Selected as the first Book in Common at Mississippi University for Women, this compelling story helped trigger campus-wide discussions on race relations and child abuse. Lonely Feena Harvey, a teenager who cannot stand by and watch bad things happen, sees a toddler being slapped and kicked, then abandoned by his mother. When Feena kidnaps the baby to save him, she finds an unlikely ally in Raylene Watson, popular, outgoing, and African American. The two girls, miles apart, socially and emotionally, skip school to take care of Christopher. But how long can this mismatched pair of guardians keep their secret? Especially once the police join the search for the baby?

**

### From Publishers Weekly

Hawes (Rosey in the Present Tense) opens this affecting and honest novel with the loss of a baby brother, Christy, to SIDS, described from the point of view of a four-year-old girl. Feena, now 14, has recently moved from Connecticut to Florida with her divorced mother, a soap opera addict. The lonely, bookish Feena repeatedly witnesses the abuse of a toddler, also named Christopher, in the amusement park adjacent to her home. When the mother seemingly abandons the child, Feena takes him and secretly cares for him. As implausible as this story line may be, Hawes tells it with heart. Feena is a painfully believable character, as is her surprising new friend and co-conspirator, Raylene. Hawes's flowing prose and vivid characterization of the popular and seemingly unapproachable Raylene (she moves like an "African goddess" and "[speaks] sparingly in class, but with a tongue of fire in the halls") carry the novel to its complicated end. When Feena returns Christopher to his mother, it is only after confronting her own capacity for violence. Skillfully interweaving Raylene's story, Feena's past and present experiences, and their literary heroines, Hawes delivers a rewarding read. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

### From School Library Journal

Grade 7-9-Feena Harvey's life changes dramatically when her baby brother, Christy, falls victim to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Not only does the 14-year-old grieve for the baby, but also for additional losses in her life: her father leaves the family, she and her mother move to Florida, and her mother retreats into alcohol and soap operas. One day the girl watches a toddler being abused both physically and verbally. When his mother follows through on a threat to abandon him, Feena rushes in and comforts him, taking him with her. Is she a rescuer or a kidnapper? With the help of a girl from school, she hides him in an abandoned structure and the teens alternate skipping school to care for Christy for nearly three weeks. Finally she goes to the trailer court where Christy's mother, Delores, resides and learns of the cycle of abuse that is her life. Feena realizes, however, that the child loves his mother, and makes a disturbing agreement with her: she'll return him and not report anything to the social-service authorities, as long as Delores doesn't go to the police. When Feena returns to the trailer park to visit, she discovers that Delores and Christy have left. This novel deals poignantly with grief, loss, and the healing process. Feena's solitude and loneliness are nearly palpable; her impulsive act understandable. Hawes's writing is distinctive, with many wonderful turns of phrase and beautiful images. Her main characters are memorable and well developed, which helps avoid the novel's falling into the melodramatic that it hovers over precariously. Readers will feel empathy for Feena and for Christy. Perhaps that's why one must worry about his future.
*Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME*
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.