Title: Keesha’s House
Author: Helen Frost
Series: N/A
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Publish Date: 2003
Genre: YA Poetry
Pages: 118
Source: Bought
Buy the Book: Keesha’s House
Synopsis: Keesha has found a safe place to live, and other kids gravitate to her house when they just can’t make it on their own. They are Stephie – pregnant, trying to make the right decisions for herself and those she cares about; Jason – Stephie’s boyfriend, torn between his responsibility to Stephie and the baby and the promise of a college basketball career; Dontay – in foster care while his parents are in prison, feeling unwanted both inside and outside the system; Carmen – arrested on a DUI charge, waiting in a juvenile detention center for a judge to hear her case; Harris – disowned by his father after disclosing that he’s gay, living in his car, and taking care of himself; Katie – angry at her mother’s loyalty to an abusive stepfather, losing herself in long hours of work and school.
Stretching the boundaries of traditional poetic forms – sestinas and sonnets – Helen Frost’s extraordinary debut novel for young adults weaves together the stories of these seven teenagers as they courageously struggle to hold their lives together and overcome their difficulties. (Via Amazon)
Brian’s Review: This was one of those unexpected, pleasing finds, when I perused the local Grassroots Books and found a Michael L. Printz nominee not in the YA section, but in the children’s section. On sale for that day for only 49 cents (!), I immediately snatched it up. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t even see what the book’s about, what genre it is, etc. If it’s got the Printz label, I snatch it up! It truly is like a treasure hunt each and every time. This is definitely the slimmest Printz book I’ve ever seen, at 118 pages, but author Frost packs in a lot in this short but rewarding reading time!
I read Keesha’s House in one sitting a few nights ago, a cup of Sleepytime Tea on my nightstand, my cat resting in my lap, and I have to admit it was a very calming, pleasurable experience! The story is told in eight parts, with different kinds of poems, about a group of troubled kids who all move into a house and try to collectively help each other get better. All are teenagers, and all have very different but very relatable problems for teens nowadays. One is Stephie, who gets pregnant in the tenth grade. One is Dontay, a kid being moved around from one foster home to another. One is Harris, who comes out as gay and becomes disowned by his bigoted father. And one is Keesha herself, who brings all of these kids to a safe haven. In a very short amount of prose, we get to see these teenagers grow from existing in places of dread and fear, to finding futures that have nothing but endless possibilities. Author Frost also gives perspectives from some of these characters’ fathers and mothers and teachers. In the end we’re left with one of the best traits in life: hope.
I’m not a big poetry reader, but I had a good time plowing through this short book, and when I turned the final page, I could see why it was chosen to be a Printz honoree. I have yet to read a Printz book that has disappointed me. Keesha’s House was a fine read, and one I’d love to see taught in high school level poetry classes.
