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From School Library Journal
Grade 7-9-Raspberry Hill, 13, loves money. She sells clearance holiday candy and pencils, and keeps her lunch money rather than eat. She hoards every dime she can gather and hides her cash in her room. Greed drives her and is more important than friends, boys, or her mother's love. Ever since her father got involved with drugs and she and her mother lived on the streets for a while, cash makes her feel safe. She and her mother now have a place of their own, but life in the projects is hardly ideal. Everybody has problems: Mai Kim, with her mixed heritage; Ja'nae, whose mother deserted her; the bothersome neighbors, Check and Shoe, who help drug dealers in order to eat. When Raspberry's mother finds her stash, she thinks it's stolen, and throws it out the window. Everything else-furniture, dishes, and clothes-is stolen from their apartment and the teen and her mother are on the street again. Raspberry then has to face the questions in her life and work with her mother toward possible solutions. Flake does a stunning job of intertwining Raspberry's story with daily urban scenes, and she writes smoothly and knowingly of teen problems, discussions, and reactions. Focused storytelling, clear writing, and a compelling voice are the highlights of this short novel.
From School Library Journal
Grade 7-9-Raspberry Hill, 13, loves money. She sells clearance holiday candy and pencils, and keeps her lunch money rather than eat. She hoards every dime she can gather and hides her cash in her room. Greed drives her and is more important than friends, boys, or her mother's love. Ever since her father got involved with drugs and she and her mother lived on the streets for a while, cash makes her feel safe. She and her mother now have a place of their own, but life in the projects is hardly ideal. Everybody has problems: Mai Kim, with her mixed heritage; Ja'nae, whose mother deserted her; the bothersome neighbors, Check and Shoe, who help drug dealers in order to eat. When Raspberry's mother finds her stash, she thinks it's stolen, and throws it out the window. Everything else-furniture, dishes, and clothes-is stolen from their apartment and the teen and her mother are on the street again. Raspberry then has to face the questions in her life and work with her mother toward possible solutions. Flake does a stunning job of intertwining Raspberry's story with daily urban scenes, and she writes smoothly and knowingly of teen problems, discussions, and reactions. Focused storytelling, clear writing, and a compelling voice are the highlights of this short novel.
Good young adult fiction.
This is a good book for a young reluctant reader, as is Begging For Change which is the sequel. Flake does a very good job of making the reader see themselves in the characters are enabling the reader to sympathize.
