Baby Girl »

All I can say is that I never thought it would come to this. I never thought I would run away. For some reason I thought you, of all people, would see and know.

Sheree has always been a tough girl, able to take care of herself. Then she finds herself in a situation where she can't. She needs help. She needs answers. But she can't get either from the people she she turns to — her parents, her friends, and especially, her boyfriend, who calls her Baby Girl and treats her like she's disposable.

So who can Sheree turn to? Maybe the answer lies deep within herself, and it's truly time for her to grow up.

In a voice that rings strong ant true, debut novelist Lenora Adams tells a story that is rich, complex, and achingly real.

VOYA

This debut novel, which consists of three letters, documents Sheree's tumultuous journey from innocence to maturity. Reared by a single, teen mother who allowed her to smoke cigarettes and marijuana before she reached high school, Sheree realizes that her view of the world is different from other young adults. When the novel begins, Sheree is living at Milagro House, a shelter for women and girls in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. There she is told that writing her thoughts and feelings will help her to make sense of her experiences. Her first letter is written to her mother and reveals a predictable plot that includes details of Sheree's failed attempts to find love and acceptance. This quest results in an unwanted child that she decides to have, hoping that he will love her. It is only after his birth while writing a letter to him that she realizes, "Babies don't give love, they take." Every adversity, misfortune, or hardship imaginable, from abortion and neglect to childbirth and post-partum depression, happens to Sheree. Her best friend Ange's life does not offer much relief to sensitive readers either. Ange, who is Italian and involved in an interracial relationship, becomes pregnant, has an abortion, does drugs, and is nearly thrown into jail. Despite the familiarity of the plot and unrealistic changes in some of the characters, Sheree's racy language, tough-girl attitude, and eventual realization of self-love will urge readers to cheer for her and place this book alongside other portrayals of teen parents found in Jacqueline Woodson's The Dear One (Delacorte, 1991/VOYA October 1991), Like Sisters on the Homefront by Rita Williams-Garcia (Lodestar, 1995/VOYA April 1996), and AngelaJohnson's The First Part Last (Simon & Schuster, 2003/VOYA June 2003).