Ratings

Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content

Guide to Rating System

LANGUAGE

VIOLENCE

SEXUAL CONTENT

ADULT THEMES

Rating Explanation

Language: Handful of swear words

Violence: Fist fight

Sexual content: A boy notices a girl’s body, commenting on her hips and stomach beneath a tight shirt. This is very brief, only part of one sentence.

Adult Themes: Teenager smoking. Teenager offered drugs, but declines. Teenage boy and father argue. There is some family tension.

Synopsis

Hakeem has a good life in California, but now his family is moving to Detroit to live with his uncle’s family. Hakeem and his cousin Savon are the same age and they used to be close, but now they can’t get along. Hakeem knows something is going on with Savon, and it isn’t good. He always seems to have new shoes and CDs, and a lot of cash. One night Hakeem decides to follow Savon and find out what he’s up to. Hakeem is in for a big surprise.

After reading the blurb on the back of the book, I was expecting more objectionable material but I was pleasantly surprised. I thought the book did a good job of portraying the tension of this extended family situation, with the message of relying on and trusting family coming through in the end.

©2009 The Literate Mother