NewYorkCityinthe1960sisthehummingbackdropforthispoignant,grittystoryaboutagirlwhoseesherparentsasflawedhumanbeingsforthefirsttime,andfindsthecouragetomakeafreshstart.Missy’smotherhasgonebacktoschooltopursueherdreamofbecominganartist.Missy’sfatherworksinadvertisingandtakesMissyonsecretmidnightexcursionstoHarlemandtheVillagesoshecansharehisloveofjazz.Thetwowritepoemsforeachother--poemsthatgraduallybecomeanexchangeofapologiesasMissy’sfather’salcoholanddrugaddictionbeginstotakeovertheirlives.WhenMissy’smotherfinallydecidesthatsheandherdaughtermustmakeafreshstart,Missyhastoleaveheroldapartment,herschool,herbestfriendandhercatsandbecomealatchkeykidwhilehermothergetsajob.Butshewon’tgiveupontryingtosaveherfamily,eventhoughthiswillinvolveahardjourneyfrominnocencetoaction,andfinallyacceptance.Basedontheeventsandpeopleofherownchildhood,AmandaLewis’sgorgeousnovelisdrivenbyMissy’sirresistible,optimisticvoice,buoyedbytheundercurrentsofpoetryandmusic.KeyTextFeaturespoemsdialogueliteraryreferencesepigraphvignettes
