A poignant and frank novel set in Ghana, told from the point of view of a disarmingly forthright teenaged girl.
When sixteen-year-old Gloria fails thirteen out of fifteen subjects on her final exams, her future looks bleak indeed. Her family's resources are meager so the entire family is thrilled when a distant relative, Christine, offers to move Gloria north to Kumasi to look after her toddler son. In exchange, after two years, Christine will pay for Gloria to go to school.
Life in Kumasi is more grand than anything Gloria has ever experienced. She joins a youth band at church and Christine has even promised to teach her to read. But Kumasi is also full of temptations -- the owner of a popular clothing shop encourages her to buy on credit, and the smooth-talking Dr. Kusi offers Gloria rides in his sports car. Eventually Gloria is betrayed by the people around her and is disillusioned by her new life. But in the end she decides who she can trust, and draws on her own considerable inner resources to put the bad experiences behind her.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6
Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.
When sixteen-year-old Gloria fails thirteen out of fifteen subjects on her final exams, her future looks bleak indeed. Her family's resources are meager so the entire family is thrilled when a distant relative, Christine, offers to move Gloria north to Kumasi to look after her toddler son, Sam. In exchange, after two years, Christine will pay for Gloria to go to dressmaking school.
Life in Kumasi is more grand than anything Gloria has ever experienced. She joins a youth band at church -- something that allows her to pursue her great love, singing -- and Christine has even promised to teach her to read.
But Kumasi is also full of temptations -- the owner of a popular clothing shop encourages her to buy clothes on credit, and the smooth-talking Dr. Kusi offers Gloria rides in his red sports car. Eventually Gloria is betrayed by the people around her and is disillusioned by her new life. But in the end she decides who she can trust, and draws her own considerable inner resources to put the bad experiences behind her.
A CCBC Best Book for Kids & Teens, 2011
"This honest glimpse of one adolescent is as particular to the well-detailed West African setting as it is universal in subject and theme." —The Horn Book
"The story provides a fascinating glimpse into a culture…" —School Library Journal
"Badoe's sharp and engaging prose unfolds the story with spryness, deftly navigating readers through heady social issues." — Kirkus
