Fire In The Streets

YA fiction 

     Well this is the final selection in our Kekla Magoon retrospective.  Fire In The Streets takes over where The Rock and the River leaves off.  This time the narrator is Sam's crush turned maybe girlfriend, Maxie.

     Maxie's big brother, Raheem, is her protector and for all intents and purposes, guardian.  Her mother, an emotionally unstable alcoholic with a penchant for Mr. Wrongs, can't hold down a job.  Raheem has had to drop out of school to make rent, keep the lights on, and put food on the table.

     Raheem is also a full fledged Black Panther.  He is able to patrol, packing heat.  Maxie yearns to achieve this status.  She volunteers every free minute.  But she's only allowed to do things like babysitting, cleaning the office, and stuffing envelopes.  She feels like they're babying her, unable to recognize her skills, self discipline, and dedication to the cause.  

     Suddenly the cops seem to know too much of the Black Panther secrets.  There must be an informant in their midst.  Maxie sets out to discover who it is, sure that the information will be her key to becoming a fully fledged Panther...

     ...or will it break her heart.

On a purrrsonal note, this is the start of a very busy school week for me.  Today I was only able to put in three hours at the Commuter Lounge.  In the morning I got a ride to deliver a car load of donated clothes to the Upward Bound clothes room.  In the afternoon I had to be social.  First there was the Faculty Mentor Award Appreciation Lunch at Wells.  I was invited because I'd nominated Leah for an award.  It was so fancy people were assigned to tables.  I had a wonderful time.  It was real quality time with Leah.  We had so much to talk about.  And I learned that she's really proud of me and glad to be my advisor.  Oh, yeah, and the food was great too.  Then there was a student employment reception to mark the beginning of student employee week.  Oh, yeah, and I saw the first crocuses of spring.  (Jules)

It's starting to feel like spring.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Leah, the best advisor EVER!!!

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

 

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