Description

This gripping story about an abused girl, who uses an unlikely prototype of as a guide to a better life, acts as a sort of metaphor of social realism regarding the rise of the African Americans to greater prominence and wealth in modern society as a whole. The narrative, which is closely written, and uses a realistic version of African American speech soon draws us into the central dilemma of a child, who due to her light skin, is rejected by the other children in her school, this then leads to her being ostracized, bullied and at one point even her life is threatened.

When she retaliates, in order to save herself, the system unfairly punishes her. She is sentenced to juvenile detention. In many cases that would be the end of the story, with a predicted descent into a spiral of ever more crime and degradation. But two things save her from this likely future. Her own qualities of intelligence and determination and the interest taken in her by a lady child psychologist who encourages her in her studies even to the extent of standing by her in the years that follow.