Something Noble

February 15, 2012
From the time she became a mother at 16, Linda has had to struggle. Mostly on her own, she has to pay the bills, raise her two sons, and keep them safe in the dangerous neighborhood where they live. However, her oldest son, Dre, is in for the struggle for his life as he waits for a kidney transplant. Linda will do anything to save him and provide the future he deserves, even if it means seeking out his half brother, a local drug dealer who robbed her at knifepoint the year before. In this latest in the Rapid Reads series from Orca's Raven Books imprint, Kowalski works hard to create a character his audience can relate to; Linda's ability to push beyond her poverty to help her son will no doubt strike a chord with some reluctant adult readers. Although some tertiary charactersnamely Dre's incarcerated deadbeat fatherare broadly drawn stereotypes, the author rises to the challenge of creating surprising depth within the scant 128 pages he's afforded.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)