Keesha's House

Frost, H. (2003). Keesha's House. N.p.: Frances Foster Books.

Keesha's house is a story about the lives of 6 main characters. Each character has a different story, but they all are similar in the fact that they are all street kids, who have been kicked out of their homes (everyone but Stephie and Jason, who get pregnant at 16 and then lose their baby). The essence of the story is that despite the struggles of life, that you can always find a place of home in your mind, and that home is a place with other people you care about.

The book drew me into the story almost immediately. The tragic situations of the characters made you wonder about their lives and what was going to happen next. The story really brings out empathy to the reader and makes them care about people going through these same issues. The story has some mature situations and content. I would recommend this book for mature 12+ year old's. The age limit on the book really has to do with the student's personal life experiences. Many student's will be able to relate to these stories; whereas some student's may never have had to deal with these situations and the story may be emotionally difficult for them, teacher or adult guidance is a must.

The author uses a diversity of characters and contexts. The characters all came from different economic home lives and racial diversities. The thing that connected them all was their situation. This is a great lesson for older pre-teen children as they discover that many student's are going through difficult times as well. The author also wrote an author's note in the back of the book as well as some additional information regarding the text.

I would use this book to help student's converse about the importance of community and our personal stories. The lesson would be about how our personal stories have an impact on those around us and ourselves and stick with the world forever. The choices they make today will impact future generations forever, and can be either a positive or a negative effect depending on how we use our lives. I would particularly suggest this book to a struggling reader or poverty/foster/gay/pregnant/social activist/religious interest reader. There are issues regarding so many of these subjects and they can be analyzed from many different viewpoints.

This is a great read. Once again, just be advised the book carries some strong and controversial issues including death, teen pregnancy, foster living situations, juvenile detention center, and sexually abusive step-father. 

lexile: np

Literary Elements:

Tone: Sad, hopeful, communal, teamwork, helpful
Setting: Abandoned and displaced children in a city, living in a house together- running away from a variety of homes, bad situations
Characters: Bold, Strong, Discouraged but hopeful, Sad, Confused, Happy to be alive