Dear Yvette

December 1, 2016

Gr 10 Up-It's 1989, and 16-year-old Yvette Simmons is living in the Douglas Gardens apartment complex in Newark, NJ, with her two-year-old baby, Kamari, and Nana, to whom she isn't related. When Kamari's father tells Yvette that she's been accused of snitching by a former friend, Yvette fights her ex-friend at a bus stop, cutting up her face. Yvette is charged with assault with a deadly weapon, but she takes a plea deal to live with Kamari in a "professional parent home" in Norfolk, VA. Yvette is used to being abandoned by adults. Her mother, a crack addict, has been in and out of her life. After Yvette's arrest, Nana decides she wants nothing to do with Kamari. Even Yvette's old friends won't help her. So the plea deal is her only good option, and she and Kamari live with Ms. Glo and another teen, Tasha. At first, Yvette has her guard up and has several angry outbursts, but over time, she makes friends, has a romantic relationship, and learns to love living with Ms. Glo and Tasha. Simone develops Yvette into a nuanced character who, over time, sees that she can handle her problems in ways that are different from how they're dealt with on the streets of Newark. Many teens will also enjoy the 1980s street slang and fashion references. VERDICT This series installment is sure to be a hit with YA readers who like problem novels, realistic titles, and urban fiction.-Adrienne L. Strock, Nashville Public Library

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2016
Grades 9-12 In her latest, Simone tackles the topic of second-generation families wounded by the 1980s drug epidemic in the African American community. Yvette Lavonne Simmons is a 16-year-old mother living in Da Bricks, a tough housing project in New Jersey. Yvette has no stable family, a dismal homelife, and no guidance from her absentee drug-addict parents. After a street fight ends in a second-degree murder charge, her case worker, Janette, sends Yvette and her child to a professional parent home in Norfolk, Virginia. It is here that she is given the opportunity to start over under the guidance of the stern and loving Aunt Glo. Other characters, such as housemate Tasha and romantic suitor Brooklyn, also help Yvette through her self-awakening. Simone cleverly uses the music and culture of the era as a colorful backdrop for Yvette's story. High-school teachers, librarians, and social workers can effectively bring this book to the attention of troubled teens. A must-read for teen street-literature fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)