“Kendra Williamson is fourteen years old and she attends North Bronx High School for Arts and Communications. She loves to draw houses and floor plans; a skill that will lead to a promising career in the future. She's not focusing a whole lot on future plans, though. The main thing that's on her mind, what she wants more than anything, is to spend more time with her mother, Renee.
Kendra lives with her Nana, Valerie. Renee, who gave birth to Kendra in ninth grade, missed ten years of her daughter's life while she finished high school, then college and then grad school. Now she's graduating from Princeton with a PhD and Kendra believes she will finally have a "real" mother. A mother who will be around for more than just minutes at a time and will care about the things she cares about. A mother who will want her. But, sadly, once Renee is back in the Bronx the neglect continues so, desperate for attention, Kendra makes a choice that surprises even her. A choice she regrets, but repeats even though she feels so bad about herself after the first time.
I felt so bad for Kendra. The girl goes out there and makes choices she probably wouldn't have made if somebody would have taken the time to talk to her and, most of all, truly love her. Her mother obviously loved herself more than she loved her daughter. Renee was only concerned about what she wanted and didn't give Kendra a second thought. I was so glad Kendra's Nana cared enough about her granddaughter to raise her. Valerie loved Kendra the best way she knew how, but her way was a bit controlling and smothering. And Kendra's dad, Kenny? Well, it seemed he was still trying to find his own way in the world.
The author was not playin' when she penned this novel. Teenagers are way more mature, way more knowledgeable these days and Coe Booth did not hold back when she wrote about the sexual experiences of her young characters. The things fourteen year old Kendra did really shocked me, and Nashawn Webb, the guy she was with, my goodness, this boy knew as much as a grown man! I was saddened by that, but the reality is there are young people who are growing up way too fast.
There is one thing I learned from reading this book that I did not care to know, and there was quite a bit of profanity to overlook, but this was a good story. And, like I mentioned before, Coe Booth was not playin'! So, if you can handle the truth about the choices "some" young people are making when it comes to sex, you might want to read this book. ”
