Teenie

February 1, 2011

Gr 7 Up-"The only constant in life is change. The sooner you understand that, the easier it will be for you to cope with hard times, learn from them and grow." For Teenie, this sage advice from her mother sets the tone for this coming-of-age story set in Brooklyn. Teenie is a small girl, only 100 pounds, but with big dreams. She hopes to earn a scholarship to study in Spain for a year, a dream that sets her apart from her friends, and even from her Barbadian parents, who love and care for her, but with their conservative outlook on life, fear letting her go. After a tumultuous year filled with potentially dangerous relationships, including a star athlete trying to force her into oral sex and a best friend who is accepting hundreds of dollars from an online "friend," Teenie realizes that change, although frightening, can also be a good thing when you have confidence in your choices and the support of family and friends. Realistic descriptions of teenage life and appealing characters make for an enjoyable reading experience.-Margaret Auguste, Franklin Middle School, Somerset, NJ

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2011
Grades 9-12 Fourteen-year-old Martine (Teenie) wants to go to Spain on an exchange program from her Brooklyn high school. Her strict and education-positive Caribbean islander parents (Dads from Barbados, Mom from Grenada) expect her to do better in school even though she gets mostly As, while her best friend, the product of a much less regulated household, is taking flirting to dangerous levels. Teenie deals with wanting to be with and like her friend while still respecting her own familys values, and first-time novelist Grant brings her problems as well as her perspective on them to life here. Teenie is rounded with compelling faults, virtues, and smarts, and although some of the boy characters are more stereotypical, this seems justified given Teenies viewpoint. When seductive bad boy Greg threatens her sense of self, she has to work hard to tell on him, but by the end of the story, she has the courage required. Smooth writing and vivid descriptions of feelings mark this story as easy to booktalk and deserving of attention whether or not the characters reflect the local teen population.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)