Starred Review. Wright (Sunday You Learn How to Box) grabs hold of hard-hitting issues in a realistic and poignant novel that fully commands the audience's attention. Fourteen-year-old Lahni Schuler attempts to come to terms both with her status as the only black student in a school for privileged girls and with the news that her white adoptive parents are separating. This heavily freighted narrative evolves into an inspiring story as Lahni discovers a talent for singing and hidden inner strength. Instead of further dramatizing the negative aspects of Lahni's situation, Wright focuses on his character's efforts to surmount them a strategy that enables readers to feel empowered alongside Lahni. The other major characters the passionate gospel choir director, Marcus Delacroix III, and the charismatic soloist, Carietta Chisolm may look like round, brown, salt and pepper shakers with hair, in blue robes with red satin stoles the first time she sees them at the front of the church where they sing, but they practically jump off the page with their positive energy and purpose, further amplifying the novel's vivacious spirit. In the end, Lahni is still a work in progress which, as Wright illustrates, is the point. Ages 12-up. (Jan.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr 6 9 In her eighth-grade year at a private girls' school in Connecticut, African-American Lahni Schuler transitions from feeling like an outsider to achieving self-confidence and self-acceptance. Her adoptive, white parents are separating, and an intimidating white boy is harassing her. Selected to compete for a school music award, Lahni is reluctant to perform or to tell her distracted parents about the competition. When her mother takes her to an interdenominational church, Lahni is captivated by the soulful exuberance of the gospel singing of Carietta Chisholm. She joins the choir and responds to the vocal inspiration of the flamboyant, talented director and organist, Marcus Delacroix III. As Lahni finds her own musical voice, she also begins to accept her parents' divorce, and she confronts her stalker in an outburst of ethnic pride. Lahni is an appealing heroine. Her repartee with insensitive peers, her distress over parental discord, her candid self-assessments, and her attraction to African-American singing ring true. Her white friend, Katie, and a racially mixed cast of supportive adults help Lahni to express her true self. Readers will enjoy the distinctive characters, lively dialogue, and palette of adolescent and racial insecurities in this contemporary, upbeat story. Gerry Larson, Durham School of the Arts, NC Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information