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A Fictionalized Memoir Of Hope And Survival
Riverhead
March 2008
On Sale: February 28, 2008
304 pages
ISBN: 1594489777
EAN: 9781594489778
Hardcover
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Fiction
A stunning memoir of a mixed-race girl growing up in
gang-ridden South Central Los Angeles, where she followed
her foster brothers into the Bloods before she hit puberty:
what she witnessed, how she survived, and-against all
odds-thrived.
This is a powerful portrait of
life in L.A.'s gangland and drug trade as told through one
household: a single, overworked grandmother, her two
grandsons (who drop out of school and become Bloods before
puberty), her two crack-baby granddaughters, and the foster
child-the author-who comes to live with them at age eight,
joins the gang, and then defies the odds, using education to
climb her way out.
After her two foster brothers
were "jumped in" by the Bloods at ages twelve and thirteen,
Margaret-renamed "Bree" in her new street life-followed
their example. At twelve she was making deliveries for local
dealers in the gang. For her thirteenth birthday she
received her own gun. At sixteen, forced to find a way to
keep the water from being shut off in her foster home, she
learned to cook crack cocaine. Soon after, she fell in love
for the first time, dating a seasoned gang member until he
was sentenced to life in prison. We observe the lives of
these characters from childhood through adolescence and into
early adulthood. For some, this means following a trajectory
of crime, pregnancy, imprisonment-and ultimately, death. But
for Margaret, her obvious intelligence, will, and
tenacity-aided by sheer luck-enable her to break free, to
graduate from high school, and then college. The strength of
this book is testament to the remarkable adult she has
become.
This unvarnished, humanizing portrait of
people living in urban poverty transcends both statistics
and stereotypes, and reveals the power of family in a
chaotic world-and the poignancy of smart, philosophical
teens who dream of a safer life waiting for them beyond the
streets.
Author NoteThis memoir has been changed to "fiction" and was recalled by the publisher.
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