother sends her to live with her uncle’s family in Georgia, along with her baby, José. Away from her friends, she’s stuck hanging out with her straitlaced cousin, Cookie, and caring for her dying grandmother, Great. Abbot-Pratt excels at adding personality to each character, switching seamlessly between Cookie’s clear enunciation, Gayle’s black vernacular, and Great’s low, gravelly timbre. Listeners will be endeared by Gayle’s candid tenacity as she discovers more about her roots through caring for Great. A heartwarming, authentic performance affirms the power of family. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

A streetwise teenage mother goes to live with religious relatives in Georgia in this "unusually perceptive, streetwise novel," said PW in a starred review. "The emotions ring true, as does the portrait of contemporary black culture." Ages 12-up. (Feb.)

Gr 7 Up-This is a wonderful book about going home again, about the strength of family love, and about the power of friendship. Gayle is a black 14-year-old mother who, when she becomes pregnant again, is sent South to do some growing up among relatives she doesn't know and doesn't particularly like. Streetwise, sullen, disrespectful, and angry, she gradually comes under the spell of her wise and very old great-grandmother. Great is feisty, quarrelsome, soils herself, and never leaves her room, but with her dying words gives Gayle the gift of both the past and the future. Gayle comes to know her aunt and uncle, and especially her cousin, but she also discovers what her mother must have been like as a young woman. This knowledge allows her to better understand the importance of family and friendship. Beautifully written, the text captures the cadence and rhythm of New York street talk and the dilemma of being poor, black, and uneducated. This is a gritty, realistic, well-told story that will make an excellent addition to YA fiction collections.-Carol Jones Collins, Montclair Kimberley Academy, NJ

Narrator Joniece Abbot-Pratt delivers a dynamic listening experience of a book originally published 25 years ago. When 14-year-old Gayle becomes pregnant again, her mother sends her to live with her uncle’s family in Georgia, along with her baby, José. Away from her friends, she’s stuck hanging out with her straitlaced cousin, Cookie, and caring for her dying grandmother, Great. Abbot-Pratt excels at adding personality to each character, switching seamlessly between Cookie’s clear enunciation, Gayle’s black vernacular, and Great’s low, gravelly timbre. Listeners will be endeared by Gayle’s candid tenacity as she discovers more about her roots through caring for Great. A heartwarming, authentic performance affirms the power of family. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine