June 15, 2020
Can four friends weather the storms of friendship? KeeKee, Nia, Faith, and Eve want to save the beautiful Bahamian beach they've grown up on from developers who want to build a hotel, blocking local families' access. However, saving the beach is complicated. Faith's father works for Parliament and supports the development. Nia's mother is a local journalist who writes about protests against the hotel. KeeKee's father is an architect working on the new hotel. Eve's father's beachfront church is a pillar in the community. To top it all off, KeeKee's three friends harbor a crush on her brother, Toons. Each girl also has her own personal problems. Nia struggles to gain freedom from her overbearing mother and wants to know who her father is. Faith must be a caretaker for her mother, who struggles with debilitating dementia. Eve parents her younger brothers and sisters when her dad falls ill. And, KeeKee's whole world is rocked when she learns the truth about one of her parents. When a suspicious and devastating fire reduces the church to ashes, the girls must navigate friendship as their world changes. The author skillfully portrays tensions between maintaining community control and flavor against economic expansion. The protagonists have varied talents and interests, exhibit creativity and drive, and offer nuanced insights into the diversity of black communities outside the U.S. A heartwarming and sincere journey following four girls as they mature into their friendship. (Fiction. 14-18)
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July 1, 2020
Gr 8 Up-Pinder Street, on the Caribbean island of Nassau, is changing. A hotel just bought up the last stretch of beach where the locals could go to relax. But it's not just the hotel that is changing in the neighborhood; old friendships are put to the test while new ones are forged. This book is told through the perspective of four girls on the island, each with a secret. Eve is the pastor's daughter and the oldest of five kids who takes care of her whole family; KeeKee is a poet with an estranged father; Faith is a dancer in love with a boy who belongs to someone else; Nia longs to get away from her overprotective single mother. When these four girls come together, they realize their friendships make them stronger. Since each chapter is told from one of their perspectives, it takes a while to get to know them, and the ending is a little anticlimactic. But Mather has a very conversational, engaging writing style, making this feel like a quick read even though it clocks in at over 400 pages. VERDICT An enjoyable friendship novel about change, acceptance, and being honest with each other. A great addition to libraries where books like Ann Brashares' "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" series is popular.-Kristin Joy Anderson, Lewis Univ., Romeoville, IL
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