  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 01/01/2011 Haunted by the belief that she caused the death of her beloved little brother, Louis, in a car accident, Dellie, 13, grieves with her loving, hardworking Puerto Rican parents. She also nurtures Corey, 5, her neighbor in their rough, housing-project building, and she tries to protect him from his abusive mom. Then Dellie is falsely accused of shoplifting; her relationship with a cute, smart classmate, Michael, takes a downturn; and she is betrayed by her best friend, Kayla, who is ashamed of being poor. The novel’s resolution is too neat: Kayla apologizes, Dellie’s enemy is demonized, things with Michael improve, and Corey helps Dellie overcome her guilt about her brother. What will grab readers in this first novel is the realistic sense of the diverse neighborhood community, both rough and caring. With lots of fast, immediate dialogue, the characters’ grief, anger, and heartbreaking coming-to-terms are realistic. - Copyright 2011 Booklist. School Library Journal - 03/01/2011 Gr 6–9—Dellie's life exists between the locked door of her family's small apartment in a government housing project and her inner-city classroom. Since the death of her younger brother, her mom doesn't allow her outside except when her father follows her to school, and the 13-year-old wonders if she could have prevented the accident that took Louis's life. Like any young teen, Dellie just wants to be with her friends and get to know the cute boy in her math class a little better. When a new family moves in downstairs, the night becomes a time of gunshots and loud fighting and people keep their doors locked and bolted. But Corey, a small boy caught in an abusive situation, gets Dellie to open her door and her heart and in time provides the catalyst for the family to heal itself. It's a neighbor's explanation of a large mural of a half moon on her wall that leads Dellie to understand that sometimes you have to believe in things you cannot fully see that will become more illuminated over time. Dellie's story will speak to young people who've needed a little faith to get them through tough times. Interesting scenarios, like the cloaked Jamaican woman who moves in next door, provide interest to an already well-developed story.—Cheryl Ashton, Amherst Public Library, OH - Copyright 2011 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
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