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Keesha's House (Michael L Printz Honor Book (Awards))
 
 

Keesha's House (Michael L Printz Honor Book (Awards)) (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: Tobias Walker, Jackson Street
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

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  Kindle Edition, April 7, 2007 $7.19 -- --
  Hardcover, April 1, 2003 $13.22 $1.99 $0.01
  Paperback, February 19, 2007 $8.99 $3.56 $2.00
  Audio, Cassette, October 31, 2004 -- -- $1.94

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with Working with English Language Learners, Second Edition: Answers to Teachers' Top Ten Questions by Stephen Cary

Keesha's House (Michael L Printz Honor Book (Awards)) + Working with English Language Learners, Second Edition: Answers to Teachers' Top Ten Questions

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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.


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

Product Details

  • Reading level: Young Adult
  • Hardcover: 128 pages
  • Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st edition (April 2, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0374340641
  • ISBN-13: 978-0374340643
  • Product Dimensions: 8 x 6.4 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #967,056 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

More About the Author

Helen Frost
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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
5 star:
 (5)
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 (7)
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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
5 of 5 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
(REAL NAME)      
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.

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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
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.
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2 of 2 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
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
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Quite What I Expected, but Still Good
I was expecting a story with a bit more plot development and less inner monologue; however, the book itself is still interesting and the plot can be inferred, more or less, from... Read more
Published 2 months ago by J. Forthofer

5.0 out of 5 stars How Teenagers REALLY Feel!
How is it that a middle aged woman can capture so well what we all go through as teenagers? Frost's charecters are absolutely spell-binding, particularly the titular Keesha, who... Read more
Published on May 8, 2006 by Micah J. Kronlokken

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting read.
Keesha's House" by Helen Frost is a book that tells of the hardships that many teenagers are faced with. Each character faces a very different dilemma. Read more
Published on May 1, 2006 by Brendan

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book for Young Adults
Helen Frost does a terrific job of writing characters that all young people can relate to. Each character brings a different set of problems to a house where all are accepted and... Read more
Published on January 11, 2006 by Pam Snow

4.0 out of 5 stars Keshia's Point
Keesha's House is a great inspirational novel for teens who might be reaching the peak of their young adult life. Read more
Published on November 1, 2005 by Keshia Pooh

4.0 out of 5 stars A book about trust and courage
In the book Keesha's House , the main character, Keesha, is more than a teenager; she acts like an adult, and she is generous, kind and supportive. Read more
Published on April 9, 2005 by yaar

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended!
Why do kids have to figure their own problems when someone should be there to help them? In the novel, Keesha's House, the author uses the characters as a version of kids that we... Read more
Published on April 9, 2005 by angel

4.0 out of 5 stars You are not alone
Keesha's House is a brilliantly put-together story about seven individuals who are struggling through a period of their teenage years. Read more
Published on April 9, 2005 by Chris

4.0 out of 5 stars Keesha's House
I really liked this book because of the life situations that happened in the book. Normally I don't like the set up of a book going from character to character just explaining... Read more
Published on March 18, 2005 by Monique

5.0 out of 5 stars Richie's Picks: KEESHA'S HOUSE
my choice..........KATIE

"I sleep in my sleeping bag in a room
with a lock in the basement of the place
on Jackson Street. And I feel safe. Read more

Published on March 25, 2003 by Richie Partington

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