What Momma Left Me - Hardcover

Watson, Renée

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1599904462 ISBN 13: 9781599904467

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens, 2010

Synopsis

Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Award winner Renée Watson's heart-tugging debut celebrates one girl's gift for finding joy in dark places.

Serenity knows she is good at keeping secrets, and she's got a whole lifetime's worth of them. Her mother is dead, her father is gone, and starting life over at her grandparents' house is strange. Luckily, certain things seem to hold promise: a new friend, a new church, a new school. But when her brother starts making poor choices, and her grandparents believe in a faith that Serenity isn't sure she understands, it is the power of love that will keep her sure of just who she is.

About this title

About the Author

RENÉE WATSON is the Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Award-winning author of the novels Piecing Me Together, This Side of Home, What Momma Left Me, Betty Before X, co-written with Ilyasah Shabazz, and two picture books: Harlem's Little Blackbird and A Place Where Hurricanes Happen. Renée is the founder of I, Too, Arts Collective, a nonprofit committed to nurturing underrepresented voices in the creative arts. She lives in New York City.
www.reneewatson.net
@harlemportland (Instagram)

From School Library Journal

Gr 5-8–When Serenity's mother is killed and her father disappears, the girl and her brother, Danny, move in with their grandmother and grandfather, who is the pastor at the Restoration Baptist Church. While dealing with her tumultuous loss, Serenity learns the importance of making wise choices at the same moment her brother begins falling in with the wrong crowd. Starting fresh at a new school holds promising beginnings for Serenity when she makes a new friend and becomes involved with the youth ministry at her grandfather's church. Religion and faith play a large part in their lives. Serenity Evans is a strong African-American character who will resonate with girls who are facing transitions of their own, large or small. Danny's friend's murder near the end of the book creates a disjointed finish to an otherwise well-written novel, but does not detract from the plot development. The overall message of staying true to one's self is strong and reassuring. This debut novel is an excellent choice for libraries serving urban populations, as well as those serving faith-based communities.Stephanie Malosh, Donoghue Elementary School, Chicago, IL
© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1599904462
• ISBN 13: 9781599904467
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240