In the same vein as Kalisha Buckhanon's critically acclaimed debut novel
Upstate, here she again shares an emotionally beautiful story about today's youth that magnifies the unforgettable power of hope and the human spirit.
Buckhanon takes us to Chicago, circa 1992, and into the life of 15-year-old Shivana Montgomery, who believes all black women wind up the same: single and raising children alone, like her mother. Until the sudden visit of her beautiful and free-spirited Aunt Jewel, Shivana spends her days desperately struggling to understand life and the growing pains of her environment. When she accidentally becomes pregnant by an older man and must decide what to do, she begins a journey towards adulthood with only a mysterious voice inside to guide her.
When she falls in love with Rasul, a teenager with problems of his own, they together fight to rise above their circumstances and move toward a more positive future.
Through the voice of the unborn child and a narrative sweeping from slavery onward, Buckhanon narrates Shivana's connection to a past history of black women who found themselves at the mercy of tragic circumstances.
