by Kristin Lattany (Author)
African-American teen Louretta Hawkins discovers music and, through it, the worth of her black identity. She navigates an urban world of poverty, overcrowding, hostile police, and feuding gangs to emerge triumphant, secure in her talent and in the love of her family and friends.
Winner of the Council on Interracial Books for children award as the year's best book for older children. "Packs a wallop Taut, fast-moving, absorbing, and believable, it probes with honest realism the problems of a wide range of unforgettable characters This powerful book deserves wide reading."-Book World
Author Biography
Kristin Lattany started her writing career when she was fourteen years old with a regular column in the black weekly, the Pittsburgh Courier. She has been an advertising copywriter, a city information officer, and a senior lecturer in English at the University of Pennsylvania. Her adult books include God Bless the Child, The Landlord, and Kinfolks. She is also the author of a Collection of short stories for young people. Guests in the Promised Land, and is the recipient of numerous awards, including The Council on Interracial Books for Children Prize and the Moonstone Black Writing Celebration Lifetime Achievement Award.