Synopses & Reviews
Readers cannot help but cheer for Dellie and the little boy who helps pull her family together. Rich secondary characters add depth and dimension to this fast-paced tale of bereavement, forgiveness and healing.”Kirkus Reviews
Ever since her brother's death, Dellie's life has been quiet and sad. Her mother cries all the time, and Dellie lives with the horrible guilt that the accident that killed her brother may have been all her fault.
But Dellie's world begins to change when new neighbors move into her housing project building. Suddenly, men are fighting on the stoop and gunfire is sounding off in the night. In the middle of all that trouble is Corey, an abused five-year-old boy, who's often left home alone and hungry. Dellie strikes up a dangerous friendship with this little boy who reminds her so much of her brother. She wonders if she can do for Corey what she couldn't do for her brothersave him.
Review
PRAISE FOR DANETTE VIGILANTE:
"Readers cannot help but cheer for Dellie and the little boy who helps pull her family together. Rich secondary characters add depth and dimension to this fast-paced tale of bereavement, forgiveness and healing."—Kirkus Reviews
"What will grab readers in this first novel is realistic sense of the diverse neighborhood community, both rough and caring. With lots of fast, immediate dialouge, the characters' grief, anger, and heartbreaking coming-to-terms are realistic."—Booklist
"Vigilante has a nice way with subplots and solid daily life details that bring the book particular warmth...the story is told with considerable appeal and accessibility, and kids won't have to lead the same life as Dellie to recognize her travails."—BCCB
"Dellie's story will speak to young people who've needed a little faith to get them through tough times. Interesting scenarios, like the cloaked Jamaican woman who moves in next door, provide interest to an already well-developed story."—School Library Journal
Synopsis
As she did in her debut, award-winning novel "Tyrell," Booth creates the vivid voice of a teen trying to find her place in the world, even though nothing (not family, not friendship, not sex, not love) is what she thought it would be.
Synopsis
The acclaimed author of TYRELL returns to PUSH with a striking novel about a mother and daughter who are only fourteen years apart, but need to learn to understand each other before it's too late.
Kendra's mom, Renee, had her when she was only 14 years old. Renee and her mom made a deal -- Renee could get an education, and Kendra would live with her grandmother. But now Renee's out of grad school and Kendra's in high school ... and getting into some trouble herself. Kendra's grandmother lays down the law: It's time for Renee to take care of her daughter. Kendra wants this badly -- even though Renee keeps disappointing her. Being a mother isn't easy, but being a daughter can be just as hard. Now it's up to Kendra and Renee to make it work.
About the Author
Coe Booth is a graduate of The New Schools Writing for Children MFA program, and a winner of the L.A. Times Book Prize for Young Adult Fiction. She is the author of Tyrell and Kendra, and was born and still lives in the Bronx.