Keesha's House [Paperback]

Helen Frost (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 20, 2007

An unforgettable narrative collage told in poems

Keesha has found a safe place to live, and other kids gravitate to her house when they just can’t make it on their own. They are Stephie – pregnant, trying to make the right decisions for herself and those she cares about; Jason – Stephie’s boyfriend, torn between his responsibility to Stephie and the baby and the promise of a college basketball career; Dontay – in foster care while his parents are in prison, feeling unwanted both inside and outside the system; Carmen – arrested on a DUI charge, waiting in a juvenile detention center for a judge to hear her case; Harris – disowned by his father after disclosing that he’s gay, living in his car, and taking care of himself; Katie – angry at her mother’s loyalty to an abusive stepfather, losing herself in long hours of work and school.

Stretching the boundaries of traditional poetic forms – sestinas and sonnets – Helen Frost’s extraordinary debut novel for young adults weaves together the stories of these seven teenagers as they courageously struggle to hold their lives together and overcome their difficulties.

 

Keesha's House is a 2004 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up-Frost has taken the poem-story to a new level with well-crafted sestinas and sonnets, leading readers into the souls and psyches of her teen protagonists. The house in the title isn't really Keesha's; it belongs to Joe. His aunt took him in when he was 12, and now that he's an adult and the owner of the place, he is helping out kids in the same situation. Keesha needs a safe place to stay-her mother is dead; her father gets mean when he drinks, and he drinks a lot. She wants to stay in school, all these teens do, and Keesha lets them know they can stay at Joe's. There's Stephie, pregnant at 16, and terrified to tell anyone except her boyfriend. Harris's father threw him out when his son confided that he is gay. Katie's stepfather has taken to coming into her room late at night, and her mother refuses to believe her when she tells. Carmen's parents have run off, and she's been put into juvie for a DUI. Dontay is a foster kid with two parents in jail. Readers also hear from the adults in these young people's lives: teachers, parents, grandparents, and Joe. It sounds like a soap opera, but the poems that recount these stories unfold realistically. Revealing heartbreak and hope, these poems could stand alone, but work best as a story collection. Teens may read this engaging novel without even realizing they are reading poetry.
Angela J. Reynolds, Washington County Cooperative Library Services, Hillsboro, OR
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-10. Like Virginia Euwer Wolff's True Believer (2001) and much contemporary YA fiction, this moving first novel tells the story in a series of dramatic monologues that are personal, poetic, and immediate, with lots of line breaks that make for easy reading, alone or in readers' theater. Keesha finds shelter in a house in her inner-city neighborhood and helps other troubled teens find home and family there ("like finding a sister when I'm old / enough to pick a good one"). Stephie is pregnant, and she's heartbroken that her boyfriend doesn't want the baby. Harris is gay; his dad has thrown him out. Carmen is fighting addiction. Dontay's parents are in jail, and he doesn't feel comfortable in his latest foster home. Interwoven with the angry, desperate teen voices are those of the adults in their lives: caring, helpless, abusive, indifferent. In a long note, Frost talks about the poetic forms she has used, the sestina and the sonnet. But most readers will be less interested in that framework than in the characters, drawn with aching realism, who speak poetry in ordinary words and make connections. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (February 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374400121
• ISBN-13: 978-0374400125
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #299,760 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Social Issues > Runaways
  • #64 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Social Issues > Abuse

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honest and Relevant, October 3, 2003

By 

Lisa Johannes (Carrollton, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Keesha's House (Michael L Printz Honor Book (Awards)) (Hardcover)

Years ago, young Keesha ran away from home, from her verbally abusive, alcoholic father. Since then, she has found comfort in the home of a local resident, Joe, who had a large house and an even larger heart. Joe provided Keesha with a roof over her head and a fresh start in life. Now it's Keesha's turn to give back. As she meets young people in trouble, she invites them to Joe's house, so that they may have a chance to sort out life's problems. Though unconventional and not in line with the state's plans for runaways, Keesha's solution is helping many local teenagers, including Stephanie who is pregnant, Dontay, who is a runaway from foster care, and Harris, a young man whose family will not accept that he is gay. We eventually watch these characters meet and learn from each other. The tragic ending serves to remind us that there's not always a happy ending, but success comes from making the most of your life.

Helen Frost has created a wise and thoughtful character in young Keesha; however, she's not perfect, which makes her more believable and more likeable. When Stephanie is accepted back into her parents' home despite her pregnancy, Keesha's comments reflect the jealousy you'd expect from a 14-year-old who always hoped that her own father would come looking for her. All poems in the book are written in sestinas and sonnets, and each contains multicultural references that will connect the readers to the characters and their environment. The situations are real and prevalent in society, and even though they're sometimes uncomfortable to talk about and read about, young readers from ages 15 on up will appreciate each character's candid, poetic narration.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Little Bit of Everything..., June 4, 2003

By 

"nabbott6" (Scottsdale, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Keesha's House (Michael L Printz Honor Book (Awards)) (Hardcover)

In this poem, the lives of six troubled kids entwine. Wrapping around each other like the words to a song, or maybe more like a dance, their words work hard to make everything come out right. The fear of a teen pregnancy and it's consequences to both teens, foster care, DUI, being gay, an abusive stepfather, and the words Ms. Frost uses to convey everything are spare and concise and beautiful.
Surely a Printz Award contender.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable suprise, April 24, 2006

By 

Proud BookCrosser "Buffheart" (I wish I was in, California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Keesha's House (Michael L Printz Honor Book (Awards)) (Hardcover)

Now, I am not one who traditionally likes to read poetry, but I checked this book out from the library and finished it by the end of the day, and not only that but I found it to be quite a delight. The only problem is that it seemed the book went too fast and didn't focus enough on each character and their lives at the house, or afterwards for that matter. However, I would still reccomend this book to all my friends