Reviews
A tough, tender, bitter novel of a black girl struggling towards womanhood and survival
Meriwether's writing is beautiful, layered, and gutting
Louise Meriwether has told everyone who can read or feel what it means to be a black man or woman in this country . . . A considerable achievement
Beautiful, timeless and relevant
A remarkable heroine. Tough, resourceful, darting around Harlem with the number slips for her father tucked in her middy-blouse pocket, she is, at the same time, vulnerable, innocent, a dreamer . . . The novel's greatest achievement lies in the strong sense of black life that it conveys: the vitality and force behind the despair. It celebrates the positive values of the black experience: the tenderness and love that often underlie the abrasive surface of relationships . . . the humour that has long been an important part of the black survival kit, and the heroism of ordinary folk . . . A most important novel
