In the tumult of 1970s New York City, kids are expected to figure out
issues of race that adults haven't when seventh graders are bused from
their neighborhood in Queens to integrate a new school in South
Jamaica.
Jamila, Josie, and Francesca are three mixed-race girls who have always
felt like outsiders in their mostly white neighborhood in Queens, but at
least they have each other. Now it's seventh grade, and they're part of
an experiment where kids will go on a long bus ride to integrate a new
school in a black neighborhood. Maybe there the three girls can finally
fit in.
But Francesca's parents put her in private school. And Jamila and Josie
discover that they're not even in the same classes.
How do they find their place in a school divided between black and
white? And what about the boys wanting to be friends--and maybe more?
Can kids come together when grown-ups stay apart?
In this tender story of friendship and family love, award-winning author
Marina Budhos captures what it's like to tip from twelve to thirteen and
to try to carry the dreams of adults.